Changi Chapel

“I’ll pray for you.”

We’ve all done it. With complete sincerity, we’ve told a friend that we’d remember them in prayer, only to have the prayer request slip out of our memory not long after we’ve left their company.

We meant what we said; we intended to pray, but the request was forgotten once we got back to the office, or got home from our Bible study, or arrived at the restaurant for lunch after Sunday worship.

There is a danger when we don’t follow through with our honest intentions to pray; eventually those words “I’ll pray for you” become a hollow and empty promise.

In 1 Thess. 3:10 Paul tells them that “night and day we pray most earnestly that we may see you again and supply what is lacking in your faith.”

Apparently when Paul says, “I’ll pray for you,” he actually follows through. May we share that same sense of commitment the next time we utter those simple words, “I’ll pray for you.”

So the next time you tell someone “I’ll pray for you”, will you really follow through? Or will it be another forgotten promise?

Jon Polk
www.theparkforum.org