Several times each day I see requests on social media for prayer. From Facebook to Instagram and Twitter, group Bible studies, countless emails and everything in between. There are needs.
Endless needs.
The request usually goes something like this: “My daughter is in the hospital and I am worried sick, would you please pray?”
“I have a coworker whose husband left her and she needs prayer. Would you pray with me?”
“We just lost our grandson, we are devastated. Please pray for us.”
Of course, these are just examples but they mirror true requests that we all see every day.
The response?
“I will pray.”
“Praying!”
“Joining with you in prayer.”
“Believing and praying for your need!”
“Casting all your care upon Him for He cares for you…”
Again, these are examples and well-meaning replies. We all do it and thank God we do!
But speaking from experience, how many times do we reply with that good intention, to be sure and pray for them when our prayer time rolls around again? Then, when that happens, whether it is six hours, twelve hours or twenty four…we have forgotten the literal pile of requests that have accumulated throughout the day!
I am guilty. Sometimes I do not even mutter a simple prayer as I scroll through to the next one…I am in a hurry, I will pray later.
It doesn’t mean we have to go get our Bible, run to a particular spot and pray for 15 or 30 minutes.
It means to pray a sincere prayer, asking God to meet that need, right then, right there.
There would be hundreds of us, sometimes thousands, calling out the need all day long, when we see it, when we hear it, when we are asked…when we won’t forget.
I received an email from a missionary this week and he had an urgent need. He needed prayer. Right now. His request for us?
Stop. Drop. Pray.
Whatever you are doing, wherever you are, Stop. Drop everything. Pray.
“What if I am driving?”
You can still pray! Don’t be careless, just call on His name!
I had another message this week from someone close to me. He related a story of their coworker who came to him at work saying her two year old grandbaby was at the ER right then. She was very upset and extremely concerned. She also wanted to be there. She just asked, “Would you be sure and pray?” My friend turned to her and he said, “Why don’t we do that right now?”
Then he just gently took her hand…and prayed. Right there. In the office. Nothing big and loud, nothing to draw attention, yet not hiding in a corner. He prayed a simple prayer of protection, healing and peace for all involved.
Naturally, she began to cry, as soon as he started to pray, but God showed up! Her countenance changed and she was so grateful that someone would actually PRAY, not just say they would pray…
Have you tried that? Have you reached out when the need was urgent, when it just couldn’t wait, and prayed for a friend?
It will overwhelm them, comfort them, touch them like your promises may never do.
You know what will happen? They will feel Jesus! He will come, because you asked, and He will touch them, bless them, let them feel His presence near. That peace, that passes all understanding, will surround both of you as you release those burdens to the Savior.
Why don’t we make it our motto?
Stop. Drop. Pray.
If it is convenient, sure, get on your knees! Humble yourself before a mighty God and call on that Name above every Name!
But if you cannot do that, at least stop where you are, drop what you are doing, and pray. With your heart, pour the need out to God sincerely.
Watch what will happen and how it will increase not only your faith but those around you.
Because faith? Well, friend, it is contagious.
Here are some other posts on prayer that might encourage you: Ceaseless Prayer, But Prayer, Gossip and Prayerlessness, and Praying or Prying?
Sharing with Making Your Home Sing, Amaze me Monday, Living Proverbs 31, Inspire Me Monday, Modest Monday, Mama Moments Monday, Sharing His Beauty, Monday Musings, Titus 2sday, UNITE, Titus 2 Tuesday, Testimony Tuesday, Wedded Wednesday, A Little R & R, Whole Hearted Wednesdays, Essential Fridays, Faith Filled Friday
Please pray for me. I am struggling with my life. my elderly father is sick. My children don’t live with me. The children don’t call me or visit me. They live close by. I want a better relationship with them. I have an issue where I need an attorney. I wanted to go to court by this December but feel a delay from the attorney. I want 1 court date and for the Judge to rule in my favor and grant me all my rights. Please pray for me that the Judge rules in my favor and grants me all I am requesting.
Good evening please join me in prayer I need money tomorrow morning and it’s important but he has not answered please help me out
Could you help thank God for everything he is doing and done for me. I’m sinners I don’t deserve his forgiveness but some how he always find a way to bless me.
This is great. would be grateful if you remember me in your prayers too – Reiner Richa Sah
Oh dear God where are you. It seems your not being true to your promises. Is it because this world is so corrupt and man’s heart is filled with so much evil. I know it must fill him with so much sorrow to see what’s going on in this world. But there are those of us who still love and need him. Please pray for healing for my ears, hearing loss. Thank you.
