I met someone new last week. As we exchanged some pleasantries, he shared about a major life transition, career change and move, he and his family have recently been through. We only chatted around five minutes, but before we ended I asked if I could pray with him.
Lies We Believe About Praying With Others
It is interesting how offering to pray with someone can feel uncomfortable. This man in this interaction just transitioned from being an executive pastor of a church. But, even though we would think he would believe in prayer, we hesitate for fear of looking prideful making this kind of request. It feels like we are saying we have something they don’t, and we don’t want to appear hyper-religious.
This shows a misconception we have about prayer. We don’t offer to pray because we are better than the other person; we just happened to remember in our conversation that God has good things to give them. In our offer to pray, we remember that prayer activates life in us, creates a flow of the Holy Spirit, and releases hope in our situations because prayer reminds us that God is still at work.
In the midst of a group of other people, I prayed for my new friend. He thanked me for praying and shared an encouragement someone else gave him that related to what I prayed. I left the interaction encouraged and believe he did too.
More People Want Prayer Than We Realize
This weekend I went with my family on a hike in the mountains. It was a longer hike than normal and a much more difficult climb. At one point we came to an intersection in the trail where one branch would go to an overlook of the start. My wife and kids chose to rest while I satisfied my curiosity about how far we came.
I jogged down this trail alone and came to a couple women resting on that part of the trail. We said our hellos as they directed me to where the trail continued. I continued on to see the overlook.
On the way back, I mentioned to those women how close they were to the overlook. They thanked me but said one of them was feeling pain in her arm because of a recent surgery. As politely as I could, I asked if I could pray for her arm. She said she believed in prayer and would appreciate it.
Make the Most of Every Opportunity
There in the woods, I thanked Jesus for this woman and ask Him to remove the pain. It wasn’t anything elaborate, nor did I try to push her to believe like I did before praying. It was a simple attempt to show concern and attempt to release a touch from God for her.
As I wished her and her friend well, she was wiping away a few tears. I left encouraged that God would use a simple act of faith to make a positive impact. I do try to pray with people often and try to listen for places where it would encourage someone with prayer. It may be a co-worker, friend, someone at church, or wherever. People are hungry for a touch from God.
Let’s Take the Initiative to Pray With Others
I wanted to share these experiences to show how easy it can be to give people a positive interaction with Jesus. I have found must people are fine with you praying with them, even if they don’t believe in God. It is a simple, non-threatening way to express His love to others. And, it has the added benefit of also releasing the power of God into their lives.
Continue to pray for others in your personal time with God, but also look for opportunities to pray with others. You never know what new friends you may make out of this.
