Hi Ches,
I don't always tell people I'm praying for them.
But I think it gives them some comfort to know people are putting their pray request before God.
Hi Gena,
These are excerpt from Ray's article, 'Praying By God's Rules."
http://bible-truths.com/praying.htm -------------------------------
When God wants to answer someone’s prayer, the first thing He will always do is inspire (cause) that person TO PRAY. How can God answer a "prayer" if someone doesn’t "pray"? God can bless us and do favors for us, but God cannot answer our prayers, if we don’t pray. That is why I get excited when I feel inspired to pray, as I am encouraged that God is getting ready to bless or favor me in some way.
If you always pray, "not as I will, but as THOU will," all of your prayers will be answered too. Whether you always get what you desire or you don’t get what you desire, if your greatest desire of all desires is for "THY WILL be done," then you can rest assured that from this day forward, all of your prayers will be answered always. God’s will (that is His intention for the way He has preordained everything to go), will always be done. No prayer has ever changed God’s plan or purpose in any way whatsoever. (Read my series on "free will").
Now then, if it was God’s intention for you to be blessed by some particular favor, and God inspires you to pray for that favor then it will surely be given to you. If on the other hand, if it was not God’s intention for you to be blessed by some particular favor, then no amount of praying will cause God to grant it to you. Either way, God’s will must be done, and if that is the greatest desire of your prayer for God’s will to be done in your life, then whether you receive some particular favor or you don’t receive it, nonetheless, YOUR PRAYER WILL BE ANSWERED.
I’m, personally, okay with that. Many of my readers may not be okay with that arrangement of things, but nevertheless, that is the way things are and that is the way things will always be—"THY will be done."
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I was thinking this might help you understand more about the purpose of prayer
mercy, peace, and love
Kat