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Why do we pray for people by name?

jas3

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I recently saw an interaction like the following:

"Can you pray for my sister who's having surgery this week?"
"What's her name?"
"Sarah."
"Of course, I'll pray for her."

To me, it still seems a little awkward to ask for someone's name instead of just saying "yes, I'll pray for her" and praying for "so-and-so's sister." I know that either way, God knows who we're praying for, but it seems like there's an extra emphasis on getting someone's name in Orthodoxy. Why is that?
 

Lukaris

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I believe in an important general sense we pray for everyone ( 1 Timothy 2:1-6 etc.) and in a particular sense for an individual as needed. The commandments cover all this ( Matthew 22:36-40, Matthew 7:12 etc.).
 
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prodromos

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It connects us with the person we are praying for and brings them in to our "community".
I'm reminded of many examples where people have gone to visit a holy elder for the first time, and the elder addresses them by name despite them never having met before.
 
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iHarken

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I feel very much the same way. Especially at the start of services when we bring up Special Requests; I can’t remember all of ya’lls names! I think what’s most important is to match the focus & sincerity of knowing people by name with our prayer requests. If knowing someone’s name helps - more power to ya. All that matters is the authenticity of our prayers & our relationship with God when we pray. He will search our hearts, he knows what we need, so the words don’t have to be perfect.
 
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RileyG

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I believe in an important general sense we pray for everyone ( 1 Timothy 2:1-6 etc.) and in a particular sense for an individual as needed. The commandments cover all this ( Matthew 22:36-40, Matthew 7:12 etc.).
Yeah, makes sense to me!

(posting in fellowship)
 
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