Struggling with prayer

[Saved_by_Jesus]

I've only been saved for a short time now, and I have always struggled with praying for other people. I simply cannot come up with the words to say in prayer!

I know that prayer is simply talking to God in my own way, but I've never been a good conversationalist at all, so I just don't know what to say.

My pastor told me that it is Ok to just pray for people silently, but I just don't feel right doing that.

This has greatly limited my Christian growth, and I know how dissappointed God must be in me because of this.

It greatly distresses me, and makes me feel so very jealous of other Christians who pray such beautiful prayers, even if they are short and simple prayers.

I've even tried memorizing prayers for certain occassions like when someone is sick....but then when the time comes to pray for someone, I panic and totally forget.

Over the last couple of years, I've totally avoided praying for people unless they ask me to, and after they do it once, they sure don't do it anymore! LOL

I'm so scared about this, because praying for people's needs is a huge part of living a Christian life-so I don't know what to do!

And yes, I already know that praying is nothing more than talking to God, but I'm not a good conversationalist anyway, so I struggle even with talking to other people.

What can I do, and how can I overcome this fear of praying for other people?

There are Christians who are so eloquent and seem so easily to say all the right things and pray in a way that seems to reach the very eaves of heaven. I enjoy hearing their prayers and I feel uplifted and blessed by them. I have a friend who is a beautiful Christian and she has Down's Syndrome. Her face is radiant in His Grace. Her prayers are simple and come from the largest heart I know. I remember being at the depths of a serious depression after losing someone I loved and she came to my bedside and curled up next to me and she put her hands on my face and said "God, please love our sissy now - she hurt inside and fix her heart God". That honest, sweet prayer meant more to me than any I had heard or could have prayed myself. Sometimes - we need to hear simple words because those are the ones that our hearts can understand when our minds are in such a state of confusion. Peace be with you.

Oh, that was beautiful about your friend with Down's Syndrome! Brought tears to my eyes!!

[2Joyful]

Greeting SBJ,

Follow the encouragement from the others, and just be yourself in Christ. I was the same way at one point of my life. My problem was wanting to pray like others. My pastor can say Jesus! in a prayer, and you can see the devil running . But I came to realize that it's the Jesus in me, and the power of the Holy Ghost, that spring prayer into action. Seek him in prayer, and when ask, focus on the need, and then it will happen. I have read many of your post, and you are equit with the word. I bet your prayers are just fine cause you are Saved-by-Jesus....jotful

[Saved_by_Jesus]

Greeting SBJ,

Follow the encouragement from the others, and just be yourself in Christ. I was the same way at one point of my life. My problem was wanting to pray like others. My pastor can say Jesus! in a prayer, and you can see the devil running . But I came to realize that it's the Jesus in me, and the power of the Holy Ghost, that spring prayer into action. Seek him in prayer, and when ask, focus on the need, and then it will happen. I have read many of your post, and you are equit with the word. I bet your prayers are just fine cause you are Saved-by-Jesus....jotful

*smiles* Thank you for your kind words, Jotful!

[Trusting Jesus]

You might go to the prayer section of the forum and look at the prayers that have been prayed on this forum. Some are very wordy and beautiful, some are short and sweet, but they are all from the heart.

<>< ><>

Nathele

[Saved_by_Jesus]

You might go to the prayer section of the forum and look at the prayers that have been prayed on this forum. Some are very wordy and beautiful, some are short and sweet, but they are all from the heart.

<>< ><>

Nathele

Thank you....that's a very good idea! I just wish I could remember all these great prayers I find when I need them. lol

[georgedrw81]

When ever I'm praying for someone and I don't know what to say. I usually just ask God to meet their needs what ever they maybe.

Right

[Trusting Jesus]

You might go to the prayer section of the forum and look at the prayers that have been prayed on this forum. Some are very wordy and beautiful, some are short and sweet, but they are all from the heart.

<>< ><>

Nathele

Thank you....that's a very good idea! I just wish I could remember all these great prayers I find when I need them. lol

Well, you don't have to remember what other people say in a prayer, but it just might help you be (for lack of a better word) more comfortable. You will notice that not every prayer is long...some just say "praying" or have an emoticon depicting prayer. Sometimes that is just enough....to know someone is praying. But if you read through the prayers you might just relax about it and learn to just talk with God.

<>< ><>

Nathele

[Saved_by_Jesus]

You might go to the prayer section of the forum and look at the prayers that have been prayed on this forum. Some are very wordy and beautiful, some are short and sweet, but they are all from the heart.

<>< ><>

Nathele

Thank you....that's a very good idea! I just wish I could remember all these great prayers I find when I need them. lol

Well, you don't have to remember what other people say in a prayer, but it just might help you be (for lack of a better word) more comfortable. You will notice that not every prayer is long...some just say "praying" or have an emoticon depicting prayer. Sometimes that is just enough....to know someone is praying. But if you read through the prayers you might just relax about it and learn to just talk with God.

