A couple weeks ago, I was reading a post by a blogger I don’t know very well and she was talking about a difficult time going on in her lif...

Why I Pray for You

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A couple weeks ago, I was reading a post by a blogger I don’t know very well and she was talking about a difficult time going on in her life. When I got to the end, I was about to comment “I’m praying for you”—but just before I hit “publish,” I stopped. It occurred to me that I say that often, on Facebook, in blog comments, wherever it seems appropriate, that “I’m praying for you,” even if I don’t know the person very well, sometimes even if it’s our first interaction.

It simultaneously occurred to me that that was a little weird. After all, I didn’t really know her. This was maybe the third or fourth time I’d commented on one of her posts. Suddenly, something about praying for her seemed too close, too personal. I didn’t know her like that, to comment on her blog for one of the first times and say that I was praying for her and her situation.

I hesitated, wondering if I ought to post the comment after all, or perhaps just skitter away to the next blog post and pray for her in the privacy of my own thoughts. But I was going to pray, I realized, regardless of whether or not I told her, and I figured, we're family in Christ, right? This is what we're supposed to do, and it might help her to know that somebody really cared. So I went ahead and made the comment; I told her “I’m praying for you.”

I don't tell this story to sound like a “good Christian,” and I don’t know if anyone else has ever felt this way; I just know that that these are the thoughts that occurred to me, forcing me to linger several extra minutes before I could bring myself to make the comment. And in the days after, the incident got me thinking, forcing me to consider, until I figured out why I want to be comfortable telling others I'm praying for them, why I say it so often, and why I always mean it.

Original Photo from Pixabay

It’s pretty straightforward actually: for the simple reason that we are family in Christ. And that makes us close enough. I don’t have to know all of your problems to know that we share a God and that, because of this, I want to support you in the midst of whatever you’re going through. You don’t have to tell me everything that’s going on (in many cases, it might even be better you don’t), but I promise I will still pray about it. Because we are family in Christ, you are a part of me and I am a part of you (1st Corinthians 12:12-14, 25-27. Galatians 3:26-29. Ephesians 4:15-16. John 17:20-23). You are important to me. Whoever you are and whatever you’re going through, you matter to Christ and you matter to me.

So, yes, I will pray for you.

And if you’re not a believer in Christ, does this exclude you? Absolutely not. See, I believe all people matter to Him, matter enough that He died for you and for me, before we were even born, knowing that we would start our lives in sin (Romans 5:6-11), knowing that we would spend much of our time rejecting Him, through our actions if not our words, knowing how we would hate Him and ignore Him and smear His very name. But He did it anyway, because He loves us, because He is love, because we are His creation, because all of us are important to Him. My God is love to all creation, and you, dear one, are a part of that. You are important to me. Whoever you are and whatever you’re going through, you matter to Christ and you matter to me.

So, yes, I will pray for you, too.

That said, I’d like to end this post by asking: is there anything I can pray for you today? You don’t have to tell me all the details, you can private message me if you need to, or you can just comment saying you’d like prayer, and I will gladly hop on that. You matter to Christ and you matter to me, and He loves to hear people call His name, to obey His command to pray, to hand their problems over to Him, and trust Him to handle the worst of it. It’s a way we can come together, in trust and in love, growing closer to Him and to each other.

Regardless of whether you comment or not, know that I’m praying. Know that I care. Know that you matter. To Christ and to me.



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10 comments:

  1. I actually started reading this thinking you were going to go in a complete different direction. But I like this post. I feel convicted in some ways... you see, often I don't say I'm praying. Because it feels too "cliche". I'll pray. I'll offer encouragement/ advice. But I rarely tell someone I'm praying. And now I'm not sure where I'm going... but I really like your post. And it's given me something to think about :)

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    1. Thank you! I'm so glad it did! And yeah, it can sound cliche if it's thrown around meaninglessly too often, but it really is such a deep and powerful gift we have and can give to others. And of course, each person does have to come to their own conclusion on this, but this is mine and this is why, so I'm glad you enjoyed it and gave you a reason to think. :)

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  2. I put that too, on a lot of posts, and feel a bit weird about it. As long as I actually do it, I feel better. I mean I tend to find comments that say that nice myself. So I try not to make a big deal.

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    1. Yeah, gotcha. And I mean it's true, though I normally don't think of it that way: like I'd probably feel pretty good knowing someone out there was praying for me, but when I go to do it for someone else, I immediately wonder if they'll think I'm weird. :p I don't know why, but I'm glad it gave me the chance to write out my thoughts on the whole thing. :)

      Glad you've found you're own way around it! :)

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  3. Interesting... I also don't really mention if I'm going to pray for someone (stranger or not). I usually just do it. But whether or not a stranger is praying for me, I wouldn't mind (unless it's a prayer with bad intentions xD)

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    1. Yeah, gotcha. Like I said to Skye, I don't think about that at first when I go to pray for someone else (that I actually wouldn't mind a stranger praying for me), but prayer is a wonderful thing, not a thing to hide. :)

      And awesome that you just go ahead and do it! :D Whether you tell them or not, the important part is the prayer.

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  4. This is really interesting! I guess I don't blog about my faith much, mainly because my blog is about books mostly and not God. But I also pray for bloggers/ people I don't really know quite often. And I wouldn't at all fee concerned if random strangers say they pray for me. Because it's just nice and it's not like it can hurt, like, ever. I think I'd feel the same even if I didn't believe in God (or any god). I just think prayers are cool and often powerful.

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    1. *thumbs up* Very true! Prayer is a wonderful and powerful thing, and it's so awesome that this part of the blogosphere has so much of it going around!

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  5. I've avoided saying I'll pray for people when I'm online. I do say I'll hold them in my thoughts, so maybe I'm saying pray in a different way. I seldom post about my family or personal issues. I've always thought my time online should be about my writing and some anecdotes that show what I do and some of who I am. I may be wrong because so many writers tell their life stories and people seem interested in reading them. This public forum of the Internet is quite an interesting experience, isn't it?

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    1. It definitely is! And I don't think you're wrong at all! Like I said to Keturah, each person should absolutely come to their own conclusion on this subject and everything else in relation to how much they want to share online. This is just my conclusion, and I hope it got other people thinking a little about their own. :)

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