I surely will! Stopping to pray for you now in Jesus’
Name. I’ve been in the silent places where it feels you are all alone. Trust God, HE is near! When you don’t feel anything is when you keep walking, by faith. By what you know to be true.
I don’t know if you have heard the song away maker or not but part of it says, “even when I don’t see it, You’re working.
Even when I don’t feel it, You’re working
You never stop
You never stop working!
And that is our God.
We don’t have to see or feel to know He is there..
Praying for peace and comfort and let me mnkenbie you are eels sAw
Good morning,😭 please I need you to join me in prayers. I am so depressed, I don’t know what God what me to become, I need him to speak to me. Things are tough for me these times, I can’t get a job, I have prayed and prayed but I don’t feel or hear anything, I have been really struggling a lot this year. I don’t want to give up. Please help me pray for breakthrough😭 I want to own my own business be able to go back to school. Pleaseeeeeeeeeee I am confused. Also join me in praying for the right partner I don’t want to make mistake in choosing the right good,God fearing, loving partner God has for me. Please I need God Good will to start manifesting in my life from today.thank you God bless you as you join me in praying.
Good morning,😭 please I need you to join me in prayers. I am so depressed, I don’t know what God what me to become, I need him to speak to me. Things are tough for me these times, I can’t get a job, I have prayed and prayed but I don’t feel or hear anything, I have been really struggling a lot this year. I don’t want to give up. Please help me pray for breakthrough😭 I want to own my own business be able to go back to school. Pleaseeeeeeeeeee I am confused. Also join me in praying for the right partner I don’t want to make mistake in choosing the right good,God fearing, loving partner God has for me. Please I need God Good will to start manifesting in my life from today.thank you God bless you as you join me in praying.
Praying for you! One of the enemy’s biggest weapons is doubt and fear, and remember he is the father of lies! Go’s is right there with you, and it is He that so drawing you closer to Him. As you know, prayer is the key, conversation with others here on this earth is how we develop close relationships and it is the same with our God. He just wants you to spend time with Him, in His Word and in His presence. Tell Him your fears and struggles even though He k it’s them already. And then do you know what your most effective weapon is? Praise!! Worship!! Spend time in praise just thanking God did who He is, what He has done in the past and that He is faithful to do it again. Read the Psalms and make them your own, remind yourself you are a child of the King and He never, ever stops loving you. Go to church. If you don’t have one, email me at ynannette@gmail.com and I will help you find a church that preaches truth.
You are not forsaken, you have not lost your faith, you just need to dust it off and go to the throne. Please let me know if I can help. Praying for you right now. In Jesus’ name.
I am scared that I have lost my faith. It seems God is so very far away from me at the moment. I still pray, but I know it is not very sincere, and it feels as if I am testing God. That is not my intention. I am also struggling to stay away from sin, and that drives me even further away from God. Please pray for me, pray that the Holy Spirit come to me and fill me once again, that I will receive guidance from God. I so very much yearn to feel God in my life.
Thank You
Oh goodness! I hope I am not late in replying, I have had trouble seeing comments here. But I am stopping to pray for you now. We know the God of miracles and pray for relief and peace in Jesus’ name ♥️
Please pray for me. I have debilitating tinnitus. My ears also vibrate and hurt. I cry all day and night. Please pray for God to heal me.
My boyfriend is fighting with me because I got angry and got him I regret picking him over my ex. And now our fight has gotten really big and he isn’t talking to me he just swore me really bad and said he will never get back with me. Please can you prayer that this matter is solved for me. Because I really don’t want to lose him. Please can you pray that it gets fixed
Praying for you and your situation today, friend. God is so able and we trust Him in all things. Much love and peace to you. ♥
Please pray for me that i and my lover reunite again. we are seperated by our parents as we both belongs to two different caste. our parents are not able to understand the emotions due to which my lover is being forced and threatned to marry someone else.lord please open their eyes jesus. please dont seperate us. This pain is unbearable lord. we both love each other but only because his parents doesnt like me due to other caste he is moving away from me.i dont want o loose him lord.please help me..i am totally disheartned and shedding into tears.
Looking forward to hearing back how God uses you to shine the light of His glorythrough bold prayer! 🙂
Joe – that’s awesome! I have a friend who regularly prays in the grocery checkout line or fast food drive-thru and I love her faithfulness for it! Guess my moment is coming soon now that I’ve spoken up 🙂
I like the post it note list too Lisa. I just keep asking God to remind me throughout the day if someone needs prayer, I try to listen. ♥
That is awesome, Joe! People are always surprised but in a good way, they leave changed. Kathryn is going to write us back soon about an encounter that God sends her way and she stepped out! Believing.
