Would You Pray for Me?

Have you ever hesitated to ask someone to pray for you?

I have.

And if you asked a hundred people why they don’t ask others to pray for them more often, I imagine you’d hear some pretty familiar answers:

I don’t want to bother anyone.
It’s really not that big of a deal. I can handle it.
It’s uncomfortable.
I didn’t even think to ask.
Or maybe simply, I don’t know who to ask.

Yet, who among us couldn’t use more prayer?

Life can be complicated. Confusing. Painful. And sometimes just plain hard.

Still, most of us—including me—hesitate to ask for prayer.

Oh, we have no problem asking people to pray for others. We’ll ask for prayer for our friends, our children, our parents, someone at church, or even the neighbor down the street.

But ask someone to pray specifically for us?

Uh. Not so much.

Why Is It So Hard to Ask?

Maybe we’re afraid of bothering people. Maybe we convince ourselves that someone else has bigger problems, so ours don’t really matter.

Sometimes it’s pride.

Sometimes it’s privacy.

And sometimes asking for prayer means admitting that we can’t handle everything on our own.

That’s a vulnerable place to be.

I’m learning a lot about that right now.

A couple of months ago, I sort-of, kind-of shared that my husband was having some health problems. Did I? I think so.

Well, he has cancer.

He was diagnosed in June, and since then we’ve been riding the cancer roller coaster. Anyone who has dealt with cancer knows exactly what I mean.

We were referred to a hospital three hours away in Nashville, so every three weeks we’ve been making the trip for treatment. Now, the next part of treatment will have us there five days a week for seven weeks.

When this first started, our instinct was to keep it to ourselves.

Then we told a few close friends.

But putting it out there for more people to know? That was hard.

For one thing, saying it out loud made it more real.

It also meant inviting people into a very intimate part of our lives—even people we love.

And, third, cancer is kind of a downer. We didn’t want to depress everybody.

Yeah, I know. Kind of stupid.

But there you have it.

Eventually, though, we shared.

We asked people to pray.

And we continue to ask.

Guess What Happened?

God showed up.

I’m not sure words can adequately describe what we’ve experienced. At every turn—the doctors, technicians, referrals, treatments, drives to and from Nashville—we have seen God’s handprints.

We have watched Him move in ways I’ve rarely witnessed.

And that is saying a lot.

We’ve been on mission trips in some very dark places where God’s light seemed like the only light. I worked at a church for ten years and saw God work in ways that could only be described as miraculous.

But watching Him move so intimately in our lives, day after day, has been overwhelming.

Not because everything has been easy.

It hasn’t.

Not because we know exactly how this story will unfold.

We don’t.

But because, in the middle of something we never wanted to face, God keeps reminding us that we are not facing it alone.

And neither are you.

You Need Prayer, Too

You may not be navigating cancer treatments, doctors, hospitals, and three-hour drives to Nashville.

But you are fighting your own battles.

Maybe it’s your health.

Maybe it’s your relationships.

Maybe you’re worried about one of your children.

Maybe you’re lonely.

Or grieving, financially overwhelmed, exhausted, disappointed, or simply trying to figure out what comes next.

Whatever your battle looks like, you need prayer.

You need spiritual strength when you wonder if you’re up to the task.

You need physical strength when you’re weary.

You need emotional strength when you feel completely tapped out.

You need encouragement when you’re tempted to throw up your hands and say, I can’t do this anymore.

And most of all, you need hope.

Those sound like pretty tall orders.

Almost too much to ask.

Except God tells us to ask.

Scripture repeatedly tells us to pray for one another.

We know this.

And yet, how difficult can it be to pick up the phone and send a simple text:

Would you pray for me right now?

Those are vulnerable words, aren’t they?

Most of us don’t like feeling vulnerable. Vulnerability can make us feel needy.

And we certainly don’t want to bother people. We don’t want to feel like a nuisance.

But here’s something I’ve learned:

Asking someone to pray for you doesn’t burden them. It gives them an opportunity to stand beside you.

It takes humility to ask for prayer.

But if these last few months have taught me anything, it’s that we were never meant to carry everything on our own.

There is freedom in laying your burden at the foot of the cross.

And there is something incredibly powerful about knowing other believers are laying it there with you.

Prayer Is Part of the Battle

Ephesians 6:10–12 tells us to be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power, to put on the full armor of God, and reminds us that our struggle is not simply against flesh and blood.

I’ve always loved this passage, but it feels different to me now.

We live in a fallen world.

Cancer is part of this fallen world.

Death is part of this fallen world.

Pain and suffering are part of this fallen world.

Sin, brokenness, fear, and despair are part of this fallen world.

These are battles we face.

And prayer is one of the weapons God has given us.

Too heavy?

Maybe.

But it’s truth.

Ephesians 6:18 continues:

“And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests… always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.”

All kinds of prayers.

All kinds of requests.

Not just the really big ones.

Not just the emergencies.

Not just when we’ve exhausted every other option.

Prayer isn’t supposed to be our last resort.

So, if there is something—anything—in your life right now that feels overwhelming, confusing, painful, or impossible, reach out to a trusted Christian friend.