Can I pray for you?

You may agree with me with this or not but I believe that the best
act of love you can give to someone is to pray for him or her.

Earlier today I sat on my most favorite corner of my room to have

my morning devotional. I usually read book of Proverbs matching on
the chapter as of the date. So today is January 11, 2016 ; thus,
Proverbs 11. I believe that at least one verse in the chapter would
impact me today, and I was right. He who waters others will himself
be refreshed- verse, was the insight Ive gained. As part of my
morning Manna, I also read the book Desire of Ages and there again
I saw a message similar to what Ive read earlier. . And so my
main theme today is: DO SOMETHING GOOD FOR OTHERS. I closed
the worship by praying to God and sometime between these
solitude moments, God impressed me to pray for the persons who
are in need right now. I began enumerating the names of those who
immediately popped out of my mind. And then it dawned on to me
why not do again the thing that I used to do before?

Enlisting names to be prayed for by schedule.

I started to do it in year 2012. I have this PRAYER NOTEBOOK

wherein I would put on the days of the week and start plotting down
the names to be prayed for by category. And alongside their names
I would put on their actual or as I presumed request. I do it
usually in series of 5 persons per day. For example:

Monday-Bible study group

Jose finances, lovelife
Kayna find job
James- pass the board exam
Jeremiah- be able to bring his gf to Jesus
Ed-lovelife and worklife balance

I would do this for the week, and re arrange or make a new schedule
for the next week, it was kinda tedious but it was worth it. In this
way, I can never forget the details I have to pray for.

WHO TO LIST FOR?

Anybody. The way I do it, I dont usually put my family members
name there because I am already praying for them everyday. I just
put names that I know I could only pray at least once or twice. I put
on the category basically on whoever comes first in mind. Perhaps it
was the Holy Spirit telling me whom to write first, mostly these are
people who are close to me or who needs God most.

Why do this?
3 benefits of Praying for other people:

1. You become part of their story, vice versa.

Truth is, our daily concerns involve only our families and
ourselves. Our story is limited in this vicinity that it becomes
almost impossible for us to truly care for others. This is an
extreme scenario of course. We have friends and people we
deal with everyday, of whom we share our stories and they
share theirs as well. And we become close to them, so
somehow we care about them. But there is a powerful
emotional attachment when it comes to praying for other
people. You become a part of their story, knowingly or
unknowingly by them.

Their triumph becomes your triumph; their pain becomes your

pain; their blessing becomes your blessing.
When I shared this prayer notebook concept to my friends, I
asked them if they have particular prayer request that they
want me to pray for. One of them asked me to pray for her
professor in College that she was having difficulty with. Few
years later, she reminded me of that day and said the prayer
was answered, that professor became close to her. I was so
delighted as we cherished the answered prayer.

The relationship you will have with them will grow deeper
because you will develop a genuine interest for their welfare.
Just like watching a movie, the way the main character
captures the hearts of the viewers, the way you involve
yourself by praying for these persons teaches you to love
them better.
Sometimes I would pray for people who are not even close to
me or people who trouble me like some of my cold
officemates. It is hard to smile and be nice to people who are
never nice to me. But when I pray for them, I see them as
Gods precious jewels. I begin to see that theres more to
them than what they actually show. That somewhere deep
within their negative attitudes, there is something good. As
hard as it is to pray for these difficult people with an
authentic heart that cares, by praying for them we develop
this kind of mysterious love. And after all, as believers, arent
we called by Jesus to love one another...even our enemies?

2. By carrying their burdens, you lighten your own

There comes a point in life when you feel that you are the only
one experiencing deep struggles while everyone around you
seems okay. There is an isolation fence building up when you
see only your burdens. You have to break that by seeking
 opportunity to see those of others because perhaps little did
you know, they are experiencing worse than you do. It may
take some challenge to pray for them because perhaps you
feel you are not whole, And when you see improvement in
their health or whatever things you prayed for them, it brings
joy unto you, filling your heart with hope. This increases your
faith as you realize that God really answers prayers. Maybe
not with a yes, but always with whats best.

Let me tell you about my friend named Zola. She was my

classmate in College, a refined girl, raised in a Christian family.
Shes just one of the few whom I could say , I see Christ in
this person. But she had a lot of struggles as well.
Throughout year 2011 to 2013, 3 of her family members (her
brother, sister and father) died in different manners, one
person every year. I prayed for their family often to be strong
despite the trials, and I see this answered prayer every time.
During her sisters wake I experienced the weirdest wake
ever. I honestly felt no one died back then, they were
celebrating! And everyone seems happy! They were
exclaiming to God be the glory! And there were so many
smiles in their faces with the hope that they will someday see
their perished love one. I thought to myself, perhaps my
prayer has a part in all this.

Even if you think you have bigger problem than those around
you its still worth pondering that we are all partaking in the
same way Christ suffered for us. And please dont ever think
that youve got the worst heartache of all, somewhere
sometime in the history of mankind there is someone (or more
than one) who suffered more than you did. You just werent
able to meet him/her. Lol

3. You become closer to God & to His character

Building a stronger relationship requires time and as I believe,

lots and lots of conversations. By praying in behalf of this
people, you spend more time with God in talking. Which is
vital in every relationship. Sometimes when I pray for other
people I barely notice how time flies cause I enjoy every
moment I spend with God, there seems like a peace flowing in
my heart just talking to Him. By developing a deep concern for
others (as discussed in point 1), you also develop the
character of God in you. Remember that God is love, and the
more you learn how to love, you learn more about God
because that is just His trait. You also develop a lot more
positive traits like being patient, as you spend tedious act of
organizing these names in paper and in your mind and giving
a portion of your time for their welfare, you unnoticeably
develop this.

TO SUM IT UP
In all, I really believe that praying for other people is the best
act of love. It is the kind of love that wants nothing in return
but only yearning to see good tidings for others. In the end the
grace of Christ envelops the heart of the one who prays
bringing blessings of peace, joy and hope in life.

PS. If you want to enlist your name in my PRAYER SCHEDULE,

feel free to PM me. God bless! _