Couldn't Have Said it Better Myself

Give thanks to the Lord and proclaim his greatness.

Let the whole world know what he has done.

Sing to him; yes, sing his praises.

Tell everyone about his wonderful deeds.

Exult in his holy name;

rejoice, you who worship the Lord.

Search for the Lord and for his strength;

continually seek him.

Remember the wonders he has performed,

his miracles, and the rulings he has given,

you children of his servant Israel,

you descendants of Jacob, his chosen ones.

He is the Lord our God.

His justice is seen throughout the land.

Remember his covenant forever—

the commitment he made to a thousand generations.

This is the covenant he made with Abraham

and the oath he swore to Isaac.

He confirmed it to Jacob as a decree,

and to the people of Israel as a never-ending covenant:

“I will give you the land of Canaan

as your special possession.”

He said this when you were few in number,

a tiny group of strangers in Canaan.

They wandered from nation to nation,

from one kingdom to another.

Yet he did not let anyone oppress them.

He warned kings on their behalf:

“Do not touch my chosen people,

and do not hurt my prophets.”

Let the whole earth sing to the Lord!

Each day proclaim the good news that he saves.

Publish his glorious deeds among the nations.

Tell everyone about the amazing things he does.

Great is the Lord! He is most worthy of praise!

He is to be feared above all gods.

The gods of other nations are mere idols,

but the Lord made the heavens!

Honor and majesty surround him;

strength and joy fill his dwelling.

O nations of the world, recognize the Lord,

recognize that the Lord is glorious and strong.

Give to the Lord the glory he deserves!

Bring your offering and come into his presence.

Worship the Lord in all his holy splendor.

Let all the earth tremble before him.

The world stands firm and cannot be shaken.

Let the heavens be glad, and the earth rejoice!

Tell all the nations, “The Lord reigns!”

Let the sea and everything in it shout his praise!

Let the fields and their crops burst out with joy!

Let the trees of the forest rustle with praise,

for the Lord is coming to judge the earth.

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good!

His faithful love endures forever.

Cry out, “Save us, O God of our salvation!

Gather and rescue us from among the nations,

so we can thank your holy name

and rejoice and praise you.”

Praise the Lord, the God of Israel,

who lives from everlasting to everlasting!

And all the people shouted “Amen!” and praised the Lord.

1 Chronicles 16:8-36 (NLT)

Sure I'll pray for you. But...

Prayer hasn't been one of my strongest attributes.

I get a lot of prayer requests - so many people are hurting, whether physically, mentally or spiritually, or some combination of those. I have to admit: I get lazy sometimes. I'll say some quick "meet all their needs" prayer, without really listening to the Holy Spirit's prompting, and then not think about it again. I know God knows what each person needs, but when I say I'm going to pray about something, I should do it, wholeheartedly.

So I made some changes recently.

It's so easy to get into the habit of writing down the prayer requests from people and simply asking God to answer their specific request. Would that be wrong? No. It's what they asked for. But I find lately that it isn't enough. Sometimes, what someone is asking for isn't what they really need. If you ask for healing in your body, I may also pray for healing in your spirit. If you ask for success in your job, I may also pray for a deeper relationship with the Father so that the success of this world is not what you seek after. If you ask for clarity, I may also pray that you will trust God has a plan and wants you to be a part of it. If you ask for your circumstances to be changed, I may also pray that you be changed from the inside out and that you become a catalyst to change your environment. "We cry out to God and ask Him to heal our land, to heal our circumstances, to heal our finances. But before He can do any of that, He must heal our hearts." -Adam Cooke

Let me clarify that I do not suggest to know what someone needs. But the Holy Spirit does. And it's important to remember to listen for His guidance as we pray, both for ourselves and for others.

Sometimes, it would bother me when I would hear (or see online) one ask for prayer, and another respond, "I prayed for you", or my favorite "Done". Now that done is not a "consider it done" but a "I did, now on to my next task". Then I remembered, I do that. When we ask, we should continue to ask, like this, or like this. Paul tell us to pray continually.

I was at work a couple of weeks ago and I had just turned on some music. A song I hadn't heard in a while came on called Pray by Kendall Payne. I remember this song challenging me when I first heard it. Right after it started, I got a text message:

Pray.

As I listened to the words of the song, I prayed for my friend. It didn't matter that I didn't know what they needed. It didn't matter that I wasn't with them to help them get through whatever they were experiencing. They didn't need me. They needed a touch from the Father. So I prayed. And I kept praying.

Check out these words.

Pray
by Kendall Payne

I will pray for you now, for you have been my faithful friends
While the road we walk is difficult indeed
I couldn't not ask for more than what you've already been
Only that you would say these prayers for me

May your heart break enough that compassion enters in
May your strength all be spent upon the weak
All the castles and crowns you build and place upon your head
May they all fall, come crashing down around your feet

May you find every step to be harder than the last
So your character grows greater every stride
May your company be of human insignificance
May your weakness be your only source of pride

What you do unto others may it all be done to you
May you meet the One who made us
And see Him smile when life is through

May your blessings be many but not what you hoped they'd be
And when you look upon the broken
May mercy show you what you could not see

May you never be sure of any plans you desire
But you'd learn to trust the plan He has for you
May your passions be tried and tested in the holy fire
May you fight with all your life for what is true

I have prayed for you now all my dear and faithful friends
But what I wish is more than I could ever speak
As the way wanders on I'll long to see you once again
Until then, would you pray these prayers for me?

Oh, that you would pray for me

So, go ahead. Ask me to pray for you.