Jesus’s Prayer List

Meanwhile, the moment we get tired in the waiting, God’s Spirit is right alongside helping us along. If we don’t know how or what to pray, it doesn’t matter. He does our praying in and for us, making prayer out of our wordless sighs, our aching groans. He knows us far better than we know ourselves, knows our pregnant condition, and keeps us present before God. That’s why we can be so sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good.God knew what he was doing from the very beginning. He decided from the outset to shape the lives of those who love him along the same lines as the life of his Son. The Son stands first in the line of humanity he restored. We see the original and intended shape of our lives there in him. After God made that decision of what his children should be like, he followed it up by calling people by name. After he called them by name, he set them on a solid basis with himself. And then, after getting them established, he stayed with them to the end, gloriously completing what he had begun.So, what do you think? With God on our side like this, how can we lose? If God didn’t hesitate to put everything on the line for us, embracing our condition and exposing himself to the worst by sending his own Son, is there anything else he wouldn’t gladly and freely do for us? And who would dare tangle with God by messing with one of God’s chosen? Who would dare even to point a finger? The One who died for us—who was raised to life for us!—is in the presence of God at this very moment sticking up for us. Do you think anyone is going to be able to drive a wedge between us and Christ’s love for us? There is no way! Not trouble, not hard times, not hatred, not hunger, not homelessness, not bullying threats, not backstabbing, not even the worst sins listed in Scripture:
They kill us in cold blood because they hate you.
We’re sitting ducks; they pick us off one by one.
None of this fazes us because Jesus loves us. I’m absolutely convinced that nothing—nothing living or dead, angelic or demonic, today or tomorrow, high or low, thinkable or unthinkable—absolutely nothing can get between us and God’s love because of the way that Jesus our Master has embraced us. (Romans 8:26-38– The Message. Emphases added)

I keep a Prayer Journal– (for more info, click here: Prayer Journal). In my prayer journal, I have lists of names– people I pray for on their birthday or anniversary; people I pray for on the anniversary of a loved ones’ death; people who are hurting or in need at a particular time– and some days, the list seems very long. Sometimes the names on my lists are people I know well, but other names are there because I knew them well in the past, or because they are important to people I know well, but I don’t really know them personally. Often, I don’t really know how best to pray for an individual on my list. But imagine if Jesus were to keep a written prayer journal! He doesn’t just pray for people on special occasions or even in their time of trial– He prays continually for all who are His! And He knows each one intimately– He knows our every need better than we do!

You and I (if we are followers of Christ) are CONTINUALLY on His mind, and CONTINUALLY in His prayers! In fact, His Spirit even inhabits our groans and fumbled or aborted prayers. There is not a moment or a set of circumstances in which Jesus has turned His back on us or been distracted by something else. He is our Eternal Advocate, our Ever-Present Help, and our Heavenly prayer-warrior!

What a comfort to know that I don’t have to know exactly how or what to pray in order to lift up my heart-cry to God. My words may be muddled, my mind distracted by fleeting worries or doubts, but if I have placed my trust in Christ, I will never pray in vain. I may not be able to understand how or why or when God will work; I may not understand how my prayers fit into God’s overall plans. But I can pray with confidence that comes from knowing that God is Good, and Christ is my liaison with all that is Sovereign and Good. I cannot be separated from any of that by my own inadequacies or my lack of understanding. I cannot be kept apart from God by any personal failings or any forces working against me. And my fumbling prayers cannot be intercepted or twisted or negated by the enemy.

Your name is on Jesus’s prayer “list”; you are in His constant prayers before the Father. And each of your prayers is personally siphoned through the Holy Spirit and the Son to be presented– perfected– to the Father! What a captivating and encouraging thought! What an Amazing God we serve!

July 16, 2025 0

People, Places, and Things

Most of the time, when I lift up prayer requests, they are about people. I love people, and so does God, so it makes sense to remember those who are rejoicing, those who are mourning, and those who are struggling.

But I also pray about places. God created places, just as He created people. Through the prophets, God spoke of places– nations, certainly, but also specific mountains, rivers, cities, forests, and deserts. God pronounces judgment on people, but He mourns the destruction of places, as well.

