CONSEQUENCES OF PRAYING

When people start praying intently for others, I would assume that they rarely think about the consequences. Becoming more disciplined at supplication likely comes from a sense of duty, care for others, or a combination of both. Hopefully, these posts have inspired you to pray more often for others. If you have increased your prayer time, you might have already noticed some changes. We’ve talked about praying for your family and friends, but adding this next group of people to your list might have the most consequences. Let’s talk about praying for the people around you at your job or school.

I can’t even try to guess the specific and complex variety of the people around you each day. Co-workers, bosses, employees, employers, teachers, professors, students, peers, people you see daily, people you meet occasionally, people older, people younger, same culture, different culture, same city, different country, Christian, non-christian… you get the picture. Although I don’t know who surrounds you, I do know prayer for this group is sometimes the most intimidating. Don’t believe me? Keep reading!

Pray for the Christians. Do you know if you work or go to school with Christians? If you don’t know, ask around. It can be so encouraging to discover a like-minded acquaintance. It reminds you of God’s sovereignty for bringing you to the same place and provides an ally against the world. They might have different secondary doctrines than you, but you can learn from each other. Plus, your love for one another could be the perfect way to share the gospel with others since the world will know we are Christians by our love for each other (John 13:35).

Pray for the non-christians. Add them to your list of requests. In addition, don’t just assume someone is a true believer if they say they go to church or believe in God. Be intentional about bringing up spiritual matters with the people around you. Simply talk about your church or what you’re reading in your Bible or a spiritual theme that you noticed in the movie you watched. It won’t necessarily always be the gospel, but at least they will know you are a Christian. If you don’t know where to begin, remember that opportunities to talk with non-Christians starts with prayer. Pray specifically for times to talk about spiritual things, wisdom in how to answer, purity to live like Christ, and boldness to proclaim truth (Col. 4:2-6). Now do you think it’s kind of scary?

Pray WITH the non-christians. Remember how I said there are consequences to praying? This could change everything. Do you ever ask coworkers for prayer requests? Do you ever offer to pray with a fellow student who is stressed about an upcoming test? Whatever your circumstances, even the staunchest atheist might give you a prayer request if they are going through a major life crisis. Praying with non-christians can open so many doors! But it also could cause persecution or loss of a job or being passed over for a promotion. Take a moment to consider what could change if you prayed with people. Is it worth it?

Praying for others is most definitely worth the cost. Of course, we should approach each situation with wisdom and still work at our jobs or finish a class. But if we’re honest, we can probably think of lots of times it would have been the perfect time to talk with someone and we blew it. Those are the times I’m talking about. The times we miss because we are too comfortable or fearful. Are you willing to pray for and with the people around you? Don’t avoid sharing the truth. Pray and watch God work. You won’t be disappointed.

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