Praying with Another

It is quite common among church folk to ask for prayers. We all need them, want them, and do not hesitate to ask for them, especially when we come across praying people. Nine times out of ten, the exchange goes something like this: “Please pray for me, I have a lot of problems.” A stock reply is, “Sure, I’ll pray for you.” Then we move on, offering the prayer in another place at another time.

Why should the conversation end there? The quick answer is we don’t want to pry, seem nosy, or appear intrusive. The one requesting prayer is vulnerable. We want to respect the person’s privacy. We’d never want to make anyone feel uncomfortable. However, look at it this way. It’s an opening, an opportunity to not only pray for someone, but to pray with someone.