Honesty Question Vol.1

Similar to brother Staybrite's threads to start conversations, these "Honesty Questions" will be a little less light-hearted (for the most part) and more thought provoking.

A lot of these questions will be stemming from my own experiences and short-comings in my own life.  Perhaps in an effort to find common ground with other believers or to just stir in us a desire to improve our own personal walks. You are certainly not pressured to answer these, especially since some are going to be a bit self-revealing. But if you do answer, I should expect total transparency- we are family.

So without further ado, our first "Honesty Question" =

"Have you ever told someone you'd pray for them, then never do ? Whether you fully intended to, or whether it was just the right thing to say at the time ?  What could we do to better ourselves in this area ?  Please share what you do when you agree to pray for someone. Do you pray right there with them ? Do you have a prayer list you keep ? Do you say a quick prayer once, or do you spend a lot of time in prayer for everyone ? Are you similar to me and completely forget to pray for someone ?"

let the honesty begin....

I have. Not recently but I have. For me, for a long time, my faith was a checklist of right behavior at the right time around the right people. So yes, I've said "I'll pray for you" with no intention of ever doing it.

That being said, I'll tell a story. I play guitar for our Praise Team and my wife sings. We practice on Thursday evenings and at the end, we usually sit in a circle and pray or talk about things relevant to the team. This past week, our pastor's wife (who plays piano and sings) told us she would appreciate us praying for her as she is going to a retreat specifically for pastor's wives. Several people said they'd pray and I said "Why wait? I'll do it right now." And I did.

I don't say that to brag, but rather to say that one thing that has helped me is to not promise to pray, but to go ahead and do it right there.

I have a list I keep. Every person that asks for prayer is different. Some have a job interview - obvisouly I don't pray after they find out they or someone else got the job. But before my uncle passed away, I prayed a few times a day it seems.

I've said I'd pray and then forget about it and not do it.  When somebody asks for prayer, especially online, I pray and then respond to the note as I know I'll forget to later.

I have a horrible prayer life, and many times I have told people I would pray and then completely forget (but not in the last several years).  I don't keep a prayer journal because I would just forget to check it.  What I do instead is stop everything I am doing and immediately pray for that person/family/situation.  The prayer is usually brief (only a few minutes at most), but at least I don't forget to pray for someone anymore.

Good call Staybrite.

I tend to believe God hears prayers whether they're short or long, and I think he prefers honest prayer over wordy, righteous prayer... "Have mercy on me God, a sinner..."

ishmael81 wrote:

I tend to believe God hears prayers whether they're short or long...

When we were kids, my buddy and I were out riding bikes when the rain starting coming down really hard.  We found shelter under a large tree to wait it out and lamenting that our ride time was being cut into.  My buddy then says, "Lord, let the rain stop."  I went into sarcastic mode commenting on how spiritual the prayer was when at that moment the pouring rain turned into a drizzle.

I apologized and told God that He has a great sense of humor.

Quote :

"Have you ever told someone you'd pray for them, then never do ?

No

Quote :

Do you have a prayer list you keep ?

No

Quote :

Do you pray right there with them ?

Yes

Quote :

Do you say a quick prayer once, or do you spend a lot of time in prayer for everyone ?

Jesus told us not to pray long prayers and to get to the point in prayer as God already knows our prayer request and what everyone needs...So I pray a simple prayer asking God for my prayer request, then I thank him for hearing me and answering my request and then I end in Jesus name...after that I just have faith and thanksgiving...

Sometimes I forget to pray for someone. Though, what I try to do know is pray for someone as I think about them. Like, for example, today while I was working I thought of Kerrick. I know he wanted me to pray for him so I did. Sometimes I do general prayers for the requests on both CMR and CHM.

I appreciate the honesty and everyone just being real here. 
I have to agree with everyone's posts as I am very similar to you all.  Some times I will just pray right then and there- either with the person asking for prayer, or silently as I walk away... cuz I know I'm a flake.  I know I'll forget as I immerse back into my selfish little life.... so if I don't do it right then, I'll most likely forget (not always... sometimes it's something that really gets my heart and I will pray more often for someone).

Good stuff to think about and learn from each other. Thanks to those of you who've answered already and I look forward to more responses....

There are times where I do remember that there are many prayer requests and ask God to provide as needed.  I even remind Him that I can't remember the specifics of them all.

I try to pray ride away when i promise to pray for people, because i just know i get on with my live if i don't do it right away.

Yes I have.  I've always intended to pray for them, but it just never stuck in my mind to do it.  When I was in high school I chiseled a list of people and situations to pray for into stone tablets and I would pray for those people/things while I rode the dinosaur to school.  Somewhere, I just got away from that.

messiaen77 wrote:

Yes I have.  I've always intended to pray for them, but it just never stuck in my mind to do it.  When I was in high school I chiseled a list of people and situations to pray for into stone tablets and I would pray for those people/things while I rode the dinosaur to school.  Somewhere, I just got away from that.

Probably lost your chisel somewhere in the Cretaceous period.

When I tell to someone to pray for them I pray.
Some people ask me to pray for them, but when I know I'll never pray I honestly say no.
God knows what you promised to others to pray.

Right now I pray for my brother.
He's with a big truck as co-driver to Austria.

I let me guided by God's Holy Spirit were to pray for.

Sometimes I pray with people.
More often I pray alone for family & friends, situatations.

Very nice Vonnie ! 

A lot of my prayer lately has been group prayer - with my church (we have prayer meetings on Wednesdays), with the guys in the dorm (we have similar meetings on Thursdays and Sundays), and with the student body as well. Lately, my church has been doing a Wednesday night on prayer, which has really challenged me to set more time apart specifically to pray one-on-one with God. My prayer time is still erratic, but I'd say that I'm starting to appreciate God more than before, just by using my time in a wiser manner. The study is an attempt to turn away from the strong temptation of just praying for personal requests, and to turn instead to worshipping and praising God, and then seeking His will and his blessing. I'd say that it's changed my attitude, and that too has contributed to my appreciation of God.

And yes, I've said I'd pray for people and not done it. I think we all have. (I haven't read the other posts, but I can imagine so.) That's why I don't say I will, anymore. I'd rather not make promises than break them, which I know is a little cold-hearted of me. But again, I'm starting to pray more, and things will start to become a burden on my heart (to borrow from Christianese) and I'll pray for those requests.