At least once each month, I hope to post some thoughts or practices that I have found helpful in my pursuit of prayer over the years. Today, I want to talk about the importance of place.

Every day, on my prayer journal pages, I have a focus on a specific place. Yesterday, it was the island of Madagascar. Many times, I pray for the people of a specific place. Sometimes, I know of conflicts or natural disasters that impact the people living there. But often, I know very little about the places I pray for. I can look them up to find out more– what language do the people speak? what is the climate like? what are the natural resources of the area? Madagascar is home to many animal and plant species that are found nowhere else on the planet. God cares about His creation, and so should I. I may not have the resources to protect wildlife in Madagascar, but I know the creator and sustainer of all creation. And in praying for the land, people, and wildlife in Madagascar, I am taking the time to remember the vastness and variety of God’s creation, and His power to sustain life and cause it to flourish.

Jesus prayed over Jerusalem. He prayed over the Temple there. If Jesus can pray over places, then maybe we should, too. Over the past several weeks, I’ve been praying over the house where I grew up. After my mom’s death, we children decided to put the house up for sale. It hasn’t been an easy decision, but we feel it is the right one. I’ve been praying, not just that the house would sell, but that it would become a nurturing, safe place for a new family– a place where God would be honored and wonderful memories made. We aren’t finished with the process yet, but I believe that God can honor such prayers. God transcends “place.” He is omnipresent. But I believe that there are special places that resonate with the power of God’s work in the past (and other places that are haunted by the evil done there in years gone by). We should take time to acknowledge both the work that God has done in special places, and the need for His cleansing (and/or judgment) in others. Places are not more important that people, but they have lasting impact and are part of God’s purpose.

Cities, habitats, people groups, wildlife; wars, famines, floods and droughts, pollution and climate issues– from urban blight to toxic waste in the oceans. God’s heart is that we would do our best to care for the places in which we live– and that we would trust Him with the changes that are out of our control. Not just in Madagascar, or Ukraine or Rio de Janiero, but in our own backyard or in the next city block. Buildings, lakes, roads and parks– we can also lift them up in prayer, knowing that God is Lord of ALL around us–all that makes up life around us.

What might happen in our world if, instead of wringing our hands about climate change, we prayed and asked God what small steps we could take to make a difference right around us? What would happen if we prayed about the oceans and deserts and the wildlife that inhabit them– after all, I have no idea how many seals and gazelles, coral reefs and cacti there are in the world, but God knows them all!

Prayer doesn’t negate our need to care for the places around us– it’s still important to pick up litter, recycle, and be responsible about using, caring for, and disposing of resources. But praying about places will keep us “in tune” with God’s love of creation, and His desire that we honor Him in everything– everywhere!

July 21, 2023 0

Infinite Variety

As I look out my window today, I see a wonderful palette of fall colors waving in the wind. There are trees still filled with dark green; others with variegated shades of red and orange and yellow; some have brown leaves– so brown, they are tinged with purple! Back in the spring, the trees had so many subtle shades of green– bright green, yellow-green, and un-nameable greens in between. The colors of nature are astounding in their variety and their ability to change throughout the seasons.

God loves variety– not just in colors, but in all of life. Giraffes and gerbils; elephants and eels; ladybugs and llamas; koalas and kingfishers; swans and sloths; trees and termites; roses and raccoons…different shapes and sizes, with different lifespans and different habitats. Nature is a kaleidoscope. And precious people, too. Skin tones that span a vast spectrum; different hair; different eyes; different noses; different heights. But also different speech; different ways of thinking and doing; different ways of life–people living in city apartments, isolated huts, houseboats, underground houses–infinite variety.

Our prayers are also uniquely different from those of other people. And God LOVES to hear the differences as we lift up our unique praises and petitions. God created us to be uniquely ourselves– and uniquely His!

Just think– at this very moment, someone is praying in a language you’ve never spoken, in a place you’ve never visited. Someone else is praying for needs you have never even imagined, and thanking God for blessings you’ve never dreamed of.

It is a wonderful exercise to pray in a group– dozens, even hundreds of God’s people speaking the same thing in agreement; raising united hearts in praise or even in pain. But there is also something wonderful about listening to others as they express their hearts, knowing that God values each of us for the unique person He made us to be. We can be just as awed by the variety of amazing people we meet as we are by the amazing colors of the autumn leaves. The same God loves to fill the world with infinite variety and beauty.

Today, let’s try to see people for who God made them to be–infinitely precious and unique. And don’t forget that person in the mirror! God loves you. He loves to hear from you. He loves to lavish His love on you and through you, in ways that only He and You can experience.

October 14, 2022 0

8,000,000,000 Cousins

I wrote a couple of weeks ago about what I call, “Prayer Points.” Each day of the week, I make a “point” of spending some of my prayer time on a particular issue– one day a week, I focus on the community; another day on global issues like poverty, war, and the environment. The other day, I was focused on “family and friends,” when I realized something, or rather, remembered something. I began by focusing on immediate family– my husband, our kids and grandkids. Then I spread the focus a little wider–our moms, siblings, and their families. Then aunts, uncles, and cousins…and their families! Pretty soon, I was thinking about second cousins and third cousins– the ones I see at family reunions, or catch up with on Facebook every once in awhile.

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And that got me thinking about my family tree. I research and work on genealogy for my family. My family tree stretches back several generations, and “branches” out several times over. There are nearly 28,000 names in my family tree, and I’ve only scratched the surface! My family tree is a tiny drop in the world population of nearly 8,000,000,000 people (7.96 billion as of this month, and growing). But it represents an incredible mix of people. Some of my family are of European origin; some are Native American; some are of African descent, or Asian. Many of us are a mixture of races, ethnicities, and native languages. Some of us are rich; some are barely getting by. Some of us are tall; others are short. Some are healthy; others have health or developmental issues. But we are all family.

And, by extension, we are ALL family– all nearly 8 billion of us! We are all God’s children, and when we pray for “family and friends,” we can include anyone! That’s a mind-blowing thought, and I was really excited to be reminded of the fact. But it’s also a sobering thought. I certainly don’t know all of the living people I’ve included in my family tree– most of the information has come from public records and other family’s research, rather than personal knowledge. No one can possibly know 7.96 billion people– we’re lucky if we can remember the names and faces of more than 5 thousand in a lifetime. We could not possibly pray for them all.

But far more sobering is the thought that there are people I do know for whom I might not WANT to pray– people who have hurt me, or people I have judged unworthy of my time or effort. Yet are they not also “my family?” What difference does it make in the way I pray when I remember that I have, not 50 cousins, or 500 or even 5,000 cousins, but almost 8 billion? That the next person I meet on the street or at the post office, or at church–she or he is not just my neighbor, or my friend (or enemy), but my cousin? Shouldn’t I consider how I can pray for them– even a quick prayer? Shouldn’t I listen better, look closer, and seek out opportunities to show love for another of God’s children?

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It’s easy to speak in “relative” terms, but it can be a challenge to really live as “family.” Praying– sincerely and thankfully–for others can be a start.

July 27, 2022 0

Prayers for the Nameless…

I keep a prayer journal. In it, I like to write the names of people I know and pray for– family, friends, neighbors, etc. For every day of the year, I have a list of people who are celebrating birthdays or anniversaries (if I know about them). And I also have a space where I list specific requests related to health or suffering, needs, grieving, and more.

But many times, I also get generic or “unspoken” requests–no names or specific details. And for every day of the year, I also have a place or region– a city, state, province, nation, continent, ocean, desert–for which I pray. Sometimes, this can be awkward. I don’t always know for whom I am praying, or for what outcome…should I pray for peace?..prosperity?..courage?..the weather?..the government?..

So what is the point? Why not stick to more “focused” prayer? Why not pray for those things with which I am most familiar? Most comfortable? Most able to make or see a difference?

Because God calls us to pray. And He calls us to pray both for those people and things we know well, and those we can only hope to trust to Him. I don’t have to know WHY I am praying for Albania (beyond the fact that it is on tomorrow’s page of my prayer journal). I don’t have to know who lives there, or what the needs are. I don’t have to know, because God knows, and I am trusting HIM to know the who and the why, the how and the when.

The other day, I was reading in Genesis– the story of Noah, and the Ark. The Bible introduces Noah by giving us a genealogy: a list of the descendants of Adam through to Noah. And there is a curious side story about Nephilim, and giants, and wickedness. But there is something noticeably missing. The women’s names. Even in the story of Noah that follows, Noah and his sons are named. But not the wives…we know they are there in the Ark. We know they were saved from the flood. We know they were crucial to the survival and future of mankind, but there are no names. At other times throughout the Bible narrative, there are seemingly endless lists of names of people we are likely to forget–names like Peninnah (1 Samuel 1:2), Unni (1 Chronicles 15:18), Shelumiel (Numbers 10:18), Palal (Nehemiah 3:25), Tryphena (Romans 16:12), or Onesiphorus (2 Timothy 1:16).

Names are important to the Lord. He knows each and every person’s name before they are even born. He knows the number of hairs on each person’s head (even the ones that used to be there!). But it is not necessary for US to know every name, every need, or every situation in order to lift it before our omniscient and loving Father.

So I will continue to pray for the nameless and the unknown. I will lift up unspoken and unformed requests to the God I DO know.

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Another reason I continue to pray for the nameless is that it keeps my focus outward. One of the drawbacks of the modern and post-modern world is that the “smaller” our world becomes, the smaller our focus. I can connect, via internet, to people around the globe. I can look up statistics for any country or region; I can see news reports and video uploads in real time from nearly every corner of the world. But it can be frightfully easy to turn my focus on myself and those immediately around me, to the exclusion of those whose names don’t show up on my “friends” list, or those whose faces get lost among the thousands of videos, and Facebook Posts, and Instagram shots. It can be deceptively easy to depend on what I can “know” from a computer screen, and not to depend on what God knows to be true.

Let’s open our hearts and minds to pray for the nameless among us– near and far. They are not nameless to God, and they are precious in His sight. And somewhere, someone may be praying for “nameless” people in our nation, or city, or region– US!

January 4, 2021 0

“I Never Knew You”

²¹“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. ²²Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ ²³Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’ Matthew 7:21-23 (NIV)

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In my life I have met “important”people– people with money, or power, or fame, (or all three!) And I have met “forgotten” people, “ordinary” people, “special” people, flamboyant people, even repugnant people.

I know hundreds of people’s names; recognize their faces; carry memories of laughter created, or goals accomplished, or griefs shared. As I get older, I sometimes meet up with people I should remember or know, but I can’t place their name, or their face has changed out of recognition since we last met. And of course, the same thing sometimes happens in reverse– I expect to be recognized, but the other person has no memory of me. It can be distressing; this feeling of not remembering or not being acknowledged.

I know many families who have journeyed through Alzheimer’s or other forms of dementia. Loving someone who no longer remembers looking into your eyes, no longer reacts to the tone of your voice, no longer knows your intimate secrets…who searches your face and sees only a stranger. Hoping for even a glimmer of recognition; a moment of memory–it’s heart-breaking and harrowing and exhausting.

But imagine hearing those words from your creator– “I never knew you.” In all your life, never having made time to create memories with the God who formed you in the womb, who counts the very hairs of your head; hearing HIM say, “I never knew you. I made you; I was as close as your next breath through every moment of your life. I heard every laugh; I saw every tear– yet I never KNEW you. You never let me in; you never reached out or looked in my direction. You pretended to others that you knew me. You ‘name-dropped.’ You told others that we were friends. That you spoke with me every day. I heard you. I wept. But I never knew you. And you never knew me. Oh, you learned about me. You knew enough to convince some others that you knew me. You even said elaborate prayers and quoted many of my words. You put on a good show. But you lived your life as though you never met me; as though I were no more than a myth or a shadow. And now, now that you see me for who I AM; now that your eternal life depends on it–you have to hear the most frightening words I will ever speak: ‘I never knew you.'”

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¹⁰I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, ¹¹and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead.
¹²Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Philippians 3:10-12

Of all the people I have met; of all the people I know– Lord Jesus, let me recognize Your voice above all. Let me cherish your presence in every moment of my life, and in every relationship. Grant me grace and wisdom to follow you and live in joyful obedience. And let me invite others into your presence. Let me know you and be known by you. Let me be eternally yours as you are mine.

October 7, 2020 0

Tag: people