Prayer

I hate asking people to pray for me.

I know that seems bizarre, but I really do. When I was little, I could always come up with something during prayer request time in Sunday School, but back then, we all did because we thought we had to. We spent many Sundays praying for the Yankees. It didn't seem to help.

As I've gotten older, I developed this idea that I shouldn't ask people to pray for me. I have no idea where that idea came from. It became fully ingrained into my way of thinking, to the point where I felt guilty if I asked someone to pray for me. I felt like it was almost a spiritual form of whining. What right do I have to ask people to pray for me? My problems aren't nearly as bad as Person A, B or C, so I'm being utterly selfish by asking someone else to pray for me.

That started to change when I went to college. I learned that it was, in fact, okay for one Christian to ask another to pray for specific needs. I'll admit, I practically became infatuated with the idea of everyone lifting each other up in prayer. It was so great to know that I could go to others with my needs, large or small, and to know that I wouldn't receive judgment for asking for help. Even more than that, I felt like I could actually do something for people by praying for them. It seemed like such a great idea - since everyone is praying for each other, we can all ask each other for prayer, and no one needs to feel guilty that he or she is "hogging" all the prayer time.

But then something happened. Something changed this year, and I'm not quite sure what it was. Perhaps people consider me to be less trustworthy. Perhaps every one's problems were miraculously solved. Whatever the cause, people stopped asking for prayer. Sure, they would complain about everything from A to Z, but after describing some sort of pain, annoyance or difficult situation, very few people would ever say "So yeah, I'd really appreciate some prayer about that". Maybe it's just part of a "Christian culture" that everyone assumes that if they complain about something, others will interpret that as a prayer request. But that seems like a silly assumption to me. And since no one else seemed to be asking for prayer, every time I asked someone to pray for me, I began to feel guilty again. I kept going to my friends, asking if there was anything I could do for them, or pray about for them, and more times than not, they'd smile and say that no, they couldn't think of anything.

And we wonder why folks call the Church fake.

When Jesus wasn't working, He was praying. And He wasn't afraid to ask people to pray with Him - even though the disciples fell asleep, Jesus still kept asking them to pray.

Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise. Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective. James 5:13-16, NIV (emphasis added)

I'd like to offer a two-part challenge: go ask someone to pray for you, even if it's simply an "unspoken" request. Then, ask someone how you can pray for them. We can't help each other too much.