Mark 10:47
"And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out, and say, Jesus, thou Son of David, have mercy on me."
Recently, we started a new section for prayer requests in the Old Paths Journal.
My initial thought would be that Christians would read these requests and pray for the one who is in need. On the majority scale this has happened, but to my surprise I have been amazed at some who don't know how to respond to prayer requests.
In the verse above, Jesus was faced with a prayer request. A man who was blind cried out to Jesus that He would take the blindness away. This man requested of Jesus to answer his prayer for healing. It is surprising that this man's request was encountered with criticism. Many said in verse 48, "And many charged him that he should hold his peace:..." What, hold your peace? Are they serious? Here is a man who has an opportunity to be healed, and they have the gall to tell him to be quiet. Their response to this man's prayer request is shocking. Fortunately, Jesus looked beyond the criticisms of those around this man and healed him.
Throughout your lifetime you will be faced with hundreds of prayer requests. In many churches, prayer requests are typed out on a Wednesday night bulletin. Some churches take prayer requests from the floor. There will be times when you receive a prayer request from someone who comes directly to you. How you respond to these requests is important. Let me give you some suggestions on how to respond to prayer requests.
First, pray for the request. I know this sounds absurd, but you would be amazed how many people truly pray for someone's request. Let me prove my point. Have you prayed for the requests handed out on the Wednesday night church bulletin? This happens to be one of the most neglected areas of prayer when it should be that these prayer requests are the one's prayed for the most.
Second, treat each request as if it was your request. When you give a prayer request, don't you want people to pray for it? Then, if you want people to pray for yours, then you should pray for theirs. Don't be self-centered when it comes to prayer requests. Pray for them as if you were the one who gave the request.
Third, be sensitive in what you say to those who gave the request. For instance, if someone has a loved one who is seriously sick, don't be so crude as to go to them and ask them when their loved one dies what they are going to do. That is absurd and wrong! You many think nobody ever does this, but I've seen it happen. Friend, you were asked to pray and not to give your opinions. The best thing you can do is pray.
Fourth, when the prayer is answered, take time to thank and praise God for answering the prayer. If you're the one who gave the request and God answered it, then be courteous enough to let others know God answered your prayer. When you hear of God answering prayer, rejoice with them. Then, take some time to thank and praise God for answering it.
A prayer request is given for one purpose, for you to pray. Don't be guilty of hearing a prayer request and forgetting to pray for it. When you hear someone needs prayer, join the army of Christians and pray for God to do something with that request. If you respond properly to another's request, then maybe God will be sure to answer your request when you pray.