Hopefully making theology simpler to understand! (2 Corinthians 1:12)

How often do you pray with others?

I do not just mean when the pastor or someone in the band or choir prays. How often do you pray with people who are in need, or who are hurting, or who say “pray for me”?

You might say, “Prayer is a private thing! Jesus told us to pray in secret! Besides, I do not want to make someone else feel uncomfortable.” (I have actually heard, almost and if not exactly verbatim, someone say this to me)

A) Prayer is both private and public. We already discussed doing it corporately. Which leads to 2) Jesus and the Apostles prayed with people. See Acts 1:14 and 2:42. Besides, also) it sounds more like you feel uncomfortable praying with people in public.

If you are anything like me, you are probably guilty of saying “I’ll pray for you!” Then you never do, or at best throw up a quick “God, be with that person.” This either makes you a liar or not as loving as you could be.

I must confess that I have gotten out of the habit of praying with people. For a while, I was one of those people who, if you said “Will you pray for me?” I would say, “Of course! Can we pray right now?” I have not done so well, as of late. I do reply to most text message or e-mail requests with a typed prayer, but it is not quite the same as saying it with the person (though, of course there are times it is not feasible).

My conviction level has been high the past few weeks, too. I have realized the number of opportunities I have passed, followed by some messages on the radio discussing it, and having some dear friends pray with me in just the past couple weeks.

I want to be that person again!

Do you?

Besides, perhaps our lack of active and immediate prayers is a major cause of dissension between believers. Perhaps we fail to get along because we fail to love each other enough to pray with each other.

Lord, grant us the capacity to love You and others enough to want to pray openly with others when they ask. Remind us to pray when we have the opportunities. Move in our prayers as we pray in faith, and help us believe that You are answering even though we sometimes fail to believe. Lord, empower us with Your Holy Spirit, and grow Your love in us. Thank you, Lord Jesus. Amen.