Click for audio: Praying for Others
The act of praying for others, also known as intercessory prayer, can be a comforting, strengthening and very powerful practice. When you know others are praying with you in your time of need, your faith is strengthened through their prayer support. And you do the same for others when you include them in your prayers.
For those of us who see prayer, not as a way of influencing God to act on behalf of another, but as a way of bringing our consciousness into alignment with what is true of God, of ourselves and of those for whom we pray, we may have questions about our approach. If we’re not praying to influence God to produce specific outcomes, why bother to pray at all?
It’s important for us to realize that the healing, harmonizing, prospering activity of God is in full swing always. When we pray for another, this is the first thing we bring to mind. We know the truth that God is working in and through them in beautiful and productive ways. To fully know this, we must release the image we hold of the one for whom we are praying as sick, troubled, financially challenged or whatever appears to be true at the moment. Once you set aside what the facts may be saying and visualize them in a healthy, happy and robust condition, mentally ask their forgiveness for seeing them in a lesser state and then see them granting you forgiveness.
This is a very good way to begin, for prayer has been described by some as worry with our eyes closed. We want to abolish all worry and fear and hold the truth that God is fully active in all people right now. When we truly come to know this about the one for whom we are praying, we will experience a deep sense of peace concerning them. We then release them into the perfect outworking of divine love and wisdom. From this point on, every time we think of this person throughout our day, we return to our place of peace. If we find fear and concern beginning to creep in, we again set aside a special time when we ask their forgiveness, re-establish our peace about them and then go about our business knowing the truth that God is fully present and active in their experience.
This is affirmative prayer that makes you an affirmative influence for others. Do not concern yourself with if or how it works. Just know along with Jesus that God is always at work and you are in perfect alignment with this work.