Be warmed and filled
Let’s say you’re out and see someone you know. You stop and ask them how they are and, instead of giving you the polite “Good. How are you?” they actually tell you. They tell you they’ve been having a rough week or month or year. They even tell you some of the details. Now what? What are you supposed to say to fill the silence after such honesty and vulnerability?
Sadly, many of us say the most spiritual thing we can think of at the moment- I’ll be praying for you.
Why do I say that’s sad? The problem is that, if we are honest with ourselves, we probably won’t remember to pray for them. As Paul Miller says in A Praying Life, saying “I’ll pray for you” is often “the twenty-first century version of “Be warmed and filled” (James 2:16).
God calls us to do far more than just pray for people and we are certainly called to do more than just SAY we are going to pray for them. The next verse in James chapter 2 warns us that “faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.” We are called to love like the Lord loved which is to say that we should be faithful, present, and sacrificial. Our goal should be to give of our time, our emotions (in the form of empathy), our resources, and more.
And, yes, to pray for those who are suffering. Praying is one of the most powerful things we can do for others. I’ve had friends do this for me. But they didn’t stop at prayer. Seeing me exhausted, they met my physical and emotional needs as well. They listened, gave of their time and resources, brought me dinner, took me out to have fun, played with my kids and more.
When we tell others we will pray for them, I think we intend to do just that but then we move on with our lives- run our errands, finish our work, go home- and we forget. I have started to write myself a note when I tell someone this. I either put it in my phone or jot it down in my notebook. This also makes me better at following up with them to see how things are going. Because I’ve been praying for them and thinking about them regularly I am more likely to remember to see if they need anything and offer help.
Nothing makes me feel more loved than when someone remembers my problem and asks me about it, not just when they see me again, but out of the blue. Getting a call or message in the middle of the week because they were thinking about me and wanted to check in shows that they are invested.
So, keep praying. Just remember to follow it up with good works, too. Let’s aim to be there for those around us and spread love everywhere we go.