Not Everyone Should Pray for You

Today, I’d like to talk to you about, “Not Everyone Should Pray for You,” inspired by the following Scripture: “And when they [the believers] heard that, they lifted up their voice to God with one accord…And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul” (Acts 4:24, 32).

For prayer to be effective, a few key factors are important – one of which is agreement. During personal prayer or corporate prayer, it’s important for those praying to be on the same frequency. That is, their desires, thoughts, and feelings must agree with the stated purpose of the prayer in question. 

All it takes is for one person to waver in their thoughts or feelings, and the effectiveness of the prayer is compromised. In fact, when prayer doesn’t work, most times it’s due to inharmony in the mental or emotional state of those praying.

This brings me to the main point of today’s message: not everyone should pray for you. In other words, when you need prayer concerning something dear to you, be careful who you ask to join you in prayer.

The Christians described in the Acts of the Apostles and the Christians we know today aren’t the same. They’re two different species. The realities in Acts represent the ideal. But most Christian communities are far from this ideal. It’s in your interest, then, to keep this in mind when asking people to pray for you. The core strength of the early Christians was their ability to function with one accord – as if they were a single organism.

The word, “accord” (as used in the opening Scripture), is a translation of the Greek, homothumadon. It conveys the image of a group of people sharing the same explosive passion, and able to launch forward with the same rhythm and the same timing. The combination of harmony (one heart, one mind,) and fierce passion brought unparalleled efficacy to the prayer of those Christians.

When you ask people to pray for you, you all need to operate in homothumadon. Unfortunately, not everyone has the maturity to support you in this manner.

This may surprise you, but when you ask people to pray for you, some of them will pray for something other than what you’ve requested because they think they know what’s best for you (and you don’t). For example, you could be praying for recovery from illness while they would be praying you find the strength to bear your cross.

The point is, most people will pray for you, but only few will pray with you. It’s an important distinction. And at the end of the day, when people aren’t praying with you, it means they’re praying against you – even if that’s not their intention.

There are also those who are prone to doubts, worries, pessimism, and fear. When such people join your camp, they’ll infect your prayer with their negative vibes. You can’t expect prayer to work in a climate of negativity.

When too many people are involved in praying for you, that can even hinder you. You don’t want too many cooks in the kitchen. The efficacy of prayer isn’t about numbers. It’s about agreement, oneness of mind, and firmness of intention.

You need people who will pray with you, not just people who will pray for you. Therefore, be selective about who gets invited to pray about the matters on your heart.

With love and blessings

Stephen