If All The Prayers That Were Promised Were Actually Prayed

I love things that make me think and inspires me to do more, and to become a different...better person.

I think this little devotional does just that. For me, it has inspired me to think differently, to dream a little more, and force me to become less selfish and I'm all for that.

The title alone held me and got me to thinking. I didn't need to read anymore but I am so glad I did. For I want to live in a world where there is no hate, only love. Kindness is the way of life and positivity oozes out of everyone you encounter, and the world knows there is a good God out there who wants nothing but the best for everyone.

I want everyone to stop saying I will pray for you and take a moment to do just that. I want a people who are a man and women of their word.

I want to live in a world that is people driven and who cares about the trouble others are going through and are willing to be the solution, not the problem.

I dream big, but I believe we can, and will, achieve, and show this world someone cares. It starts with me and I'm on a mission to do my part.

God Bless.

If all the prayers that were promised were actually prayed, this would be a different world by now.

— John Eldredge from Moving Mountains

Why I Stopped Saying 'I'll Pray For You' by John Eldredge, from Moving Mountains

I’ve come to the place where I have had to stop telling people, “I’ll pray for you.” I simply know that despite my good intentions — and these promises are almost always spoken with good intent

— I know that nine times out of ten I just don’t remember to follow through. Not until maybe a week or two later, and then I feel guilty that I forgot. I don’t like promising something I probably won’t live up to. You know how these stories go: Someone you care about tells you of their pain, need, or struggle, and you respond with, “Oh, I’m so sorry to hear that; I’ll pray for you.”

But then, most of the time, we never do. If all the prayers that were promised were actually prayed, this would be a different world by now. So instead of promising future prayer, what I try to do nowadays is stop, right there in the moment, and pray. Right then and there. It’s funny how many Christians this actually throws off guard. “You mean, right now?” “Yes — absolutely. Let’s pray.” In the restaurant, in the car, on the plane, wherever. If it’s a text or e-mail request, I’ll start praying as I type my response, typing out a prayer for them right then and there.

Not only does it help me follow through, but it helps them to agree right along with what I have prayed, and agreement is mighty powerful, as we know. I’m thinking of St. Patrick, how he would pray through the course of the day as he worked: “Tending flocks was my daily work, and I would pray constantly through the daylight hours. The love of God and the fear of Him surrounded me more and more — and faith grew and the spirit was roused, so that in one day I would say as many as a hundred prayers and after dark nearly as many again.”1 He simply did it right there, in the moment. For the truth is, there is no “later.” Now is the time to pray, for now is all we really have.

“Jesus, come into this — we invite You into this” is a great place to start. Whatever the need — guidance, direction, encouragement, healing, protection; the cancelled flight, the report from the doctor, the tension in relationship — this is the place to start. Invite Jesus right into the heart of it all, right there, in the moment. “Jesus, come into this — we invite You into this.” We do this often in our meetings at Ransomed Heart. Someone will say, “I think we ought to pray about such-and-such,” and I’ll reply, “Go for it. Lead us. Right now,” and we’ll stop what we are doing and pray. Because if we don’t, we rarely get back around to it.

I don’t know how many Christian meetings I’ve been in — board meetings, elder meetings — when all the time is used talking about what needs prayer, and we find we have barely a few minutes left at the end for one quick, little, rushed prayer. It’s a brilliant ploy of the enemy — keep God’s people talking about it, debating, conjecturing, worrying over it, speculating, so they never really get around to praying. By all means, pray when you have time and space to devote yourself to it, time to truly seek God. But pray now too — because you don’t know that you will get to it later.

1. Thomas Cahill, How the Irish Saved Civilization: The Untold Story of Ireland’s Heroic Role from the Fall of Rome to the Rise of Medieval Europe (New York: Anchor, Doubleday, 1996), 102.

