How often/long to pray for someone

[GrammyJean]

I'd like to hear from others about how often or how long you pray for specific prayer requests--1) ones that come on the prayer chains for people you don't know, 2) ones for acquaintances you don't hear from often, and 3) ones from close friends and family. Let me explain why I ask.

Let's take the first one. If I prayed for every prayer request I've ever received on the prayer chain on a regular basis, I'd never do anything else (including sleep!) except pray. So usually I pray for them when they come in and when we have our weekly prayer meeting at church, but even there, we're usually just praying for the new ones that came in that week unless it's someone one of us knows personally. If it's someone I know, I might be more inclined to pray more for them than the friend-of-a-friend's child who I don't know.

On the second one, I usually pray for those people when I think of them, but since we're not close, I may never hear from them again and won't know when or if the prayer is answered, so it's not like I see them often and we have a real relationship.

On the third one, if it is a close friend or family member, I try to pray for them every day. Some days it seems like all I'm doing is responding to text messages or emails or phone calls for someone who is requesting prayer for a specific concern and needs to talk. I love that and don't mind being involved in people's lives. It makes me feel needed, and I feel God is using me in this way.

BUT on the other side of the coin, I often feel deserted in prayer when I am the one with a specific prayer request, and find out that the person is only going to pray for me that one time I request prayer...and maybe if I come to mind. I would like to know that if it is my pastor, a close friend or family member (one of the people in my third category)--someone I am close to and knows me--that they will keep praying for me until I get an answer--like I do for them. My current pastor and a former pastor told me they do not pray continually for my prayer requests, but isn't that what the Bible tells us to do? I just feel let down in prayer when I need it most.

 

[redleghunter]

We are told to pray without ceasing.

Bible Gateway passage: 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 - English Standard Version

 

[Job3315]

I'd like to hear from others about how often or how long you pray for specific prayer requests--1) ones that come on the prayer chains for people you don't know, 2) ones for acquaintances you don't hear from often, and 3) ones from close friends and family. Let me explain why I ask.

Let's take the first one. If I prayed for every prayer request I've ever received on the prayer chain on a regular basis, I'd never do anything else (including sleep!) except pray. So usually I pray for them when they come in and when we have our weekly prayer meeting at church, but even there, we're usually just praying for the new ones that came in that week unless it's someone one of us knows personally. If it's someone I know, I might be more inclined to pray more for them than the friend-of-a-friend's child who I don't know.

On the second one, I usually pray for those people when I think of them, but since we're not close, I may never hear from them again and won't know when or if the prayer is answered, so it's not like I see them often and we have a real relationship.

On the third one, if it is a close friend or family member, I try to pray for them every day. Some days it seems like all I'm doing is responding to text messages or emails or phone calls for someone who is requesting prayer for a specific concern and needs to talk. I love that and don't mind being involved in people's lives. It makes me feel needed, and I feel God is using me in this way.

BUT on the other side of the coin, I often feel deserted in prayer when I am the one with a specific prayer request, and find out that the person is only going to pray for me that one time I request prayer...and maybe if I come to mind. I would like to know that if it is my pastor, a close friend or family member (one of the people in my third category)--someone I am close to and knows me--that they will keep praying for me until I get an answer--like I do for them. My current pastor and a former pastor told me they do not pray continually for my prayer requests, but isn't that what the Bible tells us to do? I just feel let down in prayer when I need it most.

I am going to give you my perspective based on my experience.

I used to think just like you, so I would be “praying” while working, driving, bathing, doing laundry, shopping...in other words, I used to pray all the time to the point of exhaustion until I realized I wasn’t really praying, I was begging. And, even though there are specific moments to do a prayer where you just beg, I wasn't using my authority or leading others to use their authority in prayer.

So, I stopped praying ans started reading about what is really prayer, the types prayer and the authority I have. You can’t do much if you don’t have dominion over certain areas. For example, years ago I realized I had authority over the spiritual realm in my town, so I do circles of prayers declaring protection, but for some reason always felt resistance when praying for North Korea. So, it’s important that you know your anointing and place of authority.

I realized that many of the prayer requests and even mine were about things I could change. For example, someone would ask for healing becuase they were sick, but I’d see them eating like cows. Or someone would ask for prayer because they needed money, but they had a good job, its just that they didn’t have their priorities straight. Or they would ask for deliverance because a spirit of fear or suicide was tormenting them but they were watching horror movies until 4 in the morning. I then realized I was praying for someone more than what they were willing to do for themselves, including praying!

Now when someone comes with a request I usually assess the situation. I ask the Lord what is my place in their lives and guide them to the things they can do to help their situation, including how to pray. Many people ask for prayer but they don’t even open their Bibles; the idea is to show them they also have a responsability and authority. It’s like a 3 year old whos parents have to always remind him to say thank you, eventually that kid will become a teenager and an adult and you don't want to spend the rest of your life reminding him to say “thank you”. Eventually they’ll need to be responsibles for their own.

I learned to become private, people didn't like hearing the truth but it was exhausting me because I was listening to problems that had solutions. Only people close to me have access to me and even on my FB I just have close friends. It’s just like the parable of the Virgins, others should also be responsible for their own oil as well.

Also, set a prayer time. If you have the gift of prayer, it shouldn't be a burden to you, but I don’t have that gift. I do have the gift of intercession but the Lord shows me what to pray for and I usually know and feel the need in a persons life. I also need to be doing something like exercise, painting, cooking or gardening to pray because my mind is overactive and needs to be distracted.

Most of the time I just worship, listen and declare. I call it spontaneous worship/prayer. Bethel Church in Redding, CA have a great anointing on that. Sometimes, like I said, we have to just to beg and declare but that usually happens in emergencies.

Also, just because you are not praying while awake, it doesn't mean you are not praying. I’ve heard in my sleep my spirit and soul pray, declare and even recite poems I’ve never heard before but when I wake up I don’t remember what I was saying.

Hope this helps!

 

[Kit Sigmon]

Me and my husband are on the prayer team at church and the prayers be
going up and there's follow up being done, to see how the person(s) and
or situations are fairing.

When I ask for prayer I don't ask anybody how many times they be praying,
if they happen to say they continually be praying for me, that be fine but I don't ask because I keep abiding in Christ...so if they pray once, twice or a hundred
times or more...it all be fine.