Celebrations and Concerns

When I was a pastor I always had a time before the pastoral prayer for church members to share what I called celebrations and concerns.

Celebrations were testimonies of what the Lord had done for you. Concerns were what you or others were going through at a particular time and how you genuinely solicited the prayers of your pastor and fellow church members. This is always tricky because not everyone desires for others to lift their name or situation or condition up in worship. I understand.

In fact, if you plan on mentioning someone’s name in a prayer concern time, you should get that person’s permission first or simply lift it up as a concern with no name attached. I ask church members or others before I lift their name up in public worship and prayer. One time I was shocked at the result I received from doing this.

I was making a hospital visit with a church member who had recently been diagnosed with a cancer that typically doesn’t give the person long to live. I was on my way to a Christian enrichment event and was one of the speakers at the event.

I asked the person if I could lift them up in prayer by name and by condition, and they were eager for me to do so. I made a mental note of this. At the event where I spoke, I lifted this person and her condition up in one of my prayers. I love it when people pray for others.

After one of the prayers, one of the “leaders” came up to me and reprimanded me and said this was about enriching the people at this particular event. We did not need to lose our focus—this was about the people here, not somewhere else. Needless to say, I never spoke or attended another one of those Christian enrichment events.

When you tell me I cannot pray for someone who has requested prayer at any kind of an event, I’m not sure you and I are on the same page and if we really serve the same God. There is never a “bad” time to pray for someone, wherever you are or whatever you are doing.

I wonder if this “leader” had been diagnosed with an incurable cancer and was soliciting the prayers of others how he or she might respond if someone ignored their request because the event, place, or timing wasn’t suitable. Everybody is somebody. When they need prayer, I pray for them.

I don’t understand how I can go to church after church after church, Sunday after Sunday after Sunday, and never hear a prayer of concern or of protection for our men and women in the military. We are living in a war-time, lest we have forgotten. There are men and women in uniform facing daily situations and conditions we may never experience in our lifetime.

We need to pray for them when we are in church and when we are at home. If it were not for them, we wouldn’t have the churches and homes we have. May God bless them and protect them, every minute of every day. Prayer is a gift to be used often and, yes, for others, not just me.