![]() The focus should be on God, His power and love, and the emotional/physical healing we are asking Him to carry out. This is not our time to shine trying to come up with eloquent prayers that shift the attention to us, rather than God. Whatever ultimately happens when we pray with someone is between God and that person. When praying with someone, the foundation of our prayer should be humility and we should raise our minds and hearts to God in our petitions to Him (CCC 2559). We can flesh out our prayers for any need in the way described above, whether someone is in need for spiritual strength, physical healing or just a little pick-me-up when things are a bit rough. With illness comes physical weakness, frustration, impatience, the desire for healing, etc. Similarly, if someone who is sick asks you to pray for them, it’s easy to empathize with that situation. We pray O Lord that You fill Joe’s heart with Your peace and presence, so that his heart, which is filled with sorrow right now, may be filled with You instead.” Thank you O God for the gift that his Dad was in his life. Give him the strength he needs to carry the burden of his sadness and grief. Speak into the different dimensions of the situation and pray for each of these needs in a clear and simple way, asking the Lord to bring His presence into each area.įor example: “Lord, I pray for Joe as he deals with his father’s passing. They’re trying to make sense of the range of emotions they’re feeling. They’re looking for mental and/or emotional strength to cope with their sorrow. Undoubtedly, they’re looking for comfort. A great way to pray with someone is to draw some of our inspiration from a point of empathy.įor example, if someone just lost a loved one, picture yourself in their situation. More than being a prayer, our words can also be a source of comfort and strength to the person we’re praying over. This will help determine how long we could pray for that person before they start to get uncomfortable (in any case, we can never go wrong with keeping things short and simple). It also helps to quickly gauge, as best as possible, where the person we are praying with is in their walk of faith. I continue to be amazed at the words that come forth from my lips, when I allow myself to be guided by the Holy Spirit, even if my prayer is only a few words long. What do we say?īefore we start to pray, it’s a good idea to pause for a quick second and ask the Holy Spirit to give us the words to pray in that given scenario. This realization can work wonders in both the spiritual and physical life of anyone. The person we’re praying for knows at that moment that God and we have their back. God’s response to an open heart that is calling to Him, is additionally supplemented by our human expression of love. By praying with someone right there and then, and physically reaching out in some form, we tangibly demonstrate our love for them. Praying with our whole being – body and spirit – gives all power possible to our prayer requests (CCC 2702). Something in each of us appreciates physical contact – whether that’s through facing them and laying our hands on their shoulders, holding their hands or whatever else feels comfortable at the time. What I usually do is face the person who has asked me to pray for them and ask if I can place my hands on their shoulders. There’s something that happens when we seize the moment and pray over someone as soon as they ask for prayer, because in that moment, the person is most cooperative with the grace of the Holy Spirit. ![]() The keys to praying with someone are relying on the Holy Spirit and realizing that it is God, not us, who brings about any change in the person we are praying with. How long do we pray for that person? Should we place our hands on them while praying? How will we know what to say in our prayer?įortunately, there are no rules set in stone about how we ought to pray with someone else. ![]() Many people are hesitant to pray with someone spontaneously because of the fear of looking foolish. ![]() Instead, one thing we can do when someone asks us to pray for them is to promptly ask the person, “Would it be alright for me to pray for you right now?” The common practice is that we promise to pray for that person, putting it off to some point in the future (that, let’s be honest, doesn’t always occur). People often ask us to pray for them, whether they’re facing challenges personally, at home, at work, or they’re battling a particular illness. ![]()
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