{"id":673,"date":"2019-09-24T16:28:29","date_gmt":"2019-09-24T15:28:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.prayerscapes.com\/blog\/?p=673"},"modified":"2019-09-24T16:28:37","modified_gmt":"2019-09-24T15:28:37","slug":"how-to-pray-for-friends","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.prayerscapes.com\/blog\/how-to-pray-for-friends\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Pray for Friends"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Hi, today we\u2019re going to be looking at different creative ways that we can pray for our friends and loved ones. If you know someone at the moment that is going through a difficult time you might find these tips especially useful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed-youtube wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"625\" height=\"352\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent&#038;listType=playlist&#038;list=PLIojy7PfSmO7aEzVZVGwnbrHlDLKawL09\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation\"><\/iframe><\/span>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Praying for friends or loved ones is a powerful way of releasing blessing. The spaces between the children of the living God are sacred. No matter how far I am away from my brother physically I am connected to them spiritually. It is important to remember God is outside of this dimension\/time frame\/distance, he sees the whole of creation from beginning to end. He is the author of love and when we love, we commune with God and breathe out his kingdom of heaven upon the earth. Our prayers are powerful because the Holy Spirit was released into the world when Jesus rose back to life from death. It&#8217;s like the Holy Spirit is everywhere\u2026\u2026 the same Spirit. It\u2019s mind blowing and world changing! Through him our prayer is everywhere, moving outside us, inside us and through us! \u00a0I say this because sometimes we can feel it is a \u2018cop out\u2019 to say \u2019I&#8217;ll pray\u2019! So today I am going to give you four ways and suggestions on how we can pray for our loved ones.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>The first one is to <strong>imagine a circle around your friend<\/strong>, a circle of Gods provision and protection. Then pray into that circle light, love and healing, and speak out your specific prayers for them. Name the circumstances\/troubles or dreams for their lives. Then imagine that same circle and pray out of the circle, fear, shame, pain, hurt, rejection, disappointment, disillusionment and name and pray out all the specific things that you know are hard for them to hold. (If you find a visual way helpful you can draw a circle then write things in or out of the circle.) Then just entrust these things to God, you may find that the Holy Spirit helps you to discern and intercede for them in new ways as you pray in this way.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>The second way I call \u201c<strong>target prayers<\/strong>\u201d. Begin by taking a blank sheet of paper and writing down the name of each person you are thinking of praying for. Alongside each name just write a word which sums up what you hope for that person. At times it is helpful to distil our prayer in this way, like hitting the centre of a dartboard, all our faith is aimed at one word! You can even go back over these short prayers daily! Even hourly! I find that this way helps if you have many friends or family who are facing hard times, because sometimes we can be overwhelmed by the needs of others around us.&nbsp; Remember our prayers intertwine with the prayers of others, with the ongoing work of the Holy Spirit and praying something is always better than praying nothing! God is more than able to work through our prayers no matter how simple they are.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>The third suggestion is one of <strong>open blessing<\/strong>. Imagine your friend in your own mind and your heart and allow the Holy Spirit to give you a song! it might be a song that you sing at church, it might be a song that you remember from childhood, it might be a song from a more contemporary setting or if you&#8217;re very creative it might be a few words and melody that you spontaneously sing. Sing it softly, sing it loudly and sing it over and over as you think of that person. You may find you change the tense to create a blessing.\u00a0 For example, \u201cJesus, be her centre, be her hope, be her song Jesus\u201d. God has put us in relationship for a reason. We are the body of Christ, and the body works in unison! When one part of that body is poorly the other parts of the body shift and change to accommodate, when one limb has a limp the other parts take more weight. When you are hard of hearing your ability to lip read increases.\u00a0 It is said that it&#8217;s impossible for two parts of the body to feel pain at the same time, and in a similar way thinking of others draws our focus from our own pain. Let\u2019s be aware of each other, pray for one another, look after one another. When we pray, God will answer those prayers and there will be this flow of blessing, love, promise and hope between us as we become brothers and sisters united with our Father in heaven.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Lastly there are times when our concern and feelings for someone we love are overwhelming. There are no words, we run deep with feeling but dry in how to pray. I suggest you <strong>find something that represents that person<\/strong>, allow the Holy Spirit to lead you\u2026a stone from the beach, a favourite toy, an item like a clock or clothing or a photo. Then use this as your prayer. Sit and lift you heart to God and hold out the object that represents that person. God loves to talk with us but understands sometimes there are no words. When my son was going through a hard time, I found I would start to pray but end up just worrying about him. Prayer stirred up a lot of concerns but left me tired and more confused! So a friend recommended another way. I found a stone. I was drawn to it because it was heavy and an awkward shape to hold. Every time I felt overwhelmed with grief or worry I would pick it up, and hold it before God. I would cry at times, and that\u2019s OK too! Sometimes I would kneel, other times I would feel peace immediately as I presented my prayer to God. Silence in prayer allows our hearts to rest, to have peace. We can take our troubles quietly to the foot of the cross and trust in the redeeming power of Christ!<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Some final thoughts<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Well I hope that these suggestions are helpful. So here\u2019s these four different ways of praying for your friends again &#8211; pray a <em>circle prayer<\/em> by praying in the good stuff and out the bad. Try praying <em>target prayers<\/em>. Thirdly, sing a <em>blessing song<\/em> for them and finally try <em>holding a physical representation<\/em> of prayer before God. The other thing just to mention is how powerful it can be to let others know we are praying. It could be a card, a gift of flowers, a text, or an offer to visit and pray with them. At times I have even recorded prayers and sent them to others, so they can hear that prayer over and over. So, as we care for friends let&#8217;s be creative, encircling them not just in spoken prayer but with prayer gifts, prayer songs, prayer pictures, prayer company! \u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Thank you so much for all the comments that you\u2019ve been\nleaving us about our prayer films. We love to read them. Maybe there are ways\nwhich you pray for your friends that I haven\u2019t mentioned? If so, do leave them\nbelow. And until next time, may God hold you in the palm of his hand. