One of the great joys in being a pastor is the ministry of praying for others. On Sundays, I like to make the rounds getting prayer requests from as many people as I can.

During the week, I pray for these things and follow up with a phone call, text, or on the next Sunday. Oftentimes, we will just stop in the hallway and pray together. As I do this I have been able to see God working in the lives of people in ways I surely would have missed without this practice. 

This is one piece of culture I would like to see increase throughout our whole church. As we talk with each other, let's also pray for each other! Will you join me?

Here are 3 passages and a tip to get you started:

1.) Ephesians 6:18 

“And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.”

   -Pray for God’s people worldwide

   -Pray for All Souls Church

   -Pray for individual Christians that you meet at church

2.) Colossians 1:9 

“For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill youwith the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives.”

In this passage knowledge of God’s will =

wisdom and understanding. 

Pray for each other that we will all grow in an understanding of Gods’ will. 

   -God’s will in the Scriptures

   -God’s will in our decision making

   -God’s will for relationships

3.) James 5:16 

“…confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.”

Confession is a gift.

We can take the darkness in us and bring it to God’s light!

Because we are safe in his grace, we do not need to fear condemnation from Him. But sometimes it also helps to confess sin to a mature and gracious trusted friend, leader, or pastor. They can pray for you and speak verbally to you about God’s forgiveness. This is not a time to “press in” to the transgression, but to pray and seek to love someone who is struggling.

We can also pray for healing:

   -Physical

   -Emotional

   -Trauma

   -Broken relationships

4.) Take a sheet of paper to at least one Christian friend and write down their requests.

   -Follow up with them in the next 2 weeks

   -Watch your love for God grow

   -Watch God work!

Grace and peace,

Pastor Harvey