Carrying the Burden of Others in Prayer

When Your Best Intentions Fail

By Carla G. Pollard

Jenny looked joyful as she navigated our church’s crowded foyer toward me.1 As women’s ministry leader, I had spent time with Jenny, discussing her concerns.

Jenny reached out to grasp my hand. “I want to thank you for praying for my husband,” she said. “He finally found a job last week. He starts first thing in the morning.”

I managed a smile and nodded, then she headed out the door.

Conviction pierced my heart as the memory of her plea for prayers flooded back. I had forgotten her need. I didn’t pray for her husband. Until she thanked me, I hadn’t even remembered her request.

I immediately sent up an earnest cry: Dear Lord, please forgive me. Help me remember the needs of those around me, especially if they ask for my prayers. Please forgive me for letting Jenny believe I had prayed as she had asked. Help me fix this. It had happened before, this forgetting of prayer requests. Guilt settled over my heart like a dark cloud. Just leave it with God and try harder next time, I thought. But I found little solace. I knew I would not find relief from this burden until I spoke to Jenny again.

Counting on Us

But Jenny’s confidence in me taught me a valuable lesson about bearing one another’s burdens. I understand the importance of presenting confidential requests to our heavenly Father. I know I depend on the prayers of my mentors; likewise, others depend on my prayers. Intercession—pleading our neighbor’s cause—is a vital part of our Christian life. Bringing the needs of family and friends to God offers love and understanding in our relationships with one another. Intercessory prayer marks us with the image of Jesus in this world.

Over the next week, as I sought wisdom about approaching Jenny with my failure, the Holy Spirit reminded me of Jesus praying in the Garden of Gethsemane the evening before He faced death on the cross. Jesus agonized for us. His burdens were so deep that His sweat poured out as great drops of blood. During this prayer vigil, He sought the help of His disciples. But when they proved weak and He found them asleep, He said, “Couldn’t you men keep watch with me for one hour?” (Matt. 26:40).

Imagine! The eve of His crucifixion. Jesus will soon suffer beyond fleshly pain and agony. He will endure the wrath of God for the sin of all humanity. At that moment, our Savior desires the prayers of His followers. And those closest to Him fail to pray. They fall asleep while Jesus wrestles with God over the cup He was sent to drink. He pours out His soul in prayer and returns to find the disciples sound asleep—three times. Even though they are sleeping, we can imagine our Lord’s tender love as He looks over their still bodies and whispers, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Look, the hour has come, and the Son of Man is delivered into the hands of sinners” (Matt. 26:45).

Jesus Never Stops

The Book of Hebrews describes Jesus as the One who lives to make intercession for us. He is sitting at the right hand of the Father, pleading our cause, praying for us (Heb. 7:25). I marvel at our Savior speaking up on our behalf. He gave His life for us; now He gives His prayers. He never stops giving.

Scripture says, “Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ” (Gal. 6:2). We carry one another’s burdens in the spiritual realm by pleading each other’s cause before the throne of God.

We cultivate close, intimate fellowship with Jesus as we pray with passion and purpose. We bear the image of Christ to the Father when we identify with someone else’s pain and desire God’s best and highest good for them. We reflect the love of Jesus to our hurting world when we care enough to pray for others. The Creator Himself grants us permission to enter His presence (Heb. 4:16). He hears our petitions and acts on our behalf because He sees and hears the heart of His dear Son through our prayers.

Figure Out A Strategy

Sometimes our busyness makes us forget our promises to pray, and when we realize our failure to follow through, we’re left feeling guilty.

I have a friend whose teenage son frequently failed to take care of his responsibilities. When he tried to justify himself, blaming his negligence on his failing memory, his mother replied, “But you didn’t do anything to help you not forget.” From my encounter with Jenny, I realized I needed a strategy to help me do something to “not forget.” Whenever someone asks us to pray, here are a few practical ways to not forget:

• Keep in mind the importance of remembering, as well as the privilege of praying for, the sincere need of those requesting prayer.
• If appropriate, stop and pray with them (or by yourself) at the time they express the need.
• Ask God to remind you later if He desires continued intercession over this need.Sometimes you cannot stop and pray immediately after someone expresses a need. So keep a pen and notepad available, or make notes in your phone, reminding yourself to pray about the need later—during your private devotions or at some other opportunity.
• Schedule a regular personal prayer time during your week when you ask the Lord to remind you to “carry the burdens of others.”
• Once you have prayed, set a reminder to follow up with those who’ve asked you to pray. Doing so shows you care about them and what they are going through.

I sense God’s presence in following these simple strategies to help me remember people’s requests and pray for their causes. God gives me a small taste of His great and eternal love for us. And I believe He delights in us when we draw close to Him through the service of intercession. When we remember the needs of others and pray, we can rise from those prayers with a renewed strength to face our own problems with hope and purpose.

Pray the Gift of Love

When I think my prayers are not enough, the Holy Spirit reminds me that crying out to the Lord for others is the greatest act of love I can give. I am grateful our Father works through prayers. I believe our petitions, when uttered with great love, mirror the love and compassion of His Son. When we agonize in prayer for those the Lord brings in our path, it is as if we are already seated with Christ at the right hand of the Father, participating in His love.

God grants Christians the honor and privilege of approaching His throne with our requests. Many people spend their entire working lives trying to win the ear of corporate or political influencers. But we win the ear—and the heart—of the Maker of heaven and earth when we fall to our knees and intercede.

As for Jenny, at the next week’s service, I swallowed my pride and faced my failure. I found her sitting off to the right of the sanctuary. “I have to confess something to you,” I said. “I forgot you asked me to pray for your husband’s employment. I don’t deserve any thanks. I want to ask you to forgive me.”

She responded with grace, and, as we hugged, we both acknowledged that God knows what we need before we even ask. I am thankful for His work in our hearts.

1not her real name

CARLA G. POLLARD is a Christian speaker and freelance writer. Through her ministry, Created to Climb (C2C), she helps area shelters, as well as women and children in need. She blogs at carlagpollard.com.