When Prayer Requests Get Stale

Growing up in church I remember many services when someone would say “please pray for my loved ones”.  Just a routine prayer request.  

Prayer requests are good when they are fresh and new but when time passes and there is nothing positive to report, we tend to lose steam and the newness wears off. 

I’m feeling that now.  

When I first made my request for prayer people were interested but now that it has been a month, the interest has gone away.  It’s old news now.  No miracles to report so people lose interest.  

Unfortunately for those of us going through the desperate moments of our lives, the prayers are urgent and fresh every day because we are face-to-face with it.  

People want good news and positive results when they pray.  When they don’t or when things get worse they lose momentum.  

Sometimes prayers aren’t answered immediately and they become long term endeavors. There aren’t any magical prayer words or rituals.  You just take each day and have faith that God will help you get through it.  People may lose interest in praying for your request but it doesn’t mean God loses interest.  We hold on to the hope we have in Him.  

I try not to ask many people to pray for my needs.  I know how it is.  If it doesn’t affect you personally you lose interest.  That’s not being mean, it’s just human nature.  We aren’t very patient even in praying for others.  

Praying requires effort.  Some days it’s just not easy.  

I can tell you that I have very rarely had prayers which were answered immediately. Most of my experiences have required marathon intercessory prayers.  I can’t say I’m good at it.  I get weary.  

If you’re like me.  You are a results oriented person.  You desire to see progress.  It bolsters your faith when you pray and something happens.  When you pray and it doesn’t, it becomes demoralizing. You wonder if God even hears your prayers. 

All I can do is my best.  I never claimed to be good at this.  Sometimes I don’t even know if I’m even doing it right.  I want to feel something.  It’s hard to press through when my prayers aren’t yielding results.  

When people grow weary of praying for our request we can’t lose heart.  We need to practice in casting our burdens on Jesus.  We don’t always have to pray in words but we can simply rest and be still instead of forcing our prayers.  

There are no magic formulas.  People write books with steps to getting your prayer answered or unusual methods but prayer is just doing it.  

When you and others are tired and you feel like your prayers are not moving, you can trust that His grace will sustain you. 

He's Alive!

Easter has always been one of my favorite days of the year. Fortunately I was taught from an early age that this day isn’t about the Easter Bunny but it is about a risen savior.

With this day representing the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, it also gives us the promise of eternal life.

I always think back to a song called “He’s Alive” which I first heard performed by Bubba Cardin who is an old church friend at a church summer camp. The song gave me chills and excitement that Jesus is alive.

The chorus explodes with this proclamation:

He's alive, He's alive, He's alive, and I'm forgiven
Heavens gates are open wide
He's alive, He's alive, He's alive, and I'm forgiven
Heavens gates are open wide

If you’ve never heard this song, you need to listen to it. Here is a link to it:  https://youtu.be/aidWs3tceYw?si=-WVgzQk9F2ByHEnv

We celebrate the resurrection. Jesus defeated death. While this means we have the hope of eternal life when we die, does it also mean some could be raised from the dead now?

I have wondered about that many times. The reality is that more people die than are raised from the dead but there are some situations where it has happened. I have heard stories but I have never had personal knowledge of anyone being raised from the dead.

When I was younger I experienced the tragic death of two young people in our church. Weeks after their deaths I was still praying for them to be raised from the dead. I believed it and I prayed earnestly for it to happen. It never did. That was hard for me to comprehend.

Even with stories of someone being raised from the dead, some will always come back with a scientific explanation on these accounts. Even if these stories are true, they will still have to face death again. The story of when Jesus called Lazarus out of the tomb is an amazing miracle but Lazarus eventually had to die again.

The resurrection power that Jesus has is the finality of death does not mean it is final for those who believe in Him.

Here’s what the Apostle Paul wrote in Corinthians:

But let me tell you something wonderful, a mystery I’ll probably never fully understand. We’re not all going to die—but we are all going to be changed. You hear a blast to end all blasts from a trumpet, and in the time that you look up and blink your eyes—it’s over. On signal from that trumpet from heaven, the dead will be up and out of their graves, beyond the reach of death, never to die again. At the same moment and in the same way, we’ll all be changed. In the resurrection scheme of things, this has to happen: everything perishable taken off the shelves and replaced by the imperishable, this mortal replaced by the immortal. Then the saying will come true:

Death swallowed by triumphant Life!
Who got the last word, oh, Death?
Oh, Death, who’s afraid of you now?

Easter is the hope we have in the resurrection! Death is not the end.

Does It Matter How Many People Pray?

When we are in a desperate situation, we will usually ask others to pray for us. I have seen requests for prayer in church and on social media.  When we are in need and we reach out to others for help in praying.

But does it make a difference how many people are praying?

The number of people praying does not necessarily increase the chances of God answering in the way we want, prayer is not about "numbers" or manipulating a specific outcome. However, shared prayer is highly valued for unity, encouragement, and communal worship, with promises of presence when even two or three gather. I know that we like to read the passage in Matthew 18:20 when it says "For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them."  We often mistake that to mean that our prayer will be answered but this just assures us that Christ will be in our presence.  It doesn't mean we tip the scales in our direction.

The sincerity, faith, and alignment with God's will are generally considered more important than the number of participants.  Personal, private prayer is considered just as valid and effective as group prayer.

There may be some situations when prayer can change God’s mind but this isn’t dependent on the number of people praying.

I know when I ask people to pray for my need, I only seek out those I have confidence in and know who will pray for my need and not just say they will pray and then forget about it.  Sometimes I just don't have the words to pray or I feel weak in my faith so I reach out to others who I know will hold me up.

Ultimately, the answer to our prayers is in God’s hands. We can’t assume that we know what it is. Sometimes His answers do not make sense to us.

In my opinion, when you have a desperate need you do all that you feel you need to do in prayer. Tell no one or tell everyone. Desperate times calls for desperate measures.  Even if numbers don’t make a difference, having the support of others can be encouraging to help us during our time of need.