Mandy Santos

This past Sunday at South Bay Church, Filipe preached on “Bold Praying”. He did an awesome job (doesn’t he always?!), and while I heard most of it prior to Sunday (that’s the benefit of being a pastor’s wife), so much of the message continues to ring in my ears.

I loved this statement:

1. What you pray for reflects what you BELIEVE about God.
Not only does this help us evaluate our own hearts, but it’s great for parenting too. Hearing what our kids are praying about/for is an indicator into their heart and faith in God.

Then, Filipe asked this question:

2. If God answered every prayer you prayed last week, how different would the world be?
Are the prayers we pray inward-focused or outward-focused? Are we only concerned with our day, our problems, and our food being blessed?

  • Do we consider praying for those who may not make it till tomorrow?
  • Do we think of the orphans, the widows, the abandoned, the trafficked.
  • Do we pray for those unreached with the Gospel?
  • Do we think of our own city and community?

I think most of us who are Christians would say we want to pray for these things (& more!), but how often do we simply forget. We get so caught up in our own lives, our own situations, and we fail to consider those around us.

2 Bold Ideas:

 Make a Prayer Calendar: Make list of things to pray for and break them up into different days of the week. Keep the  list in the front of you Bible/Journal (or wherever you will see it) as a reminder.

Personalize your Prayers: Our family sponsors 5 individuals (4 kids and 1 missionary) and we pray for them consistently by name. When you attach a name to an issue, things change. Your awareness widens. No longer are you praying for those suffering in poverty, you are praying for Sitota and Keren, Jossiel and Jishan.

We can easily be overwhelmed by the magnitude of needs around us and around the globe. The list of problems are endless. Try this. Go to the Compassion site and simply pray for the kids (& have your kids pray with you). They are real kids with real issues. Even if you can’t sponsor them, pray for someone who can. Pray that God intervenes into their life and family so they can have the future you hope your kids have.