<>< ><>

Nathele

Thank you. I don't have a problem praying "online"....it's in PERSON that I have problems. When people ask me to pray for them right there. Anyway-thanks for the suggestions everyone. I guess I just need to relax more and not worry about performance issues. lol

[Blien]

Thank you! I have never thought of studying the prayers of those in the Bible! You don't really see many. I don't have a problem praying at home, for myself.....I pray Scriptures a lot, that helps.

But it's just the praying FOR people that I struggle with. For instance, I'm in a Bible study, and every week, we divide up into prayer groups and pray for each other. I panic, and mostly pray silently, but every now and then I can come up with a few words to say. Thankfully, there are some strong prayer warriors there, and they normally say all there is to say, and by the time I get the nerve up to add to the prayer, it's all been said already.

Also, I'm very confused about when someone is sick, whether we are to pray to God for them, or whether we are to cast out the sickness in the name of Jesus, like Jesus told the disciples to do....He told us to "heal the sick" and "cast out demons". I have heard a lot of people do both...they start out asking God to heal the person's sickness, and then they start saying..."I command this sickness to come out in the name of Jesus!" or something similar.

I think, more than anything, it is a case of "performance fear", or just a fear of messing up or forgetting words.

I SO want to be a strong prayer warrior and walk up to total strangers on the streets and pray for them! I know a girl who does that-she walks up to people in grocery stores and asks them to let her pray for them. I know jealousy is a sin, but oh, how I envy her that!

Hi there again. I don't belive you need to command anything to be an excellent prayer warrior. Just exactly where do you see that happening in the Bible? I think many people get caught up in their emotions and christian "culture" superstition that they feel they need to do those things so that something happens. Really though, I have never seen God work anything through that way. The way I always intercede for someone was through normal prayer, no commanding, no shouting and I bring God into remembrance of his word and promises (not for his sake but for the person I am praying for). Pray the word and follow the examples in the Bible

In the Bible there are examples of people who interceded for others. Do you know who they are?? The are one of the biggest names in the Bible! Any guesses?

Abraham

Genesis 18:16-33 (New Living Translation)

Abraham Intercedes for Sodom

16 Then the men got up from their meal and looked out toward Sodom. As they left, Abraham went with them to send them on their way.

17 “Should I hide my plan from Abraham?” the Lord asked. 18 “For Abraham will certainly become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth will be blessed through him. 19 I have singled him out so that he will direct his sons and their families to keep the way of the Lord by doing what is right and just. Then I will do for Abraham all that I have promised.”

20 So the Lord told Abraham, “I have heard a great outcry from Sodom and Gomorrah, because their sin is so flagrant. 21 I am going down to see if their actions are as wicked as I have heard. If not, I want to know.”

22 The other men turned and headed toward Sodom, but the Lord remained with Abraham. 23 Abraham approached him and said, “Will you sweep away both the righteous and the wicked? 24 Suppose you find fifty righteous people living there in the city—will you still sweep it away and not spare it for their sakes? 25 Surely you wouldn’t do such a thing, destroying the righteous along with the wicked. Why, you would be treating the righteous and the wicked exactly the same! Surely you wouldn’t do that! Should not the Judge of all the earth do what is right?”

26 And the Lord replied, “If I find fifty righteous people in Sodom, I will spare the entire city for their sake.”

27 Then Abraham spoke again. “Since I have begun, let me speak further to my Lord, even though I am but dust and ashes. 28 Suppose there are only forty-five righteous people rather than fifty? Will you destroy the whole city for lack of five?”

And the Lord said, “I will not destroy it if I find forty-five righteous people there.”

29 Then Abraham pressed his request further. “Suppose there are only forty?”

And the Lord replied, “I will not destroy it for the sake of the forty.”

30 “Please don’t be angry, my Lord,” Abraham pleaded. “Let me speak—suppose only thirty righteous people are found?”

And the Lord replied, “I will not destroy it if I find thirty.”

31 Then Abraham said, “Since I have dared to speak to the Lord, let me continue—suppose there are only twenty?”

And the Lord replied, “Then I will not destroy it for the sake of the twenty.”

32 Finally, Abraham said, “Lord, please don’t be angry with me if I speak one more time. Suppose only ten are found there?”

And the Lord replied, “Then I will not destroy it for the sake of the ten.”

33 When the Lord had finished his conversation with Abraham, he went on his way, and Abraham returned to his tent.

Moses

Deuteronomy 9:13-29 (New Living Translation)

13 “The Lord also said to me, ‘I have seen how stubborn and rebellious these people are. 14 Leave me alone so I may destroy them and erase their name from under heaven. Then I will make a mighty nation of your descendants, a nation larger and more powerful than they are.’

