Prayer requests

And they continued stedfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers. (Acts 2:42)

I urge you, brothers and sisters, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to join me in my struggle by praying to God for me. Pray that I may be kept safe from the unbelievers in Judea and that the contribution I take to Jerusalem may be favorably received by the Lord’s people there, so that I may come to you with joy, by God’s will, and in your company be refreshed. The God of peace be with you all. Amen. (Romans 15:30-33)

Each time that we pause here on the study blog to pray, and to share prayer requests, I'm reminded again of what a precious privilege we have here. Many people who live in authoritarian countries are not afforded this privilege; sharing their faith right out in the open is not allowed and is downright dangerous there. That they would identify themselves as believers and ask one another to pray would be risky -- but many of them are courageous and stand up to be counted as faithful members of the body of Christ.

Just as there are many character types of people, many learning styles, many languages and accents; so are there many different ways to pray. Praying together opens up our hearts to the needs of others. It can bring encouragement, repentance, joy, and love, and it also shows unity - the body of Christ working together for His kingdom. Often, people might be nervous about praying aloud in a group; at the same time, many of us find that our minds wander when we pray silently.

An alternative is to write down our prayers. Don't worry about the spelling. Don't stress about the grammar. Just write down what comes from your heart. Are we praying for someone in particular? Write down that name. Are we praying for a missionary who is struggling against the devil? Are they in financial need? Are there worries about his or her safety? Write all of that down. If a map is available that shows where the missionary is serving, have it handy and lay a hand on it while praying. Do we have requests of a personal nature? We can write down the desires of our own hearts.

Now.

We can reread our prayers. Silently or aloud. 

Consider some of our familiar verses regarding prayer, including this one in James:

The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. (James 5:16b, NIV)

The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. (KJV)

Lastly, if our prayers can be separated (and by that I mean that we can share just what is relevant to a person that we prayed for - not something personal about another individual) and shared with those we prayed for, it may be that they find encouragement in reading. It may lift them up in the midst of some pretty rough times; after all, how much more comfort would it provide to actually read a prayer that someone prayed for us, than to just hear the phrase, "I prayed for you." Of course, we mean it sincerely. And we follow up on it by praying. But reading what we prayed may be just what someone needs to know that a sister in Christ is lifting them up to Jesus. That our hearts are concerned and we are asking Him for intercession and help.

This isn't something that everyone would be comfortable with. It's not mandatory. It's just my humble opinion. I believe even if we don't share our prayers with others, that writing them down may be just the ticket to keep our minds focused in our prayer times! It can also be very meaningful if we keep them, tuck them into a journal, and read them in the future -- then we will see that our Father answered our prayers, just as He promised!