Who Do You Pray For?

Who do you pray for when you pray. Is your prayer focused mainly on your needs and desires or do you pray for others? Maybe both.

Last night at The Outreach Center in Morganton, N.C. I was taking out groceries for a gentleman. Once we have them unloaded, we always ask if they need prayer. Most everyone does, but this fellow just smiled and said my week is going great, I don't need prayer. It sent a chill through me, because all his weeks will not be great. When the dark times come, I pray that he will be wise enough to accept prayer and the Lord Jesus Christ into his life.

Mike Stroud, the AGR Music Director, told me the story of praying for an individual who had accepted an alter call. Mike said the guy was crying and really shook up. When asked what area needed pray, the guy said to pray for minutes for his cell phone. All of his had been used and the month was not over. Mike said it was a struggle not to laugh.

Do we really consider what we're praying for and about, and who we are praying for. Do you pray for those that persecute, hate, mock, and would love to see you dead? We should. It's easy to pray for people that like you. It's more of a challenge to pray for those that hate you. But that's exactly what we must do. The Bible commands us to love and pray for our enemies.

So the next time you're praying, pray for those that despise, hate, detest, and just don't like you. Ask the Lord to soften their heart and pray that they will come to know his love, mercy, and grace.

Prayer-Part 2

We talked about prayer yesterday and the people you pray for. Today the prayer topic continues from a different perspective.

First of all a survey. If you look hard enough you can find a survey on any topic. I found this one on prayer. It’s about 2 years old and conducted by U.S. News and World Report:

• 64 percent said they pray more than once a day.
• 65 percent said their prayers relate to health.
• 56 percent say they most often pray for family members.
• 3.3 percent said they pray for strangers.
• 41 percent say that their prayers are answered often.
• 74 percent say that when their prayers are not answered the most important reason is that they did not fit into God's plan.

The poll was based on the response of 5,600 participants.

I include this only because it seemed interesting, though the number that pray for strangers seems very low, only 3.3%.

There were also responses to the survey. I was struck by the comments of a non-believer.

I have never knelt at my bed, pressed my palms with my fingers tight together and asked for or about anything. Therefore I have no concept about why there are millions of children and adults who do.

I have never sat on a mat and knelt and bowed toward Mecca and asked for inspiration and holy direction and directives

I have never ceremonially done anything to ask God for anything. And for me to try would be like asking questions of Santa Claus. However, millions of people have a connection that they need and desire and welcome into their lives. They don't need me to say it, but I have absolutely nothing against their vision of faith and belief. I have no animosity in my heart or mind against what others hold deeply in theirs.

Sitting through Christian weddings, as well as funerals of people I did not personally know, my main feeling in church is bemusement. Not superiority of any kind, just a complete disconnect from what is being said. People I know, people who are my friends speak of a fidelity to God and devotion and living according to God's law. I have a friend I've known since community college who's a missionary, who has gone to Israel and Mexico and other places around the world to try and convert men and women and children to Christianity.

And she occasionally asks me about my agnosticism and, though she has said once or twice that I might end up in hell, I don't hold it against her and in a twist of some kind of irony I don't condemn her for condemning me to a place I don't think exists. That's because she's willing to put that aside for friendship.

Personally, that's all I ask. At this point, I'm 33, but probably since I was a sentient being, there wasn't going to be anything that would make me believe in God. Any god. That's just the way it is. I don't make any apologies for who I have always been and I don't want salvation.

I have no faith.

Though I don't think one exists, the existence of God is a fascinating question. But I'm not going to try and convince anybody of that because I have no answers. How did humans came to exist? How come we are perhaps the only species to be able to question our existence?

I don't know but if you believe in God you don't either. But you do have a tremendous faith in the power of God.

Faith is something you have or you don't. Just saying "It is God's will" is beyond my comprehension, but as long as someone does not insist that I believe that, I enjoy knowing they have a strong faith; I enjoy knowing that there are people who have the will power, the purpose and the strength of being to continue to believe.

I would praise every facet of religion if I didn't see people trying to change society toward their idea of God. Most of these people who work at the national level rather than in their community lack morality. They have belief but they think that alone equals morality. If they are right in that belief, their soul has long ago withered.

People who continually say I'm going to hell become annoying because they are not understanding that I don't agree. Saying something over and over is not going to convince me of anything except that you are on a power trip. Believe me. I cannot comprehend. It's not anything of which I'm afraid.

For many hell is a place on earth and improving that is where my interests lie and that goal is also shared by many with a to-the-core belief in God. But not by all.

People who pray do so for a reason, and I remain open-minded enough to be curious.