Thank you Cindy, we don’t have to wait, that is so true. Lord, remind me! ♥
That’s okay, Holly, I will be whomever you want me to be! 🙂 I totally agree, the older I get the more difficult to remember. Thank you for stopping by Betty. I mean, Holly, lol. ♥
Great post. And great motto – Stop. Drop. And Pray. I do that now – in addition to the little posty-note list I keep for those every day, in my wheelhouse prayers. But I pray as I think about it. Wherever I am. No matter what. Because it’s important to me to do what I promise. And because, like you said, it’s convenient always.
Kathryn, I have been known to audibly pray for someone in the middle of the Wal-Mart parking lot. I’m not sure they knew what they were getting themselves into when they asked me to pray for them. My response was, “Sure! How about right now?”
Love your graphic! So true, such a blessing that we don’t have to wait, or be in a quiet place, or have Bible in hand to pray, we can pray all day long for any length of time.
“Pray without ceasing” Thessalonians 5:17
Thanks so much for sharing at AMAZE ME MONDAY…
Blessings,
Cindy
I totally know that you are not Shelly, but rather Nannette! So sorry for the brain fade…see what I mean about getting older! LOL 🙂
I’m finding this to be so important, Shelly, especially as I get older. It’s hard to remember all the prayer requests later in the day or the next morning! I love the visual image of us storming the gates of heaven all day long when we all pray as we see the requests. How gracious of our God to listen to our prayers. Thanks for linking up to Testimony Tuesday!
Yes, Heather, thank you for being a prayer warrior! I remember a few years ago a lovely saint of God passed on to her reward and my first thought was, “Who is going to stand in the gap???” And the Lord, it wasn’t audible but it was just as LOUD, said, “What’s stopping YOU?” Wow. So true of us all, and as we see some of these precious elder prayer warriors go on to meet the Lord someone has to pick up that torch! God, let it be me! ♥
That’s good Joe, so good. I cannot rely on my memory anymore 🙁 and I used to be good at writing it down but now, instead, I just pray. I realize I may have more time than some too so I do not want to waste it. Thank you for your thoughts today, they are appreciated!
Right now. Amen! And I just prayed for you right now that if the opportunity ever presents itself and the need is there that God will give you wisdom and strength to respond. I know He will! ♥
Yes, that one prayer does matter. The Lord hears, He responds, that’s all it takes. Thank you, Jamie!
Offering hope to the lost…the Great Commission! Thank you, Pam!
That’s true, Sharon, we know how WE feel when someone prays for us, it should motivate us to do the same! Thank you, friend! I just prayed for you!! ♥
Yes, we can almost always make time if we will do it. Thank you, Michelle for commenting today!
Oh wow, that has actually happened to me too! What a stark reminder of the importance to Just Do It! Thank you.
Yes, God reads our posts too. Amen. Thank you for your thoughts, Laura, so good.
That’s a great idea, Joanne, to write their name down to pray later. Love. ♥ If I don’t write it down that would be the last I remembered, lol. Thanks for the suggestion!
Love. This.
God has given me a gift of intercessory prayer so I take it very seriously. I hear what you’re saying… There are so many needs. This is a great encouragement to people to really stop and pray.
I will share something that God has convicted me on and maybe others would be touched by this conviction { maybe I should about it}… The fact that we quickly type “DONE!” on a prayer request on Facebook or other social media. I think we need to put a few more words to encourage that person. Maybe that doesn’t bother everyone, but I feel like God is saying there’s more than just checking off that you prayed.
I appreciate all the prayer you’ve given to God on my behalf, Nanette. Love you!
This one is actually kind of a big deal for me. Like you, I am sometimes over-run with prayer requests…and I’m not the best at remembering things. And as a matter of integrity, I don’t like the idea of telling someone I will pray and then not following thru…I feel that I’m accountable before God for praying when I say I will.
So, I’ve made it a habit to always pray instantly. Sometimes it’s a very short prayer…sometimes I’m praying at the same time I’m typing my response to their prayer request. Other times I’m able to take longer and pray more specifically. But I make it a point to always pray right then…because otherwise I’ll likely forget.
In fact, I sometimes respond, “Praying for you, this morning, that God will……” I want them to know I’m praying for them right then. Notice I’m not committing beyond the moment…because I don’t really trust myself to follow thru. But I can commit that moment…
And I do believe that God works thru the prayers of His people.
