Therefore confess your sins to one another,
and pray for one another, so that you may be healed.
The prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective.
James 5:16
Again, I say to you,
if two of you agree on earth about anything for which they are to pray,
it shall be granted to them by my heavenly Father.
Mt 18:19
and pray for one another, so that you may be healed.
The prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective.
James 5:16
Again, I say to you,
if two of you agree on earth about anything for which they are to pray,
it shall be granted to them by my heavenly Father.
Mt 18:19
The Challenge of Praying for Others
While most Christians are aware that we are supposed to pray for each other, it can be challenging in our fast paced and separated world to know what issues people are facing. Two methods people commonly use are prayer chains and asking for prayer requests.
The Problem With Prayer Chains
When I belonged to prayer chains at various churches, I would occasionally get a message asking me to pray for an individual due to an injury, illness or other issue they were facing—and that was it! I never heard any more about that individual. I didn’t know if they were healed or their problem was solved, or if they needed further prayer.
The Problem with Prayer Requests
At the end of prayer meetings or Bible studies we would typically be asked for prayer requests, and over the next ten minutes or so various people would relate issues they or their family members were experiencing. I would try to take notes so I could continue to pray for these people, but it went fairly quickly, and as I was writing down one person’s request, I missed what the next person was saying, so I gave up on that. After all that time spent talking about our problems, someone would do a quick summary prayer for everyone that only lasted about a minute or so.
Mounting Frustration
It’s important to pray for each other, but to do that, we need to know what issues people are facing, and to learn how God has answered our prayers or if there are further issues to pray about. At one point I was singing in a small choir, and our leader used to ask for any prayer requests prior to our practices. We experienced all the issues mentioned above—it was taking time from our practice, and it didn’t result in any effective ongoing prayer for each other.
Prayer Update List
I decided to start an email prayer list so we could easily pray for our friends in the choir and their families. With the approval of our choir director, I sent an email to all our members asking them to send me any prayer requests, emphasizing that it had to be prayers for themselves, close family and friends. I started a list of those prayer requests, and whenever someone sent me a new request or an update, I added it to the list and sent the list out to everyone else. By keeping the latest message, we all had a list of prayer requests we could use to pray at any time: at home, at church, waiting for an appointment, while eating, etc. Sometimes I would only send the updated prayer list out once or twice a month; occasionally I sent it out several times in one day as new prayer requests and praises came in.
Adding Praise
I know it’s a radical concept, but God really does answer our prayers! Within a few weeks of starting the Prayer List, people started sending me the answers to their prayers, and I added them to the list that I now called the Prayer and Praise List.
Benefits
- We were praying effectively for each other.
- We kept praying for as long as needed—several years in some cases.
- We were experiencing the loving mercy of God as He answered our prayers.
- This strengthened our faith, and made us more likely to share God’s love with others.
- We got to know each other better and started to help each other more.
- We no longer needed to ask for prayer requests before practice.
Starting a Prayer and Praise List - Here is everything you need to get started:
Initial Information Email:
PRAYING FOR EACH OTHER/PRAISING GOD FOR ANSWERS
It’s important to pray for each other, but to do that, we need to know what issues people are facing that we can pray about. I'm starting a Prayer and Praise email list so we can easily pray for our members and their family members, and can praise God when our prayers are answered. Here is how it would work:
1. Anyone with a prayer request or an answer to prayer would send me an email with enough information to allow us to pray for them about that issue or praise God for His answer.
2. I will add that request/praise to the current list and send out an updated list.
3. The new information will be in bold to stand out from the other information already on the list.
4. By keeping only the most recent message, the current list of prayer requests and praises will always be available on your computer or smart phone so you can pray through the list whenever convenient—for example:
- First thing in the morning
- While in the waiting room for an appointment
- Before Mass
- In the Adoration Chapel
- Just before going to sleep
5. Prayer requests must be for ourselves and our close family members and friends that we really care about. Prayers for our country, world peace or the latest tragedy in the news are wonderful, but the purpose of this list is to focus on the personal needs of our group.
6. Please let me know:
- of any significant changes to the situation, so I can update the information on the list.
- when and how a prayer is answered so we can praise God.
- when I can remove a prayer request from the list.
Groups who have used this method have found that praying for each other really helps people get to know each other, plus as God answers prayers, it gives us lots of reasons to praise Him!
Thanks,
Name
Email Address
Sample Prayer and Praise Message Format:
PRAYER AND PRAISE LIST
Date
- New or updated entries are in Bold.
- Keep the latest message so you can pray wherever you are.
- Please let me know about any changes so we can pray specifically for your needs, and praise God for answered prayers. Thanks!
John
Praise God of my son’s recovery! Please pray for his continued healing, strength and peace in maintaining a normal life.
Jim
Thanks for your prayers for Tom, he is starting to regain his strength and is able to do a few simple activities each day.
Beth
Praise God – the recent scan showed my daughter’s tumors have shrunk or disappeared.
Please pray for continued healing from the cancer.
