How many times have you told someone “I will pray for you” but then forgot to do it? It happens to us all the time. I remember one Sunday, me and someone I knew from church was supposed to meet for a coffee when he texted that he couldn’t make it. He told me that he pushed too hard to improve his lap times while go-karting and ended up breaking two ribs and bruising a few others. Ouch! That must have been quite painful.
My immediate reaction was to text back and write “Sorry to hear that. We’ll pray for you!”. Can you guess what happened next? I totally forgot to pray for him. It was only after a couple of weeks when I saw his post on social media that his recovery was going well, when I realized how I have completely forgotten to pray or even wonder how he’s doing. Of course, this doesn’t happen always and to everyone, but it’s quite common for many of us in the midst of our busy lives to forget to pray for the people who are in need of the Lord’s help.
The apostle Paul reminds us through his letters to ‘pray continually’ (1 Thess 5:17) and to ‘pray for all the Lord’s people’ (Ephesians 6:18). But how can we apply this biblical advice to our busy lives? Sometimes the answer can be quite simple; as simple as writing down the names of those in need and bringing the list to our attention frequently. If I had developed the routine to maintain a ‘praylist’, I would immediately have added his name and would have included him in my prayers daily.
Do you maintain your own ‘praylist’ to remind yourself of the people that are in need of your prayers?
pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
1 Thessalonians 5:17-18 NIV
And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.
Ephesians 6:18 NIV
I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people—
1 Timothy 2:1 NIV
Source: Daily Reading Plan from You Version
