How to Ask People to Pray for You

When you read the Bible, especially the New Testament, during the time of the early church, you will see that every believer lived with other believers as a spiritual family. In fact, after relying on God first, they relied on each other and supported one another. They encouraged one another, supplied each other’s needs, prayed for each other, and carried each other’s burdens. It is essential for a Christian to be part of a church community where fellow believers can correct you, teach you, encourage you, and pray for you. We should always connect with fellow believers and surround ourselves with the church community.

And they continued stedfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.

[Acts 2:42]

If we are with fellow Christians, we are encouraged and ministered to if we have problems. We are also corrected and admonished, which helps us in our sanctification. At the same time, God does indeed directly minister to us through His Word whenever we read the Scriptures and do our devotion to Him. God also works through other people, which is the church community. 

Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labour.

For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow: but woe to him that is alone when he falleth; for he hath not another to help him up.

Again, if two lie together, then they have heat: but how can one be warm alone?

And if one prevail against him, two shall withstand him; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken.

[Ecclesiastes 4:9-12]

There are many benefits to being part of a church community. In a church community, you will find fellow brothers and sisters in Christ who will carry your burdens with you as if they are their burdens as well. Real and godly friends can never be found in the secular world, only in the church community. They shall weep with you if you are grieving and rejoice with you if you are rejoicing. If you have some concerns or prayer requests that you would like others to pray for, feel free to ask your fellow brothers and sisters in Christ to pray for you. That is one of the reasons the church community is there. 

Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep.

[Romans 12:15]

And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works:

Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.

[Hebrews 10:24-25]

If your church has a prayer line or ministry, don’t hesitate to approach them or ask them to pray for your prayer requests because they would love to pray with you. Their purpose is to pray and intercede for the church, including the concerns and prayer requests that every believer in the church community has.

You can ask a fellow believer to pray for you by simply approaching them, sharing your concerns or problems, and then asking them to pray for you. It is more than just asking someone to pray for you, but rather doing life together as believers. You can share the pains and hurts you have and the things that you celebrate and then pray to God regarding those things. It also involves being accountable to fellow mature and wise believers.

How do you ask for prayer?

First, we should understand that we should have an attitude of humility. It takes humility to come before God in prayer and ask Him for help, and when we ask people for help, we ask them to pray for us. It takes humility for Christians to recognize that they need help and ask their fellow believers for it. Remember that God wants us to always run to Him and ask the brethren for help because that is what being a spiritual family is all about. However, we should also always keep in mind that it is God to Whom we should first run above everyone else.

Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.

[Galatians 6:2]

Being humble means also acknowledging that you cannot go through what you are going through alone and that you will need God to be with you. God has instituted the church community as a means of grace; that is why it also means acknowledging that you will also need the church community in that season of your life.

The Lord lifteth up the meek: he casteth the wicked down to the ground.

[Psalm 147:6]

You can also ask other people to pray for you if you don’t know what to pray for that specific concern or burden, though, in that case, you can also pray in tongues. You can approach a friend in the church, share what is going on in your life, and be honest with them. Tell them you don’t know what to pray for a specific concern you have, and you can ask them to pray with you and for you. You can even also ask them to help you with what you can pray for. 

Another crucial thing to keep in mind when asking others to pray for you is to wisely choose whom you approach for sharing your concerns and ask them to pray for you. While we should not keep the concerns that we have to ourselves and should ask for help from fellow believers, that does not mean that we should share our concerns with everyone in the church and ask them to pray for us. Not every Christian has the same maturity. If the Christian you shared with is yet to mature in Christ, there is the risk of your concern becoming gossip, which should not be present to any believer because gossip is a sin. It is also not wise to share with too many people if your concerns are sensitive. A few select mature Christians whom you walk with will be enough.

He that walketh with wise men shall be wise: but a companion of fools shall be destroyed.

[Proverbs 13:20]

Another practice when asking a brother or sister in Christ to pray for you is to define and be specific with your concerns or what you would like them to pray for you. Let’s say you ask God for a new car. Don’t just tell your friend to pray for your new car; be specific about it and define it. Tell them that you are praying for a specific car brand, such as an SUV. Or, if you approach someone and have a health problem, don’t just say, “Please pray for my health.” Tell them about your health condition and the specific things they can pray for you.

Heavenly Father, You are my strong tower; my refuge and fortress to Whom I can run in times of trouble. Thank You for bringing me into a church community where I have fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. They are there to correct me whenever I am wrong, teach me if I don’t know something, encourage me in times of hardship, and pray for me as I go through tough times. Thank You for blessing me with fellow brothers and sisters in Christ who care for me and carry my burden with me. Give me the grace to always be humble, so just as I run to You first in tough times, I shall also not keep what I am going through to myself but shall share it with them, ask them for help, and ask them to remember me in their prayers. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.

What to say when someone wants to pray for you?

If someone from your church wants to pray for you, the best response you can have is to thank them for their desire to approach you and pray for you. If the fellow believer who wants to pray for you is a friend, they are concerned about you and care for you. If not, they wouldn’t have asked you if they could pray for you. It only shows that they think about your well-being from time to time. 

If the believer is someone you don’t know, you should still thank them because them approaching you and asking you if they can pray for you even if you don’t know each other means they stepped out in faith, and even their comfort zone, to approach someone they don’t know well. They also did that out of the heart to minister and bless you. Of course, you can also wisely choose whom you want to pray for you. 

Whenever you encounter storms in your life, don’t be shy to approach someone from church and ask them to pray for you. If you are new to a church community, you can approach your pastor to ask him to pray for you. You can also ask him to connect you to fellow mature believers who will walk with you in your walk with God. Don’t be too proud and try to deal with your problems on your own. Remember that just as we should be humble to run to God first, we should also be humble enough to ask others to pray for us and to help us. Remember that the church community is not just your fellow believers but your spiritual family—one body united in Christ.