At camp (EWALU) last summer, all of the LTs (young adult counselors) had a prayer night where there were many stations to pray at or write stuff down. At one of the stations, we wrote down on a piece of paper what we needed praying for. Then in return, we took other peoples’ cards and prayed for what was on them. I know I read and prayed for many of them. No names were written. So we just prayed for that person and we knew that God would get His answer to the right person.
People need to be prayed for. Not just those we think are in need, but everyone. It can be hard to pray for someone else, because you don’t always have the whole story or they don’t tell or show that they are in need. Most people hide their problems even from those closest to them. I know that on those pieces of paper I couldn’t tell who it was by what they wrote, and couldn’t pinpoint what the issues were in their life. And I can tell you, we all got pretty close to each other and I still couldn’t tell. I could have had my best friend’s prayer need in my hand and still not have known. People usually don’t open up their deep secrets or thoughts. I knew, though, that God could pinpoint these people.
I remember when my youth group went to Detroit. Before we left, all of us got in a circle, even our parents, and we prayed for safe travels and to help the people of Detroit. Plus we prayed for Cedar Rapids and our parents, to make sure they would be okay. I often hear prayers for people’s safe travel and general safety. This shows that even people who are pretty well off are being prayed for, too.
But we also can’t forget those who may not get any prayers at all, such as people that are much less fortunate then us. People in third world countries. Most people wouldn’t even think of praying for them. It’s interesting what people might pray for. Honestly, I try not to always pray for myself and instead pray for people I saw through the day. This is harder, because praying for yourself is so much easier. You know all your own struggles and things to be thankful for. But we have to always remember that we aren’t the only people in the world. There are people that need way more then us – physically, mentally, and spiritually. So to challenge yourself, next time you pray, pray for people who need spiritual guidance, people who are in need of mental help and those who are physically ill or in need of food, water or shelter.
Abbie Haller