What do you think the speaker intends when speaking these four simple words to you: “I’ll pray for you”?
- Intends to be supportive, and will follow through by praying on my behalf
- Intends to be supportive, but has no genuine intent to follow through and actually pray
- Intends to be dismissive, but knows that this “church speak” is a nicer way to transition or end the conversation
So What?
I am not among the most faithful or frequent pray-ers, and readily acknowledge this shortcoming. I do, however, believe that prayer is powerful and an important component of the journey of faith. As a result of my personal prayer practices, my belief that prayer is powerful, and my experiences with many people who primarily use the phrase to mean the second or third statement above, I use the phrase “I’ll pray for you” rather sparingly. When I utter those words, I take note (usually by literally jotting myself an electronic reminder).
- How often do you tell others “I’ll pray for you”?
- Do you ever find the follow through to be difficult? If so, what have you found to be helpful?