How to Pray for the People You Loveনমুনা

Have you ever been tempted to give up when praying?

If so, you aren't the only one! It can feel lonely when you're seemingly the only one praying about a situation. It can also feel frustrating when God isn't moving in the way you want. It can even feel discouraging when it becomes clear that God's timing isn't yours.

For the last several years, I have been praying for a friend. I want this friend to put his faith in Christ and make profound changes. But neither of those things is my choice. He has to be open to God's work in his heart, make different choices, and want different things. So far, none of those things are happening.

Part of me feels alone in this prayer, as others have given up on him. Part of me is frustrated because I know how Jesus could improve his life. Another part of me is discouraged because I feel weary in this prayer.

These feelings surfaced when I was writing a sermon on prayer recently. During that preparation, I realized something that I had never considered before. This realization is an important principle that will encourage you if you feel lonely, frustrated, or discouraged in your prayers for others.

This is the second key principle in this plan - when you are interceding, you are never praying alone!

James 5 discusses intercession in the context of community. Many people have heard the words of James 5, in which the half-brother of Jesus encourages us to confess our sins and intercede for each other. He states, "The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective." We often think about intercession based on the idea that our prayers are powerful.

But, according to James, we aren't just praying for other people; we are praying with other people. The context for these powerful and effective prayers is confession. This kind of confession and intercession creates a path to healing. So, if you've been interceding alone like I was in that prayer chapel, please know that you can intercede in community, too. You can pray for people, and you can pray with people, too!

Intercession isn't only a human activity. Consider what Paul describes in Romans 8:34 about Jesus interceding for us. "Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us." As you intercede for the people you love, Jesus is interceding for you.

Not only that but according to Hebrews 4, Jesus is interceding for us in light of His human experience on earth. Therefore, His intercession included empathy and compassion for our temptations. I can't tell you how much it encourages me to know that Jesus is praying for me right now. I hope it inspires you to know that Jesus is praying for you right now, too.

But the encouragement doesn't stop there. You may have experienced exhaustion or weariness in prayer. Maybe you've prayed for so long that you don't have any more words. If you've been in that space emotionally or are there right now, hear this good news from Romans 8. Paul writes, "We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans."

Did you catch that? The Holy Spirit prays for us when we have nothing left. In our weakness, the prayers of the Spirit are strong!

When you don't know what to pray for or how to pray, you don't have to give up. You can invite someone to pray with you. You can remember that Jesus is praying for you. You can surrender to the Holy Spirit, who will pray for you.

When you are interceding, remember - you are never praying alone.

Interceding isn't easy, so tomorrow, we'll explore one of the difficult questions this kind of prayer raises. If prayer has ever challenged your faith, you'll want to keep reading.