Over the summer, I’ve been dealing with a tough situation. I’m looking for a new job, and the search has been difficult at times. I’ve talked with various friends and family members about this over the summer, and I’m grateful for the enormous amount of support that I have received.
I recently realized that the people who I view as most supportive are the ones who promise to pray for me. I’ve asked several friends to pray for me, and they always respond in the affirmative. One of my coworkers ends every serious (more than a quick “hi, how are you?”) conversation we have these days with “I’m praying for you.” It’s a simple four-word sentence, but it means the world to me. Someone is praying for me. Actually, a lot of someones are praying for me.
That means the world to me. These people are showing me their love and support by promising to ask the Lord to help me. We don’t know how this situation will end. We don’t know exactly what the Lord’s will is in this moment. But we’re surrendering it to him. We’re asking him to bless it. We’re trusting him with it. And praying for someone else’s needs and wants-that’s an act of love.
These people can’t find me a new job. They can’t change the circumstances of my life. But they can love and support me in a difficult time in my life. And that is what prayer is. Prayer is an act of love. Praying for another person is an act of love. In our prayers, we are submitting ourselves to the Divine Will. We are humbling ourselves before the Lord and placing our trust in him.
We don’t know exactly how the Lord will answer our prayers, but we believe that he will answer them. And so we pray. We pray for our own wants and needs. We pray for others. And the promise to pray is an act of faith in God and of love both for God and for the other. After all, prayer is one of the most powerful things in the world.
“Therefore I say to you, all things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and they will be granted you.”
-Mark 11:24
Please keep praying. Keep your eyes fixed on the Lord.
A Large Cup of Tea and a Long Book 
This is one of my favorites, but recently I have found I say this and rarely pray…horrible I know. So this year I’ve dedicated when I say im going to pray I stop and iny head pray in that moment..and if I remember I will do so again. Great blog!
Thanks for this post. Like the other commenter, lately I’ve noticed that I tend to say I’ll pray for someone (intending to do so) only to forget. I’m working on that too.
And thanks for sharing the verse. It’s worded a bit differently in the KJV I usually use so this made me think about it a bit more today, and I needed that!