Who Needs Prayer?

Who needs your prayers? Lots of people do. Among those closest to you, there are probably at least a few who aren’t in good health, or have suffered some personal loss, or are depressed or stressed. And then there are those you hear about in the news and those you pass on the road of life.

It’s easy to get so wrapped up in our own concerns that we neglect to look around at the needs of others. This exercise is a remedy to such self-involvement, but it’s more than that; it’s a vehicle for you to reach out and help others.

It starts with a simple premise: God answers prayers.

There are many accounts in the Bible of prayer bringing outstanding results—when Elisha prayed for a sun-stricken child and the boy revived, for example. And Jesus told us, “Whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.” The prophet Samuel recognized that neglecting to pray for others is a sin, and Paul set an example by praying often for his coworkers.

Begin this exercise by picturing yourself in the center of a set of concentric circles. You’re in the center, but the focus isn’t on you. Within the first circle are your family and closest friends. It’s probably easy to identify the needs of at least two or three. Make a note. Now picture the next circle, your colleagues and acquaintances. Make a note of their names and needs. Now picture the widest circle, people whom you don’t know personally, but whose needs you are aware of—the woman in a wheelchair who you passed on the street, the homeless family you read about. Make a note.

At this point you probably have a list of about ten people. Pray for these people throughout the coming week. Keep the list where you will notice it, perhaps next to your bed or over the kitchen sink or on your desk.

Take five or ten minutes every day to pray for them. Even a few moments of meaningful, heartfelt prayer can make a big difference in someone’s life. “When a believing person prays, great things happen.”

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1 Timothy 2:1 ESV – First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people,

Ephesians 6:18 ESV – Praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints,

Romans 8:26-27 ESV – Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.