Prayer is one of the greatest gifts that we have been given as human beings. We shouldn’t take it lightly and should pray multiple times a day. That might even be a cliche by now, but it is true, as cliches tend to be. Since prayer is such a gift, we should share it with others to realise its full potential. We shouldn’t pray just for the sake of praying. It should use different words each time we do it so that it is not a habit. We should pray with gratitude more than we should pray with requests.
We should pray for others more than we pray for ourselves. One of the most powerful things we can do for someone else is to pray for them. And we should be as specific as possible. This helps us be excited when we hear that our prayers have been answered. For example, if we pray that our friend (or especially enemy!) will overcome his or her sore throat, that is specific. Or maybe an even better prayer is to ask that even if they still have the sore throat, that they will be surprised at how they don’t really feel it. They know it’s there but they don’t mind it as much as usual.
Sometimes it can feel like we have no control in this life. It is very empowering to pray for something and know from experience that prayer works. And it reminds us that although we do not see Him, we have a partner in everything we do in life. He is in Heaven, and we are on Earth, and together we can transform people’s lives in small and large ways. Don’t be afraid to pray for something like a sore throat. Part of the blessing of life is that we each have our own particular full potential. When we are sick it is harder to hear the voice of God. It is harder to realise our fullest potential. And sometimes praying for smaller things can be good practice for when we need to pray for something larger, especially if we are used to praying with gratitude for the blessings we (and others we have prayed for) have received in the past. Imagine something horrible happening and you haven’t prayed for months. That is uncomfortable. But also imagine something horrible happening and we have had an ongoing dialogue about a number of issues in the recent past, both about ourselves and others. It’s going to make it much easier to ask Him for help when we really need it.
