Recently, I talked to a friend who is really struggling in her marriage. Her youngest child is testing her boundaries at every turn. Add to that financial worries, and she is one stressed-out sister.
We spent over an hour on the phone dissecting these issues as only girlfriends can do. My heart broke while I listened to her discouragement, and as we were hanging up I told her that I’d be praying for her.
I messed up.
Rather than pray for her right then and there, I instead offered her later prayers.
When we do that, we’re missing the opportunity to intercede in the moment for someone who needs covering. Rather than immediately calling down the Kingdom of God on their behalf, we choose to do it later.
Make no mistake, though. All prayer is good – both now prayers and later prayers.
And while I will without a doubt make good on my promise to cover her and her family in prayer, I should have lifted her up while on the phone. She needed a now prayer!
You see, when we wait to pray…
- We miss the opportunity to help their situation shift
- We might convey that it’s just not that important to us
- We miss out on the chance to bless them
We’re all guilty of it. We’ve all offered later prayers for a variety of reasons to those we care about.
- Sometimes we’re just not in the mood to pray
- There are times we are just too tired
- We might not think our prayers are good enough
- Sometimes we don’t know what to say
- At times, we’re intimidated to pray out loud
But, God tells us to pray on all occasions.
This means making prayer a response to every situation or need you come across all day long. Ephesians 6:18 says “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 saints.”
I love that last part. We need to be alert to the needs of others so we can pray for them… praying both now and later prayers.
We don’t need to find a cozy spot. No need to grab coffee or tea. Mood lighting isn’t necessary. Nor does it have to be some big production. And if time is limited, your prayer can be as simple as, “Lord, will you comfort Carey as she works through all the struggles facing her today.”
But we do need to pray, because going before the throne is the most powerful tool we have against the Enemy. So when the opportunity arises, I encourage you to be now pray-ers and later pray-ers.
Sisters, be bold in your prayer life. Take every chance you get to lift someone up to the Father, on all occasions and at all times.
What a privilege.
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Now & Laters – I hear you Carey – It is so easy to tell some that you will pray later. I will tell you this. A now prayer is sometimes essential. When I am in crisis, a now prayer is what takes me from helpless, hopeless, distraught and confused to the Presence of God! Often I do try to share the now prayer with a friend for just that reason – to help them get in God’s presence. I have had friends drag me into God’s presence, kicking and screaming, but it is HIS PRESENCE that sorts through the confusion, wipes away the tears, brings hope to my heart and unravels the truth from the lies.
Let’s all commit to drag each other before God. He is the only one who can make a crooked path straight!
This was one good post — one I needed to hear and be reminded of. I REALLY needed the encouragement that our prayers are the most effective prayers we have against the enemy and that I need to “Take every chance I get to lift someone up to the Father, on all occassions and at all times”. Our Father cares and He responds. Thank you!
What do you mean no mood lighting – um I just bought a special prayer light! 🙂 Thanks for the teaching – extremely valuable.
Thank you for the reminder, sister!