15 “So while the mountain was blazing with fire I turned and came down, holding in my hands the two stone tablets inscribed with the terms of the covenant. 16 There below me I could see that you had sinned against the Lord your God. You had melted gold and made a calf idol for yourselves. How quickly you had turned away from the path the Lord had commanded you to follow! 17 So I took the stone tablets and threw them to the ground, smashing them before your eyes.

18 “Then, as before, I threw myself down before the Lord for forty days and nights. I ate no bread and drank no water because of the great sin you had committed by doing what the Lord hated, provoking him to anger. 19 I feared that the furious anger of the Lord, which turned him against you, would drive him to destroy you. But again he listened to me. 20 The Lord was so angry with Aaron that he wanted to destroy him, too. But I prayed for Aaron, and the Lord spared him. 21 I took your sin—the calf you had made—and I melted it down in the fire and ground it into fine dust. Then I threw the dust into the stream that flows down the mountain.

22 “You also made the Lord angry at Taberah, Massah, and Kibroth-hattaavah. 23 And at Kadesh-barnea the Lord sent you out with this command: ‘Go up and take over the land I have given you.’ But you rebelled against the command of the Lord your God and refused to put your trust in him or obey him. 24 Yes, you have been rebelling against the Lord as long as I have known you.

25 “That is why I threw myself down before the Lord for forty days and nights—for the Lord said he would destroy you. 26 I prayed to the Lord and said, ‘O Sovereign Lord, do not destroy them. They are your own people. They are your special possession, whom you redeemed from Egypt by your mighty power and your strong hand. 27 Please overlook the stubbornness and the awful sin of these people, and remember instead your servants Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. 28 If you destroy these people, the Egyptians will say, “The Israelites died because the Lord wasn’t able to bring them to the land he had promised to give them.” Or they might say, “He destroyed them because he hated them; he deliberately took them into the wilderness to slaughter them.” 29 But they are your people and your special possession, whom you brought out of Egypt by your great strength and powerful arm.’

Jesus

John 17:6-26 (New Living Translation)

Jesus Prays for His Disciples

6"I have revealed you to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word. 7Now they know that everything you have given me comes from you. 8For I gave them the words you gave me and they accepted them. They knew with certainty that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me. 9I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours. 10All I have is yours, and all you have is mine. And glory has come to me through them. 11I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name—the name you gave me—so that they may be one as we are one. 12While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by that name you gave me. None has been lost except the one doomed to destruction so that Scripture would be fulfilled. 13"I am coming to you now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them. 14I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. 15My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. 16They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. 17Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. 18As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. 19For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified.

Jesus Prays for All Believers

20"My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, 21that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. 22I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: 23I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. 24"Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world. 25"Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me. 26I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them."

[Saved_by_Jesus]

Thank you! I have never thought of studying the prayers of those in the Bible! You don't really see many. I don't have a problem praying at home, for myself.....I pray Scriptures a lot, that helps.

But it's just the praying FOR people that I struggle with. For instance, I'm in a Bible study, and every week, we divide up into prayer groups and pray for each other. I panic, and mostly pray silently, but every now and then I can come up with a few words to say. Thankfully, there are some strong prayer warriors there, and they normally say all there is to say, and by the time I get the nerve up to add to the prayer, it's all been said already.

Also, I'm very confused about when someone is sick, whether we are to pray to God for them, or whether we are to cast out the sickness in the name of Jesus, like Jesus told the disciples to do....He told us to "heal the sick" and "cast out demons". I have heard a lot of people do both...they start out asking God to heal the person's sickness, and then they start saying..."I command this sickness to come out in the name of Jesus!" or something similar.

I think, more than anything, it is a case of "performance fear", or just a fear of messing up or forgetting words.

I SO want to be a strong prayer warrior and walk up to total strangers on the streets and pray for them! I know a girl who does that-she walks up to people in grocery stores and asks them to let her pray for them. I know jealousy is a sin, but oh, how I envy her that!

Hi there again. I don't belive you need to command anything to be an excellent prayer warrior. Just exactly where do you see that happening in the Bible? I think many people get caught up in their emotions and christian "culture" superstition that they feel they need to do those things so that something happens. Really though, I have never seen God work anything through that way. The way I always intercede for someone was through normal prayer, no commanding, no shouting and I bring God into remembrance of his word and promises (not for his sake but for the person I am praying for). Pray the word and follow the examples in the Bible

In the Bible there are examples of people who interceded for others. Do you know who they are?? The are one of the biggest names in the Bible! Any guesses?

Abraham

Genesis 18:16-33 (New Living Translation)

Abraham Intercedes for Sodom

16 Then the men got up from their meal and looked out toward Sodom. As they left, Abraham went with them to send them on their way.

17