Perhaps the times we pray the most are the times the people we love and care for need our prayers. Praying pastorally, basically praying for the needs of others, is really important. Jesus often prayed when He was concerned about the people He loved. He told Peter: ‘Satan has asked to sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you…that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.’ He also prayed for others just before His crucifixion. This was a time when it would be understandable to just pray about His own circumstances, but He moved His focus to other people even at this time, praying: ‘They knew with certainty that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me. I pray for them’ (John 17:8-9 NIV). Jesus knew the power of praying for other people. The Bible tells us about four men who carried their sick friend and laid him at the feet of Jesus (have a read of Mark 2:3-5). That’s what we do when we pray for someone. We take them to the feet of Jesus. It’s not always easy to pick up the weight of another person and carry them to God each day in prayer. Sometimes we promise to pray and then forget to follow through. Other times we’ve got so much going on in our lives that we don’t feel like we can carry someone else to God too. And when people disappoint us or hurt us, the last thing we can feel like doing is praying for them. But prayer is the most effective thing we can do for anyone, no matter what the circumstance.

What now?

Choose three people who you know need prayer and commit to praying for them every day for a week.