May 3rd, 2026
By: Tabitha White
“I’m praying for you!”
How many times have you said those words and completely forgotten that you said it about five seconds later? Or, maybe you remembered that you were supposed to pray for somebody, but couldn’t remember who it was or why.
If I’m being honest, I can say that has happened to me far too many times! I truly have good intentions to pray for the person, but then life and all of it’s distractions get in the way. What would happen if we remembered to pray for each person that we had promised to pray for…or even more, what if we stopped right in that moment to pray with them?
Over the past few weeks, that’s exactly what God has been reminding me. We know that the Bible says our prayers are powerful. James 5:16 tells us, “The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.” But it’s one thing to read those words and another to believe them…and it’s a whole different thing to live like we believe them!
There’s a story in Daniel 9 of a time when Daniel was praying for the people of Jerusalem, and Gabriel came to him. In Daniel 9:23, Gabriel explained, “The moment you began praying, a command was given.” Let that verse sink in for a second. The moment that Daniel began praying, God issued a command! God didn’t wait until Daniel prayed a perfect prayer. Daniel prayed, and God responded.
Now, don’t think that I’m saying that God acts like the genie from Aladdin!! That is NOT at all what I’m saying! However, God does want us to bring all of our burdens, concerns, prayers, and requests to Him, because He cares about us!
In Psalm 34:4, David says, “I prayed to the LORD, and he answered me. He freed me from all my fears.” David echoed this again in Psalm 18:6, “In my distress I called upon the LORD; to my God I cried for help. From his temple he heard my voice, and my cry to him reached his ears.”
I’ve given you several verses on prayer and how powerful it is, but here’s the thing: if we don’t believe them to be true, there won’t be a change in our prayer lives. We’ll continue on in the pattern of “I’m praying for you” - without ever following through on those promises.
So, how should this affect us? If we truly believe that our prayers matter, how should these verses change how we pray? Personally, these verses challenge me to pray with more of an urgency and sincerity! They remind me that God listens to every prayer that I pray…even the prayers that might be hard. He listens to the bold prayers and the whispered ones. The prayers that I pray for pets on Sunday mornings in RK and the ones I pray for teenagers that are asking God for clarity, peace, and confirmation of their calling. Every prayer matters, and we should pray like we believe that to be true!
Here’s my challenge to you this week: don’t stop at a promise of “I’m praying for you.” Stop in the moment and pray! Send a prayer in a text. Call someone on the phone and pray for them. Or even write out a prayer and mail it to someone. In whatever way God leads you, make prayer a priority! Pray like you truly believe that your prayers matter because every single one of them do!
“I’m praying for you!”
How many times have you said those words and completely forgotten that you said it about five seconds later? Or, maybe you remembered that you were supposed to pray for somebody, but couldn’t remember who it was or why.
If I’m being honest, I can say that has happened to me far too many times! I truly have good intentions to pray for the person, but then life and all of it’s distractions get in the way. What would happen if we remembered to pray for each person that we had promised to pray for…or even more, what if we stopped right in that moment to pray with them?
Over the past few weeks, that’s exactly what God has been reminding me. We know that the Bible says our prayers are powerful. James 5:16 tells us, “The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.” But it’s one thing to read those words and another to believe them…and it’s a whole different thing to live like we believe them!
There’s a story in Daniel 9 of a time when Daniel was praying for the people of Jerusalem, and Gabriel came to him. In Daniel 9:23, Gabriel explained, “The moment you began praying, a command was given.” Let that verse sink in for a second. The moment that Daniel began praying, God issued a command! God didn’t wait until Daniel prayed a perfect prayer. Daniel prayed, and God responded.
Now, don’t think that I’m saying that God acts like the genie from Aladdin!! That is NOT at all what I’m saying! However, God does want us to bring all of our burdens, concerns, prayers, and requests to Him, because He cares about us!
In Psalm 34:4, David says, “I prayed to the LORD, and he answered me. He freed me from all my fears.” David echoed this again in Psalm 18:6, “In my distress I called upon the LORD; to my God I cried for help. From his temple he heard my voice, and my cry to him reached his ears.”
I’ve given you several verses on prayer and how powerful it is, but here’s the thing: if we don’t believe them to be true, there won’t be a change in our prayer lives. We’ll continue on in the pattern of “I’m praying for you” - without ever following through on those promises.
So, how should this affect us? If we truly believe that our prayers matter, how should these verses change how we pray? Personally, these verses challenge me to pray with more of an urgency and sincerity! They remind me that God listens to every prayer that I pray…even the prayers that might be hard. He listens to the bold prayers and the whispered ones. The prayers that I pray for pets on Sunday mornings in RK and the ones I pray for teenagers that are asking God for clarity, peace, and confirmation of their calling. Every prayer matters, and we should pray like we believe that to be true!
Here’s my challenge to you this week: don’t stop at a promise of “I’m praying for you.” Stop in the moment and pray! Send a prayer in a text. Call someone on the phone and pray for them. Or even write out a prayer and mail it to someone. In whatever way God leads you, make prayer a priority! Pray like you truly believe that your prayers matter because every single one of them do!
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