Excerpted with permission from Moving Mountains by John Eldredge, copyright John Eldredge, 2016. Published by Nelson Books, an imprint of Thomas Nelson. Missed yesterday's devotional excerpt from Moving Mountains? Read the archive on our blog and learn the power in saying In Jesus' Name. Editor's note: A few readers had questions about yesterday's devotional and John Eldredge's explanation of The Lord's Prayer and what it means to "invoke the kingdom." John wanted to respond to your personally but is away travelling at the moment so he asked us to give you the rest of chapter 5 'Bold Authority' of his book to get the full context. >> Use this link to download the chapter to your device (2.7 MB file) Or if that doesn't work for you, >> Click here for online access to chapter 5 'Bold Authority' from Moving Mountains Don't miss our great deal on this new book launching nationwide today! Forward to a Friend * * * Your Turn Pray Now! That would make a great note to stick on the fridge, or car dashboard, or desk. Today and going forward, when you hear that prayer is needed, let’s not respond, “I’ll pray”, but pray right then and there instead! Come share whom or what you’re praying for today on our blog! We want to hear from you. And we will pray right back for you! Right here, right now! ~ Devotionals Daily  Launch Day Sale Save 20% off Moving Mountains: Praying with Passion, Confidence, and Authority  New in hardcover. Regular price: $24.99 Sale Price: $19.99 (20% off)  The newest book from New York Times bestselling author John Eldredge Why Some Prayers Work, Why Some Don’t, and How You and God Can Change Things for Good A book on prayer that actually works! Everyone has a reason to pray. We long to see God come through for us and those we love. But sometimes he doesn't, and where does that leave us? Are we doing something wrong? Does he not hear? How come some people's prayers seem more effective than others? Then we lose heart and give up on prayer—the very weapon God has given us to not lose heart. If you are interested in prayer at all, you want prayer that works. That is the kind of prayer at the center of this book. When we discover that prayer is not just asking God to do something—prayer is partnership with God—new possibilities open before us. We are God's sons and daughters, given the authority of Jesus Christ; we have a greater role in prayer than we ever thought. Greater power, too. Part devotional, part adventure story, part field manual, Moving Mountains will show you how to experience the power of prayer—from the intimacy of listening prayer, inner healing prayer and "The Cry of the Heart," to the skill of prayers of intervention, consecration, and warfare. About the Author John Eldredge is the author of numerous bestselling books including Wild at Heart, Fathered by God, Captivated, and Beautiful Outlaw. He is also director of Ransomed Heart, a ministry devoted to restoring men and women in the love of God. John and his wife Stasi live in Colorado. Shop now and save on Moving Mountains... Get the Study Guide + DVD Save 20% off Moving Mountains — study guide and DVD study  Get the Study Guide (8 Sessions) Regular price: $10.99 Sale Price: $8.79 (20% off)  In Luke 11:1, the disciples asked Jesus, "Teach us to pray!" Most of us want to know more about how prayer works. While we are used to offering up prayers, we wonder if we are praying in the most effective way or if we are approaching the throne of God in the "right" way. We ask ourselves: How do I listen for God? How do I pray for healing? How do I pray when I am under spiritual attack? How do I pray to break through strongholds of habitual sin? How do I pray for protection? How do I pray for my lost friends and family? In Moving Mountains Study Guide, bestselling author John Eldredge shows how we labor under the misconception that prayer is asking God to intervene instead of partnering with him to get things done. This faulty assumption leads to untold confusion and grief when we ask of God but can't sense He hears us--or even cares. Rather, Jesus says, "I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven" (Matthew 16:19). When we operate from this position, we approach prayer with far greater confidence. We understand we have a role in making change happen and are not victims of circumstance--that we are sons and daughters of God bestowed with tremendous authority. Shop now and save on Moving Mountains Study Guide...  Get the DVD (8 Video Sessions) Regular price: $26.99 Sale Price: $21.59 (20% off)  Shop now and save on Moving Mountains DVD... Inspired by today's devotion? 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