Bob
Thanks for your prayers for my sister. She is doing better. There are a lot of things she still can't do. Fibromyalgia and knee problems make cardio rehab difficult.
Amy
Praise God - John has completed rehab and moved to a recovery center halfway house. Please pray for his continued progress reintegrating into normal life.
While most Christians are aware that we are supposed to pray for each other, it can be challenging in our fast paced and separated world to know what issues people are facing. Two methods people commonly use are prayer chains and asking for prayer requests.
The Problem With Prayer Chains
When I belonged to prayer chains at various churches, I would occasionally get a message asking me to pray for an individual due to an injury, illness or other issue they were facing—and that was it! I never heard any more about that individual. I didn’t know if they were healed or their problem was solved, or if they needed further prayer.
The Problem with Prayer Requests
At the end of prayer meetings or Bible studies we would typically be asked for prayer requests, and over the next ten minutes or so various people would relate issues they or their family members were experiencing. I would try to take notes so I could continue to pray for these people, but it went fairly quickly, and as I was writing down one person’s request, I missed what the next person was saying, so I gave up on that. After all that time spent talking about our problems, someone would do a quick summary prayer for everyone that only lasted about a minute or so.
Mounting Frustration
It’s important to pray for each other, but to do that, we need to know what issues people are facing, and to learn how God has answered our prayers or if there are further issues to pray about. At one point I was singing in a small choir, and our leader used to ask for any prayer requests prior to our practices. We experienced all the issues mentioned above—it was taking time from our practice, and it didn’t result in any effective ongoing prayer for each other.
Prayer Update List
I decided to start an email prayer list so we could easily pray for our friends in the choir and their families. With the approval of our choir director, I sent an email to all our members asking them to send me any prayer requests, emphasizing that it had to be prayers for themselves, close family and friends. I started a list of those prayer requests, and whenever someone sent me a new request or an update, I added it to the list and sent the list out to everyone else. By keeping the latest message, we all had a list of prayer requests we could use to pray at any time: at home, at church, waiting for an appointment, while eating, etc. Sometimes I would only send the updated prayer list out once or twice a month; occasionally I sent it out several times in one day as new prayer requests and praises came in.
Adding Praise
I know it’s a radical concept, but God really does answer our prayers! Within a few weeks of starting the Prayer List, people started sending me the answers to their prayers, and I added them to the list that I now called the Prayer and Praise List.
Benefits
- We were praying effectively for each other.
- We kept praying for as long as needed—several years in some cases.
- We were experiencing the loving mercy of God as He answered our prayers.
- This strengthened our faith, and made us more likely to share God’s love with others.
- We got to know each other better and started to help each other more.
- We no longer needed to ask for prayer requests before practice.
Starting a Prayer and Praise List - Here is everything you need to get started:
Initial Information Email:
PRAYING FOR EACH OTHER/PRAISING GOD FOR ANSWERS
It’s important to pray for each other, but to do that, we need to know what issues people are facing that we can pray about. I'm starting a Prayer and Praise email list so we can easily pray for our members and their family members, and can praise God when our prayers are answered. Here is how it would work:
1. Anyone with a prayer request or an answer to prayer would send me an email with enough information to allow us to pray for them about that issue or praise God for His answer.
2. I will add that request/praise to the current list and send out an updated list.
3. The new information will be in bold to stand out from the other information already on the list.
4. By keeping only the most recent message, the current list of prayer requests and praises will always be available on your computer or smart phone so you can pray through the list whenever convenient—for example:
- First thing in the morning
- While in the waiting room for an appointment
- Before Mass
- In the Adoration Chapel
- Just before going to sleep
5. Prayer requests must be for ourselves and our close family members and friends that we really care about. Prayers for our country, world peace or the latest tragedy in the news are wonderful, but the purpose of this list is to focus on the personal needs of our group.
6. Please let me know:
- of any significant changes to the situation, so I can update the information on the list.
- when and how a prayer is answered so we can praise God.
- when I can remove a prayer request from the list.
Groups who have used this method have found that praying for each other really helps people get to know each other, plus as God answers prayers, it gives us lots of reasons to praise Him!
Thanks,
Name
Email Address
Sample Prayer and Praise Message Format:
PRAYER AND PRAISE LIST
Date
- New or updated entries are in Bold.
- Keep the latest message so you can pray wherever you are.
- Please let me know about any changes so we can pray specifically for your needs, and praise God for answered prayers. Thanks!
John
Praise God of my son’s recovery! Please pray for his continued healing, strength and peace in maintaining a normal life.
Jim
Thanks for your prayers for Tom, he is starting to regain his strength and is able to do a few simple activities each day.
Beth
Praise God – the recent scan showed my daughter’s tumors have shrunk or disappeared.
Please pray for continued healing from the cancer.
Bob
Thanks for your prayers for my sister. She is doing better. There are a lot of things she still can't do. Fibromyalgia and knee problems make cardio rehab difficult.
Amy
Praise God - John has completed rehab and moved to a recovery center halfway house. Please pray for his continued progress reintegrating into normal life.