Don’t be a Fibber    

      Allow me to let you in a little known secret.  Many times when people say, “I’ll pray for you,” they never do.  Earth shaking news, I know.  You probably were aware of that.  You may have been an “empty promise pray-er” before.  When we tell someone that we will pray for them, we usually mean well and have every intention of praying for our friend.  Unfortunately life soon catches up and takes over and we simply forget.  There are some intense prayer warriors out there that don’t relate to this but most of us are Prayer “Weekend Warriors”. 

     I find in Paul’s letter to the Philippian church a good way to help your prayer life and to be included in the lives of others.  In Philippians 1 Paul writes that he thanks God every time he remembers them and prays with joy.  How do we become that kind of person instead of the heart-burn inducing type of person?  Well, I think the text answers our question.  First, Paul writes that they have helped him while he preached the Gospel from the beginning of their relationship with Christ until now.  There was no, “Let me be fed and then I’ll sacrifice later.”  They jumped right in and gave to help others know the Good News.  He goes on in verse 7 to say that the Philippians are in his heart because they are partakers or share with him in the grace of God. Even during his imprisonment and his fearless defense of the Gospel.  The way to endear yourselves to others and be included in their prayers is to stand with them when they go through their darkest times and greatest tests.  

     On the other side of the coin, how do we become a person who prays when we say we will?  Pauls shines some light on that in verse 8.  We will become better at praying for others when we truly get to the place in our lives where we love them more like Christ does.  That’s a tall order.  We begin down the path toward Christ-like loving when we start doing what we spoke about in the previous paragraph.  We will love people more when we suffer along side them.  We’ll love them more when we weep when they weep and laugh when they laugh.  

     So, the key to becoming a Prayer Warrior and Prayer worthy?  Live life with others. Not just your family.  Stand with your brothers and sisters in Christ through the good times and bad. Be there for you neighbor who doesn’t follow Jesus. Have them in your home. Don’t just nod on the lawn mower.  You’ll love them more and they’ll love you more. You will keep your prayer promises because they will be on your heart. Then maybe, just maybe, when your name is mentioned in prayer it will be ‘Thank you, Lord’ and not ‘Help me, Lord.’

                                                            Read Philippians 1:1-8