“Carrying Each Other’s Burdens”<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Text: How to Pray with Other People<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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My name is Father Anthony, and today, we are going to learn how to pray with other people. This is a very important topic because, when we read the Scriptures, we often see Jesus praying with others. And since Jesus did it, we want to do it! So today, we are going to learn four basic steps. And before we get into that, I thought I might tell you a story that might give you a little bit of encouragement. Because, we need courage to pray with others. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
James<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
About a year ago, I went to my friend\u2019s birthday party, and shortly after arriving, I realized I had left my present in the car. So I excused myself, and I began walking to my car, and then this fellow approaches me. His name was James, and I could tell James was very upset. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
James told me that his mother passed away, that his brother had lost his job, that he himself didn\u2019t have proper housing – was living on the streets, and I can\u2019t tell you exactly what he thought I said, but all of a sudden, he became very angry with me, and he started to accuse me of being a bad priest and a bad Christian. I thought at any moment, he was going to punch me in the face. So, what did I do? Well, what would you do? What I did was, I said, \u201cJesus, what should I do?\u201d And the Lord said, \u201cPray with him.\u201d So I tried to get the attention of James. I said, \u201cJames!\u201d No use, he wasn\u2019t listening. \u201cJames!\u201d He was still yelling at me. \u201cJames! Let\u2019s pray for your mom.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
And all of a sudden, James bowed his head like this, and he got very quiet, and we began to pray. I said this. I said, \u201cHeavenly Father, I thank you and I bless you for the gift of my brother James, whose life is a blessing to this world. James lost his mother, his brother lost his job, and James himself needs proper housing. In the name of Jesus, bless Your son.\u201d I got done praying, and James raised his head, and he had this big smile on his face. He said farewell and he went on his way. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Four Basic Steps<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Sometimes, Jesus needs us to be the ones to facilitate certain graces. He wants us to pray with other people. And so, we need to learn how to do it. So, what are those four basic steps that I mentioned before? Well, you heard them when I prayed with James. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The first thing is this — get your paper ready: we address who God, the Father, is. \u201cHeavenly Father, we bless you, we thank you.\u201d The second thing: we address the person we\u2019re praying for. In this case, his name was James. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe thank you for the gift of my brother, your Son, James.\u201d The third part is: we mention a need. And the fourth part is: we pray for the need in the name of Jesus. It\u2019s important for us to mention our Lord\u2019s name. So that\u2019s it! Pretty simple! <\/p>\n\n\n\n
We address God the Father, we then address the person we\u2019re praying for, we mention the need, and in the name of Jesus, we pray for the need. It\u2019s important for us to get a lot of practice when doing this, and what we\u2019ll find is this becomes the very basic format of a lot of prayers that we say with other people. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Power of Prayer<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
So before we go, I wanted to tell you one last story, and I think you might find this pretty encouraging. I used to go visit a person in jail just about every week, and as I waited for the person to be ready in their cell, I would spend time getting to know the guards — and the guards were such great people! <\/p>\n\n\n\n
On one occasion, I was waiting to see my person, and a guard came up to me and said, \u201cHey Father, I want your blessing!\u201d I said, \u201cAlright, let me go see my person, and when I get back, we can pray together.\u201d So I see my guy and as I\u2019m leaving, I see the guard, and I said, \u201cHey, would you like to pray together? He says, \u201cNo, no no, I don\u2019t want to pray together, I want your blessing.\u201d So what did I do? I prayed with him. And so, I decided I would pray a very short prayer, and he wasn\u2019t very open about what he needed – just that he had some health issues and that he wanted a blessing. So I said, \u201cHeavenly Father, we pray for your son. He desires some healing for his Health. In the name of Jesus, heal your son right now.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Well, I leave, and then a week later, I come back to see my person in jail, and the guard comes up to me, and he looked very shocked and surprised. He said, \u201cFather, you will never guess what happened.\u201d I said, \u201cWell tell me.\u201d He said, \u201cI was all lined up to have my operation. I was on the table, and the doctor comes in with the last final x-ray, and the doctor says, \u2018I can\u2019t explain it, but your tumor has shrunk down to a size that does not require any kind of operation. Today, you’re not going to be operated on. Go home.\u201d He said, \u201cFather, I am just so shocked, I cannot believe this could happen. Thank you so much for praying with me.\u201d Now, in this case, with this gentlemen, I decided to only pray a very short prayer with him. The prayer was only like 5 to 10 seconds long, because I wanted to respect the fact that we were in public, and I didn\u2019t want to embarrass him. Sometimes, the short prayer is the good prayer. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
So, before we go, I want to offer my blessing to you, and I want to encourage you to practice, practice, practice. Please bow your heads, and let\u2019s pray for God\u2019s blessing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Closing Prayer<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Father in Heaven, I thank you for all the men and women who are praying novenas — praying that your blessings will come into their life, for themselves and for their friends and the world, in the name of Jesus, receive their intentions, and bless your sons and daughters. We ask this all through Christ the Lord, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\nAnd God bless you all! <\/p>\n\n\n\n