Pray for One Another

Anyone who keeps a prayer list knows that it is like an living organism.  It never stays the same.  Some of the people for whom we pray have concerns which carry not just into the years, but into the decades.  I have a friend from my first appointment who continues to pray each day for God's blessings upon me.  There are names on my prayer list for whom I have prayed for decades.  There are other names which have filled a line on the page for a much briefer span of time before being removed by an act of God's mercy.  While some names are being removed, others are being added.  A prayer list seems to have a life of its own.   

Only a short time ago, I learned of a pastor friend whose life has suddenly been disrupted by the uncertainty of a sudden unexpected diagnosis.  My sister who lives a thousand miles away has asked me to pray for a friend of hers that I know only through her care and concern.  Such is how prayer list grow.  I often find myself returning to what the Apostle James wrote to the early church.  "Pray for one another so that you may be healed."  (James 5:16).  I have been one who has been greatly blessed by the prayers of others.  Prayers have been offered in my behalf that enabled me to make it through moments that had overwhelming power.    

The discipline of a prayer list keeps us away from shotgun prayers which are like generic prayers thrown heavenward with a hope that something will stick on heaven's gate.  A far better approach seems to be one of asking those who ask us to pray the simple question, "How can I pray for you?"  Another thing to do when someone ask us to pray for them or someone for whom they have concern is to say to them, "Yes, I will pray for you, but let us also pray together right now." It matters not how public the place might be.  We can turn any place into a prayer closet simply by saying, "Let's pray now."  Praying for someone whose need has been shared with us is something we all can do.  We can even do it in this very minute.