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Hi, today we\u2019re going to be looking at different creative ways that we can pray for our friends and loved ones. If you know someone at the moment that is going through a difficult time you might find these tips especially useful. Praying for friends or loved ones is a powerful way of releasing blessing. <a class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.prayerscapes.com\/blog\/how-to-pray-for-friends\/\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":676,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true},"categories":[7,6,1],"tags":[58,59,3],"class_list":["post-673","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-film","category-prayer","category-uncategorized","tag-friends","tag-how-to-pray","tag-prayer"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.prayerscapes.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Julie_Palmer_on_Prayer_800.jpg?fit=800%2C450&ssl=1","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7bKxI-aR","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":629,"url":"https:\/\/www.prayerscapes.com\/blog\/prayer-for-a-friend\/","url_meta":{"origin":673,"position":0},"title":"Prayer for a Friend","date":"May 6, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"How can we pray for a friend who is currently having to contend with a very difficult life experience? It might be they have just lost their job, or perhaps it is a serious illness or even a bereavement in the family. Sometimes it is a friend whom we are\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Films&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"Several tealight candles","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.prayerscapes.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Prayer_For_A_Friend_600.jpg?fit=600%2C337&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":681,"url":"https:\/\/www.prayerscapes.com\/blog\/4-tips-on-how-to-start-a-prayer-journal\/","url_meta":{"origin":673,"position":1},"title":"4 Tips on How to Start a Prayer Journal","date":"October 1, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Today I\u2019m going to be looking at prayer journals. I\u2019ve found them to be an amazing gift in my journey with God, and I wanted to share with you four ideas for them that I have found useful. https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=pjmQxroiXYQ&feature=youtu.be I have always prayed in this way, so my home is\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Prayer&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"journal with ink pen","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.prayerscapes.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/un_journal_600.jpg?fit=600%2C337&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":704,"url":"https:\/\/www.prayerscapes.com\/blog\/how-to-pray-at-night-bedtime-prayers\/","url_meta":{"origin":673,"position":2},"title":"How to pray at night &#8211; bedtime prayers","date":"October 15, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Today I\u2019m going to be sharing with you three things that I find really helpful to remember when I pray at bedtime. https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=VwIsbchElLI&feature=youtu.be Personally, I always try and pray to my Abba Father at night. I guess it evokes that security and protection you can feel as a child drifting\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Films&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"Woman peacefully asleep on bed","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.prayerscapes.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Sheltered_Julie_Palmer_600.jpg?fit=600%2C443&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":718,"url":"https:\/\/www.prayerscapes.com\/blog\/how-to-bless-a-house\/","url_meta":{"origin":673,"position":3},"title":"How to Bless A House","date":"October 19, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"How can I pray for my home? Perhaps you have just moved into a new property and want to give this new chapter of your life to God, or home life is currently very stressful and you would appreciate some ideas on how to pray into this. https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=03oFt1ePT6g&feature=youtu.be Our homes\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Prayer&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"beautiful home","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.prayerscapes.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/un_home_600.jpg?fit=600%2C399&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":286,"url":"https:\/\/www.prayerscapes.com\/blog\/our-father\/","url_meta":{"origin":673,"position":4},"title":"Our Father","date":"March 1, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"We all experience the brokenness of humanity. My heart goes out to all those of you who find yourself in that place today. Illness, sorrow, fear, loneliness, hopelessness, confusion, hurt and fatigue are all real and immensely hard sufferings to endure. Christ knows all these feelings, and he overcame even\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Films&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"New York Underground Train in Station","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.prayerscapes.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/Lords_Prayer_Image.jpg?fit=599%2C338&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":609,"url":"https:\/\/www.prayerscapes.com\/blog\/prayer-for-couples\/","url_meta":{"origin":673,"position":5},"title":"Prayer for Couples","date":"February 9, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"The closeness found in marriage can provide a really beautiful space in which you learn together, grow in maturity and enjoy a deep friendship and intimacy. It was for me an extraordinary trigger to becoming more of who God created me to be and is such a blessing. However, that\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Films&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"Hands make shape of a heart with sun behind","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.prayerscapes.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/PE_Love_Hands_600.jpg?fit=600%2C400&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.prayerscapes.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/673","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.prayerscapes.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.prayerscapes.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.prayerscapes.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.prayerscapes.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=673"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.prayerscapes.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/673\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":678,"href":"https:\/\/www.prayerscapes.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/673\/revisions\/678"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.prayerscapes.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/676"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.prayerscapes.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=673"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.prayerscapes.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=673"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.prayerscapes.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=673"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}