“Can I Pray With You?”

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. Philippians 4:6 –  

This is a message that I have shared in the past. I walked into the office of a friend of mine once in the past and his secretary seemed physically struggling with her breathing and her countenance was different than normal. I asked her if she was okay and see told that her allergies were bothering her. She said that “sometimes it gets so bad I can hardly breathe.” I asked her if I could pray with her and I got a response that I wasn’t expecting. She said “Oh, I don’t want to take up God’s time with something as trivial as me. I’d rather not waste it on me and besides, I have not been going to church for a long time and I don’t pray much. You should pray for someone much less fortunate than me. My mother always taught us to pray at the dinner table for those less fortunate than us,” she was touched that I would offer to pray with her.

The next day I told her my prayer group was praying for her. She could not believe that I would do such a thing for her. It is interesting what happens when you offer to pray with someone. Offering to pray with someone can be the most genuine and loving thing you can do for another person. It can be the one means of getting a conversation on a spiritual plane that cuts across religious stigmas and gets to the root of the problem—the person’s real need. It immediately reveals your own values and sets the stage for future encounters. All it takes is a little holy boldness to step through the door when the opportunity seems to present itself. Is there anything too small to pray about? Do we, in fact, bother God when we make any request that is not dealing with only the poor in Africa?

Paul clearly tells us in the above scripture that prayer is talking with God. It is having such a relationship with Him that we can bring anything to His attention.

We’ve all heard the housewife’s prayer for a parking spot or other such seemingly trivial prayer requests, but are they trivial to God? If God is our closest and most intimate friend, then it becomes very natural to talk to Him as you would a friend who might be sitting next to you in the car. Yes, God desires to have such close communion with you and me that we can pray about anything—even a parking spot.

As you enter the workplace or any other place today, ask a co-worker or anyone as a matter of fact that might be going through troubled times if you can pray for (or with) them about something. You may be surprised at what doors will open as a result.