Thanks for sharing, Candace Jo!
Love this! I’ve felt convicted on this one – guilty of just saying I’ll pray for someone and then forgetting. So, now instead of answering ‘I’ll pray for you’, my response is ‘praying for you right now’ and I do it. Take a moment and lift that prayer need to God immediately. Still working up to praying with someone right in the middle of the office, but I offer a lot of silent prayers all day while I’m working.
Great motto. I’ve found myself convicted before for saying that I would pray and then forgetting about it, so I’ve been trying to do exactly that. It may only be one prayer, but one prayer matters. 🙂
You are spot on — faith is contagious! Sharing our faith is offering hope to the lost. I saw this on Unite Blog Hop. Thanks so much for sharing your faith!
Stop. Drop. Pray.
Perfect.
Interestingly, today I had someone email me and desperately ask for prayer. I have been talking to God about her all day. I don’t know exactly what led to her request, but I do know that God knows. And so, I have brought her to the foot of His cross, and prayed for Him to meet her in her distress.
I know how much it means to me when people pray for me – so YES! Let’s stop and drop everything and pray for those who need it. Intercession is a blessed privilege.
GOD BLESS!
I LOVE the new motto. Stop Drop Pray. I can’t agree with you more. It is so easy to say we will pray, and then we intend to do it as soon as we have a chance….but we have a chance right then in that very moment! Thanks for reminding me how important just doing it is. Blessings! Visiting from The Modest Mom.
This is such good advice…. I usually do this because there have been times when someone tearfully thanked me for praying for them and that God had answered and they were so thankful that I cared about them……….. and I remembered that I had forgotten to pray. What shame. I do want to be used of God and I do want to minister to others…. pray NOW is excellent. 🙂
I am so very glad that you addressed this. Recently, my daughter’s friend entered Navy bootcamp. Our pastor asked for people to raise their hands indicating that the would pray for her EVERY day. I did not raise my hand though I care about her. I will pray but not every day.
I’ve seen those requests you speak of as well. I agree with your position. Sometimes I’ll type my prayer right out on facebook or my blog. God reads our posts, too. Sometimes I’ll stop everything and grab someone’s hand, too. I did it just last week at work with one of the customers.
It does encourage people so very much and builds our own faith as well. Prayer’s not meant to be hid under a basket, but there is also time to pray in our closets as well.
Bless you!
Laura of Harvest Lane Cottage
Nannette, this is a topic near to my heart. Having served in women’s ministries for a long time, I have been convicted when people share their needs with me. I try to pray with them, right then & there so the moment does not pass. I also make it a point, if we cannot pray then, to write the person’s name down so I do remember. But it is so true, we can say it so casually, “I will pray”, and not do it. May we be faithful to stand by our words – Stop. Drop. Pray. A gentle reminder & correction this morning. Blessings!
That is a wonderful idea too, Lizzy! Thank you for the suggestion and taking the time to comment. We need prayer warriors in this world. ♥
Yes, I realised this a while ago too and started praying with people on the spot, or writing them a card with a prayer in it
Wonderful testimony, Anita! Love how you said you pray and then trust God to bring it back to your mind if you need to pray more, I did just that yesterday on a prayer request…I think that is awesome. Blessings, friend!
A couple of months ago I began doing just what you suggest. It was just as you described. I was finding myself overwhelmed with the prayer requests that were coming from so many directions. I began just taking a few moments as each concern became known and bringing it before God. If it’s not something or someone within my direct sphere of relationships it can easily slip from my mind as the days goes on. So I pray and then trust God to bring it to my mind if there is more I need to pray.
I’m with you, Nannette. I know myself well enough to know that if I don’t pray right then and there I might not keep my word, not on purpose, but if our word matters, and it does before our Father, it’s best to do it in ernest right then and there.
thank you candace
Lorraine, I prayed for you! Right then, as soon as I saw the email. I know God is able to bring peace and comfort and I am joining with you for these needs! I understand the weather having an effect on your health. I suffer with chronic pain as well, in Jesus’ name, may He send you relief from your pain and a financial answer. Calling on the name above all names, He has the power to set us free, heal, save and deliver. Thank you, Lord, for touching Lorraine today. Give her grace for each new day, in Jesus’ name! ♥
your post believe it or not is a godsend I have been asking this week for prayer request going through a rough time financially and health due to the weather thanks for the lovely reminder that people do pray for others have a great day