Pray?

How many times have you heard that word?  Pray...such a simple word, but how many of us have just thrown the word around as a simple answer to something.  Yes, it is a simple answer, and it is something that is needed, but really, do me take it seriously?  It is so easy to tell someone to pray, especially when life is going well for you, but do you ever wonder how the person you are telling to pray feels?  Of course they are praying!  When you are in a situation, and it's not looking good, sometimes the last thing you want is someone telling you the obvious--pray.  I've been guilty of that.  Someone pours their heart out to me, and I say, "Well, just pray about it".  I know there's nothing that I can do about it, so I give the answer that eases the guilt off of my mind.  But there is something I can do.  I can pray for them as well.  I can ask them how they are doing, and I can look around to see if there is anything special I can do for that person to ease up some of the pain or stress.  As Christians, we know we are supposed to pray for things.  But on the flip side, as Christians, we should go out of our way to look for ways to encourage a brother or sister who we know are going through something.  That in and of itself would probably go a long way in helping ease some of the "burden" that person is carrying.

Another thing that's been on my heart concerning this issue of prayer is when you tell someone you will pray for them.  How many times have you said that to someone, only to totally forget about it?  That person really needs that prayer you promised (because hey, we all could use every whisper to God we can get), and you let them down!  Think about it that way!  I probably am guilty of this more often than not, sad to say.

So here's my challenge.  Really think about the next time you tell someone to pray.  Think about a different way you can uplift that person.  And pray for them yourself.   And the next time you tell someone you will pray for them, do it!  It takes a minute to tap a reminder in your phone if it's for a certain time, or just stop right there and pray for them!  Can you imagine what a reaction that would get!  I can imagine how I would feel if I asked someone to pray for me, and right then and there they prayed with me!

Rethink that beautiful word, pray.  And go out there and do something about it!