Praying for a member of your group, then telling them

In a house group, a youth group, a neighborhood group or a church, you see each other regularly, you greet each other, you swap news… and you rarely pray for one another outside meetings. This quest offers you a gesture in two steps: pray for one person in your group, then tell them you did.

What it looks like in your day

Choose the person. Someone you know a little, whose situation you know something about: a trial, a project, a weariness, a change, a health concern, a joy. If you don't know much about them, it is a good opportunity to ask questions.

Pray specifically. Take three minutes. Name them to God, recall what you know of their life, and ask one specific thing for them: “Lord, thank you for Amélie. She starts a new job on Monday. Give her confidence and good colleagues.”

Give thanks for them. Like Paul, begin by giving thanks for what you appreciate in them: their faithfulness, their humor, their listening.

Tell them. During the day or the week, send a message: “I prayed for you this morning, for your new job. I hope it's going well.” Or say it at the next meeting. Don't say it to get something out of it, but so they know they matter.

Observe their reaction. Many people are moved, sometimes overwhelmed: the simple fact of knowing someone thought of them is a gift.

Keep going the following week. Choose another person, or go back to the same one to check in.

If you are short on time, three sentences of prayer and a two-line message. If you are shy, writing is the best way. If your prayer doesn't seem “real” enough, simply tell God: “I don't have much, but I bring this person to you.”

What the Bible says

Paul writes to Timothy:

“I thank God, whom I serve from my forefathers with pure conscience, that without ceasing I have remembrance of thee in my prayers night and day; Greatly desiring to see thee, being mindful of thy tears, that I may be filled with joy; When I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice; and I am persuaded that in thee also.”

“I thank God… that without ceasing I have remembrance of thee in my prayers night and day”: he prays, and he says so, specifically. He even mentions Timothy's tears and his sincere faith, which already lived in his grandmother and mother. Here is a prayer that is warm, specific, personal, and told to the person concerned. In his letter to the Colossians, he also begins by giving thanks for people (Colossians 1:3-4), and in the one to the Romans, he writes that he constantly remembers them in his prayers (Romans 1:9-12).

Pitfalls to avoid

Saying without praying. “I'm praying for you” without doing it is an empty promise. Pray first, then say so.

Making prayer a means of control. Avoid saying: “I prayed that you would stop…” Pray for their good, not that they change to suit your taste.

Revealing confidences. If the person confided something in the group, don't repeat it elsewhere, even to ask for prayers.

Always choosing the same ones. It is easy to pray for those you get along with best. Think of those who are less visible.

Getting discouraged by a lack of response. The person may not react. That's fine: your gesture happened.

Today, choose one person in your group. Pray for them, then send them a short note to tell them.