Asking For Prayer and Praying For Others

The other day I woke up feeling terrible. Cali came in my room, like she always does, happy and ready to go for the day. She climbed up on the bed and we started talking. I tried so hard to seem ok but that lasted all of two seconds. As we talked I told her I wasn't feeling well and that she needed to give mommy a few more minutes to sleep. She said sure, and as she started to leave to go play, I asked her to come back. I asked her to pray for me to feel better. She said sure and right then and there prayed for mommy to get healed. When she left I laid there with my eyes closed but couldn't sleep. I began to smile and think about how my four year old daughter had just prayed for her mommy so willingly and without reservation. It wasn't the words she said, but her actions that made my heart happy. 

So often when people ask for prayer we say sure, I'll pray for you, but then never do. Our intention is good, and we know that we should pray for one another, but I bet it rarely happens the way it should. We go off into our lives and push those requests into the back of our mind. The daily grind gets in the way and we tell ourselves that we will lift those requests up later. On the flip side, how many of us ask for prayer, knowing that others will truly pray for us. Many times I don't even bother with prayer requests, because I either don't want to be a burden on another, or I know that it won't be a priority in someone else's prayer life, so there is no point in bringing it up.

In 1 Timothy 2:1-4, Paul writes to Timothy, urging him that "requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone... that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth." 

What if we, just for one day, actually spent time praying for all those people asking for prayer? What if we, for one day, actually asked people to pray for us in confidence that they would? How would, not only our lives, but our world be different?

Knowing that prayers and thanksgiving from us and for others not only brings peace, godliness and holiness, but also pleases God, why would we not want to pray for others? Why would we not want them to pray for us? Think about how many people might come to know Him through our prayers. How many people may be able to experience His glory when what they prayed for actually comes to fruition? And as a parent, how often do you give your children the opportunity to experience all that by asking them to pray for you?

I was able to sleep that morning for about another half an hour. When my eyes opened and my ears heard the joyous giggles coming from the other room, I sat up and realized that I actually felt better. Most of the time I'd say that it was from getting to sleep a little longer. But that morning, I know, that it was because I confidently asked for prayer and heard a sweet, little voice actually pray with confidence, for healing.

Unanswered Prayers... or are they?

Do you believe in unanswered prayers? I think that it makes for a great song, but that they do not exist. God desires a relationship with me, so why would He not answer my prayers? When my children ask me for something or to do something, I don't ignore them. That would make for a bad relationship with them and I know that eventually they wouldn't talk to me anymore. So why would a God who loves me and wants to know me ignore me? 


God always answers us, just in a way that we might not think. When He tells us yes, we are like a kid in a candy store. All is right with the world. When He tells us no, we are sad and disappointed, but we are able to eventually move on, knowing that He loves us and has a better plan for our lives. But what about those times that we don't have an answer? Is God listening? 


Matthew 6:8 says, "...God knows what you need before you even ask him." With that promise we can only believe that He is listening and that He has an answer for you. His answer might just be "WAIT". But why should we wait? If He is going to just say no to something, then why not do it right away? But who says He is going to say no? Sometimes He wants us to wait until we are ready for what it is we are truly looking for. 


"They that wait on the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings as eagles, they shall run and not grow weary, they shall walk and not faint." Isaiah 40:31


In times of waiting, God has a plan to strengthen you, to renew you, to prepare you for what it is you are asking. They say that hindsight is always better. Looking back on my life I can see why God has told me to wait numerous times. In waiting I have not only grown in my confidence in myself but in my dependance on Him and in my love for Him and His plan for me. After waiting, the response is always the same, whether or not I got a yes or no. I am blessed more than I would have been if God had opened or closed the door right away. 


I am thankful that I have a relationship with a God who is alive and loves me. A God who knows me and my desires. But most of all, I am thankful to know a God, The Only God, who always answers my prayers. Especially when He answers "wait".

Dear Jesus, Thank You For Today

When we were teaching Cali how to pray, we started with these simple words, "Dear Jesus, thank you for today." The words were simple enough for her to say and gave her a good foundation to begin her prayers, by thanking God for a good day. But now, when I listen to her pray, the words "thank you" have become more than simple. They represent a relationship with the Father, who one day, I pray, she may come to know. I am certain that she does not fully know right now the true meaning that I have come to understand. One day she will. But today, for me, I continue to learn what a true child-like faith looks like through her prayers.

When Cali prays, every sentence begins with thank you. At first it made me giggle, to hear her thank God for her boo boo's and for papa's sickness or mommy's headaches and a bad day. I'm not sure that Papa was really thankful for being sick, and I KNOW that I am not thankful for my migraines. But why not?

How often do I really thank God for what He has given me? If I truly think about that, my honest answer has to be "not enough". I am very quick to ask Him for my needs, especially in sickness and for healing or in times when I feel like I need Him to fix my circumstances. I am quick to pray for others who are hurting or needing help. I even pray for those qualities that I feel my husband needs to culminate. (Like I don't need them too. HA!) But I honestly don't thank God enough for the things I have or don't have, nor do I thank Him for my circumstances, especially the terrible, horrible, no good, very bad days.

Philippians 4:6 says, "do not be anxious in anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication WITH THANKSGIVING let your requests be made known to God." Wow! I am to be thankful in all things first and foremost, before presenting my requests to Him. When it comes down to it, that can be a really hard thing to do.

How can one be thankful when you are sick and feeling so crummy that you can't even get out of bed? Or when your spouse loses their job and you have no steady income to support your family? How can one be thankful when a loved one just passed away? Or when your house floods, or burns down and you've lost everything? The answer is through faith. Faith in God that He will work through our circumstances, no matter how good or bad they are. Faith that He will give us all that we need, no matter how little or how much we want. Faith that God is MY God, MY Creator, MY Comforter, MY Healer, MY Provider. Faith that He is YOUR God, YOUR Creator, YOUR Comforter, YOUR Healer, YOUR Provider. He knows our circumstances and needs even before we do. So how could we NOT be thankful for them?

A year ago God knew that the flood waters would rise to my home and He knew that my 4 month old baby boy would have to ride in a raft down our street along with the rest of us, leaving all we had behind. Before getting in that raft, I stood with my husband at our window looking out at the rising water and as Greg prayed for God to be glorified in our circumstance I was at peace with what may come. The next morning as we drove home, not knowing if our home had been the one that exploded on our block, we came to the realization that we may have lost everything. A calm, sweet little voice from the back seat said, "mom, we are going to be alright." She was right. We were going to be ok. I thanked God that everything I loved and needed was in the car with me and prayed that He would take care of us and protect us. And you know what? He did. Philippians 4:6 says, "In everything by prayer and supplication WITH THANKSGIVING let your requests be made known to God." But it goes on to say in verse 7,  "And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." If we don't thank God for everything, how can we find the peace that He so longs to give us?

Who knows if Cali truly is thankful for everything she says in her prayers, or if she is just saying that because it is how she learned to pray? All I know is that maybe I need to follow her example and even if I had a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day my prayer at the end of that day should begin, "Dear Jesus, thank you for today."