Honest Prayer

I’ll pray for you.  My prayers are with you.  We’ll keep you in our prayers.  Recognize these statements?  Have you ever been on the receiving end of these words of comfort?  I’m sure at some point you’ve experienced some type of tragedy, pressure, difficulty, or frustration in your life that left you with no answers and a thousand questions.  We’ve all been there.  When we finally get the courage to reach out and mention it to someone, it’s deep.

Next Question.  Have you been on the giving end of those statements?  Have you ever offered to keep someone in your prayers?

Did you follow through with it?

When we walk throug life and everything seems to be going well, we have to remember that there are people sitting right next to us who are destroyed inside.  They smile, but their present reality is that addiction, depression, grief, lonliness, infedility, and so many more hidden atrocities have consumed their present reality.  They finally reach out and mention that life is rough right now… and we casually say; “Our prayers are with you”.

Really?  Did you mean that?

We get busy sometimes and we let our mouths speak all of the right words while our hearts are busy rushing ahead to concerns of our own.  We lose sight of the fact from time to time that the challenges that people face on a daily basis are a very real and present reality.  The victims of a house fire have no concern with the world outside as they try to deal with what is facing them in that moment.  A family trying to climb out of a terrible automobile accident has no place in their life in that moment for worry about finances, career, or social pressures.  We’ve all been in tragic moments and wanted so badly for someone to understand exactly what we are experiencing…but they don’t.   They need prayer… really need prayer.  We are in a position to offer it.

It is the responsibility of Christians (that is anyone who professes to be a follower of Jesus Christ) to pray.  The power of prayer is often misunderstood and relegated to just another protocol that is part of being a believer.  When our lives are transformed by the love of God we cannot help but be concerned for the things God cares about… not just ourselves.  We come to a very real place where the prayers we offer are done so with complete faith.  You learn that you don’t pull that sword out of the sheathe unless you are willing to use it.  And you understand that casually telling someone that you’ll pray for them and not really mean it… is just as close to using God’s name in vain as a lousy cuss word.  If you tell someone you’ll pray for them but don’t…it is like the pharisee in the courts who is praying out loud in public so his religion can be seen by everyone.

Strong words… but telling someone you’ll pray for them just so you have the “right words to say” is a total lack of understanding of faith and God’s provision for us.

When you offer prayer… you are unlocking the power of Christ and God Almighty on the face adversity.  The book of James reminds us that “the prayers of righteous men (people) are powerful and effective”.  This is not something you casually toss out and don’t follow thorugh with.  The hurting soul and the person melting inside clings to these words and hopefully waits to experiences the comforting hand of the Creator of the Universe.   If you’re not going to pray for someone… please don’t mislead them.  I’m sure you would want the same in the times of your own adversity.

I’m not perfect.  I have said those words and not meant them, nor followed up on them.  I confess that to you and have confessed that to God.  I will never weild that sword unless I plan to use it.  I believe that prayer changes lives… I’ve seen it and I’ve experienced it.  I am grateful for the people who pray for me… I know they mean it and I know they do.  It has and does change my life.

In the words of my very wise grandfather:  ”say what you mean… and mean what you say”.

Grace and Peace,
Greg Arnold
Acts 4:31

About

Welcome, and thanks for dragging yourself over to Live|Bold! My name is Greg Arnold and I am pumped to see you here. This interactive online community is here to point every man toward the cross. Whether you have been a follower of Christ for ages, or you are just stumbling into this strange new world of faith, we have something of value to offer you. This online e-zine is a cross between a blog, a social network, a resource center, and a pulpit. My hope is to inspire you to live your faith on the outside and be a real man for God. We need you in the fight.