I remember very distinctly a phone call that I got at that time from a woman at my church. She was calling to find out the situation so they could "know how to pray."
Now, maybe I'm too sensitive (ok....I know I am), but I was instantly disgusted. While I appreciated any prayer we got from our friends, I felt like this woman was really just feeding her curiosity.
I bring this up because my mom asked me to pray for a friend of hers last night. All I know is that she is going through what is the hardest time of her life (one that's lasted 60+ years, so this must be big). Whatever it is brings a lot of embarrassment to this woman, and she asked my mom not to share any details.
So, what did I do? I prayed.
See we don't need to know about the situation, because honestly, our understanding is pretty darn insufficient anyway. That's why the Spirit and Jesus pray with and for us (Rom. 8:26, Hb. 7:25).
It's our hearts that matter in prayer, and pretending that we'll know how to pray because we know the details is a pretty shallow habit. Pretending that God acts based on our understanding of someone's needs is even worse.
But the positive side is this: our prayers are still effective (Js. 5:16). They are aromatic offerings to God (Ps. 141:2, Rev. 5:8).
So, when we don't know what to pray, we pray anyway. Because God looks at whether we intend goodness and not whether we understand his will.
Such a good post and so true. So often (women especially) we ask to know the details more for our own good than for the prayers that we offer. God already knows the situation; He doesn't need us to tell Him the details. He just wants us to pray.
ReplyDeleteSomethings that people can pray for on behalf of others when they don't know the situation:
*Comfort
*Strength
*Wisdom
*Friends to support them
*Patience
Also, they can drop the person a card/email to let them know that they are praying. Those cards are often such great encouragements to the person going through the hard time.
Something that SOOOO needs to be addressed! Thanks, Sarah! We have had people ask that so many times and I just get so mad. Esp. when the few times I did indulge in detail, soon the whole lot of that particular social circle knew the details...
ReplyDeleteJust pray.
Good grief. We pray for people all of the time. God knows what's going on...
Very true. The fact is that God knows everything about that situation, probably more than the person involved that we are praying for does.
ReplyDeleteGossiping is probably one of the easiest traps we fall into as Christians. I'd be lying if I said it's a temptation I didn't struggle with despite the fact it angers me.