Praying for others

Have you ever found yourself waiting on God? God's timing is incredible, but the waiting can get tiresome and discouraging. We often forget that God does not need our help in bringing us the answers to our prayers or providing what we need. In my experience, He has always come through, at the right time, never leaving me and my family in need or abandoned. When it seems like it's taking a long time for God to get back with us on something we have been believing Him for, we often get so focused on our need, our wants, our desires, and we forget about what we are supposed to do as faith believers. I love writing in my journal, and many of my journal entries have turned into prayers or I may even write down a prayer at the end of a journal to seal it in faith. About a year ago, I started a different type of journaling. Instead of only 

writing down my thoughts or the things that happened to me, I began prayer journaling for the ones around me. One day, during my quiet time, I was asking the Lord to show me how to help others. I needed different ideas because at that time blessing others through monetary means was not an option, but I didn't want to sit there like a bump on a log and do nothing. I had a desire to  bless the ones around me. I asked God to show me and direct me to different ways of helping other, and He simply responded with, "Pray for them." 
It felt so small and, honestly, insignificant! I didn't like that answer very much, but as I began to do just what He said, I discovered something that I want to share with you now; something that I believe will make your waiting time a lot less difficult and a lot more encouraging. ​

As believers, we have all needed something from God, and it's promised to us that He will provide everything we need. Some of us need something that seems so big and out of reach; nearly impossible. For others, our needs may seem rather small, yet very important to our lives. We should keep in mind that our way of viewing situations where we call on the name of the Lord, is different than how God views them. Nothing is impossible for Him. Nothing! No matter how big or small our problems seem, He doesn't see them the way we do, and they are not surprising to Him like they may be to us. We have to keep this in mind WHILE we believe. There is something else we can do WHILE we are waiting that will take the bigness and urgency off of our problems while God does His thing. We can simply pray for others. Why? That's the question I asked God when He moved me to pray for other while I waited, and I received the answer by obeying. 

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I started off by praying very broad, simply prayers for each one of my family members. I wrote down a different pray for a different person each day, and every day I prayed for someone else. The more I felt encouraged, uplifted and confident. I began to look forward to my prayer time, praying for others. Like I said, I started off just praying for people who were close to me, but the more I prayed, the more I asked God who I should pray for. You know what? God brought people to my attention that I had not thought of in years! I had no idea why I was praying for that person, but I trusted that the Lord knew exactly what they needed. Some of them will never know that I prayed for them, but that is so encouraging to me because it reveals that God could have someone praying for me, and I don't even know it. Wow! Isn't it amazing how our God works? 
I was receiving what I needed spiritually, and someone else was receiving spiritual back-up because I obeyed as I waited. I find it to be so cool that in our time of need, while God is working on our behalf, He is still teaching us, growing us, all the while considering what another person is in need of. 
It really shows how big our God is, and how, if we listen and obey even when we are so focused on what our needs are, that He will come through for us. 
You see, our problems are not going to get fixed nor are we going to speed up God's timing by worrying, stressing and focusing our attention 100% on that need.
We are basically wasting our time and making the waiting period seem longer and more difficult by being anxious, so why not grow spiritually as we wait?
Why not obey while we anticipate our manifestation? 
Why not bless others while we expect the completion of our provision. 

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It can be daunting to pray for others. You may not know where to start or who to pray for. I believe that if you start somewhere, even if it seems random or small, you will begin to see the direction God wants you to go in during your pray time. However, it's okay to just not know who or what the pray for, so I put together a list on a handy, printable calendar for you. You can download, print, and even share it with others. I think having guidance in your prayer time will help you see the direction you should go, and I promise that your problems will no longer seem so big! Your confidence in Christ's ability to provide for you will increase, as you bless others through prayer. 

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Please enjoy this free, 30 day calendar of prayer ideas. I encourage you to write down your prayers and date them. Knowing from experience, there is nothing cooler than looking back at a prayer you wrote for someone else, and seeing the result of it coming to pass!! 
Be encouraged, grow and bless others while you wait!! 



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