Most of us have found ourselves offering a prayer to someone in need. The Bible tells us that it is important to pray. In the Bible, 1 Thessalonians 5:17 says to pray without ceasing. We are to pray for every situation in our lives. What if I were to tell you that people need more than prayer sometimes?
Offering a prayer is almost like a knee-jerk reaction to every situation. The protocol that we have been conditioned implement is to say a prayer for someone. I am not diminishing the power of prayer or the instructions that are given to us in the Bible in regards to prayer. Sometimes telling someone that you will say a prayer for them is insulting. Let me explain. Take a situation in your life that you have submerged yourself in prayer with. Think of things like a broken marriage, a death of a loved one, a life long medical condition. If you have been praying for your situation for years, would you appreciate someone telling you “I'm sorry to hear about your situation, I will make sure to pray for you”?
When confronted with a situation like this, you may ask yourself what could this person possibly pray for that I haven't prayed for before? Instead of showing sincerity, you instead find yourself following good-Christian protocol. I realize that some people do not know what to say other than offering a prayer. What I challenge you to do is reciprocate other actions found in the Bible. Look at the examples that Jesus gave.
1 Corinthians 11:1 NASB Be imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ.
Offering a prayer is the bare minimum we should do.
My grandmother always told me to put foot to prayer. Meaning that you don't just sit there and pray. Instead, you act and pray for your actions. Remember in the Bible when Jesus washed the feet of the disciples. He didn't pray for the disciples to have clean feet. The purpose of cleaning the disciple's feet was to show that we should be a humble servant towards others. More often then not, our actions are more powerful than our words. Anyone can look up a Bible verse and preach it to someone. Not everyone can act as Christ did towards others.
Our actions towards others are more important than anything that we tell them we will be praying for. How we act out our prayers is being humble servants. Many times this is exhibited though an outward expression. I remember when my cousin died. Instead of offering only prayers, our Church family provided food, services and anything else we needed. It was a combination of all things Biblical that helped us cope with the loss in our family. There is something so special about giving that surpasses words alone. The gift of one's selflessness is a true way to show your Christ-like character.
