In its simplest form, prayer is when the posture of your heart communicates your desire to connect with God.
A great way to start is by praying for someone important to you. When you pray for someone intentionally and specifically, two meaningful things can begin to happen:
- You start to look for God more intentionally in the midst of life – specifically in that person’s life. You look for and listen for God’s Spirit with greater interest, desiring to be used by him to make a difference.
- As you pray, the posture of your own heart changes. The process of praying for someone can cause you to care about them more deeply. When you invite someone into your prayer life, you open up your heart to be changed by God. As our Founding Pastor Carey Nieuwhof says, “Prayer isn’t a button to be pushed but a relationship to be pursued.” If you are looking for more on prayer, here’s a series called Grown Up Prayers that we did last year with Andy Stanley. And a Hearing From God series from me.
Spiritual Experiment
So here’s a spiritual experiment you can try. Choose to get in someone’s corner by praying for them, and see where God shows up in their life and in yours. No one loves that person–including you–more than he does. Here are a few things to help you get started.
- Start: pray for them by name, regularly. Often when it comes to something like this, the best thing you can do is just start. Simply write down the name of the person you want to pray for – this serves as a reminder and a tool to hold you accountable. Second, pick a place and time where you will pray for them. It might be in your favourite chair, on your commute, or during the daily time you connect with God.
- Put yourself in their shoes. Think about them. Their needs, their wants, and their dreams. Pray for these things. Then try to look at them through the lens of God’s love. What would our loving God want for them? Pray that God would show up in their life. That His kingdom would come and his will would be done for them. If you aren’t sure where to start, Jesus gives an example of prayer in Matthew 6:5-13. Pray this prayer for that person.
- Ask how you can pray for them. Often a simple offer to pray for someone can be such a meaningful way to care for and minister to them. Most people will say yes and appreciate your heart for them, even if they aren’t sure that there is a God who exists. When you hear a need or a dream, offer to pray over that for them. Most people are in favour of being prayed for and are amazed when God shows up.
- Watch for God to show up. It will all be in God’s timing, but look for how He shows up in circumstances and situations. Look for how He is acting and moving in their life. Pay attention to how He is changing your heart as you pray. To me, this is one of the most exciting parts of praying for someone!
Have there been any ways you’ve prayed for people that have been particularly encouraging? Have you seen an answer to prayer that you would love to share? We would love to hear from you! Feel free to email Jeff Brodie at [email protected].
For additional encouragement, check out this message from our Scandalous series:
