How can we profess to know and love Jesus if we stay quiet and don't tell others we pray?

Have you ever been really surprised when someone tells you that you are on their prayer list?

Well, many years ago, I worked with another teacher who kept telling me over and over again that she had my family and me on her prayer list at church.

When I experienced certain things that made me think that this wonderful woman's prayers were working, I wanted to know more about what she meant about her prayer list at church.

Having been brought up attending church with my parents, brother, and other family members, I knew about God and prayed often.  However, I had never had experiences like this before; where someone else was so involved in bringing us up personally in prayer and telling me about it all. 

Some of the prayers were very specific about career advances she would like to see me have.  Those started happening.

Looking back, reflecting on things spiritual in nature, I now know that Louise's prayers were definitely instrumental in making changes for the good in my life.  Not only in my life, too, but in the life of my wife, children, family, our church, our friends, and those persons my wife and I worked with or knew about.

It took a long time to really understand what this prayer list thing was all about.

I decided to actually visit her church and see what she meant.

That is where I saw people entering her church and writing down the names of persons needing prayers.  Sometimes a reason was put beside the name. 

As an elder of our church, St. John Presbyterian Church, in West Tampa, I took it back to the Session as a suggestion, and it has been several decades now that we have had our own prayer list that we can sign as we enter the church. 

During the week, the list is taken to a special church prayer group that has been meeting also for dozens of years, and the names and situations are prayed for.  Some members of the group know specifics and can add to the situation, but most of the times it's just acknowledging that this person or family needs our prayers.

You see, it's praying first of all for others, and also in group agreement, that one becomes aware that praying is very powerful.

It is also in not being afraid or reserved in letting others know we value prayer and  prayers both alone and also together. 

Sometimes you can pray with your spouse or a friend in even a small group of two or a few more.  At other times you can pray together in larger groups in addition to prayers offered in church services.

You begin to know in a very large way that God is listening and acting.

It really is the best thing there is in life; the knowledge that our one and only God cares for us, loves us, and acts upon our prayers.  We are communicating with Him.

We also find out that in his answers, he often has exciting and bigger and greater things in store for us.

Let us not stay quiet about our prayers.  We must let others know we are praying for them.

As a Presbyterian it is a privilege to be involved in prayer and I must add as kind of a postscript, that this article is dedicated to the late Louise Lee of Tampa.