Carrying a request from the Prayer Wall
Someone has written a request on the Prayer Wall. They didn't do it by chance: this person felt the need to share it, and hopes that others will carry this burden with them. This quest invites you to answer that call.
What it looks like in your day
Open the Prayer Wall and read a few requests. Choose just one, the one that touches you, or the one that hasn't yet received an answer. Then take the time to carry it:
- Reread the request slowly. Try to understand what this person is living.
- Pray specifically. Take up their words: "Lord, she is asking for work. Open a door for her this week."
- Keep the request in mind. You can reread it later in the day, when you are doing something else.
- Encourage them, if the app allows. A small note: "I'm praying for you" can do a lot of good.
If the Wall is empty, or if no request speaks to you, pray for the community in general: for those who use the app, for beginners, for those going through a season of doubt, for those who have stopped praying.
If you are in a hurry, a request read in two minutes and carried in one sentence is already the quest. If you are shy, you have nothing to write publicly: your prayer stays between God and you.
What the Bible says
Paul sums up the way believers help one another:
“Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.”
"Bear ye one another's burdens": the image is of a weight lifted by several people. Praying for a request is taking a share of it on your shoulders.
In the book of Acts, when Peter is imprisoned, the church is not indifferent:
“Peter therefore was kept in prison: but prayer was made without ceasing of the church unto God for him.”
This collective prayer was not a formality: it accompanied a great moment in the life of the church. And Paul asks the churches several times to pray for him (2 Corinthians 1:11), because he knows that the prayers of others count.
Finally, the Bible asks us to enter into others' emotions:
“Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep.”
Pitfalls to avoid
Reducing the person to their request. Behind every line, there is a life. Don't pray the way you handle a file: pray as for someone you know.
Giving unrequested advice. If the person is suffering, don't say "You should do this." Listen, pray, and stay humble. Sometimes the most useful encouragement is: "I heard you, I'm praying for you."
Trying to know what God will do. Don't promise a healing or a solution. You can ask in faith and let God answer in his own way.
Forgetting afterward. The strength of this gesture is coming back to the request later. Return another day to see whether something has changed, whether the person has updated their message, whether an answer has arrived. Follow-up is an act of love.
Open the Prayer Wall, choose a request and pray. If you can, leave a small note.