Are You the One Praying? Pray for others as you go.

by Letitia Suk

Are you the one praying? In Anne Lamott’s book, “Help Thanks Wow” (Riverhead Books, 2012) she talks about growing up in a family where no one prayed except her grandfather.  One of my favorite lines in the book follows:

“And as it turns out, if one person is praying for you, buckle up.  Things can happen.”

Are you the one praying?

Are you the one praying?  For your family, your neighbors, your co-workers, someone you read about in the news, the mom and daughter you see arguing at the mall?

Possibilities for prayer for others are quite obvious in these days of Covid. Scrolling through social media always brings opportunity as someone is usually asking. Stop right as you read and say a prayer. By the time you put your phone down, you’ll be onto something else.

It is easy to say and many do… “Our thoughts and prayers are with you” but are they?  The prayers I mean.

Letitia suk

It is easy to say and many do… “Our thoughts and prayers are with you” but are they?  The prayers I mean.  Like really praying for someone else like we beg for our own needs, at least in that moment.

Norman Vincent Peale, well-known in previous generations, loved to inwardly ask blessings on people he saw on walking on the sidewalk as he went about his daily round.  I wish I could remember to do that.

Don’t worry if you don’t put a lot of time into it. Just like the “wave offerings” in the Bible, I think a waving the request before the Lord counts too. You might be the only one waving.

Most of the time we don’t hear the end of the story or even the next chapter. A lot of those we pray for may not remember us either, but God hears. We are called to pray for one another, not to keep everyone we encounter in our lives.

I owe my life to those who were/are the one praying for me.  I can name the ones I know have prayed but would love to know who added their voices on my behalf.  Someone who saw me across a room, stood in line with me at a store, observed my broken behavior on a few occasions and thought “that girl needs a prayer!”  Thank you by the way.

So, I resolve again to be “the one praying.” You too?

Buckle up.

Letitia Suk

Letitia Suk, www.letitiasuk.com, invites women to create an intentional life centered in Jesus. She is a blogger (hopeforthebest.org) and author of 100 Need-to-Know Tips for Moms of Tweens and Teens, and Getaway with God: The Everywoman’s Guide to Personal Retreat, and Rhythms of Renewal. She is a speaker, personal retreat guide, and life coach in the Chicago area.