I have had this title in my drafts for almost three months because I wanted to write about it for that long but other things have came up. I finally decided that I was going to right about it now. It make a difference and feels different when you pray just for one or the other. I will admit I have prayed for a certain ministry for about 4 years, not lying, which I felt that has helped some. This past year, though, God has directed me to pray for the leader as a person along with the team when I can.
Because of that change, it has grown my prayer life and my relationship life in ways I didn't think of. It really showed me that when you pray for a certain person, you see more of who they really are. I really look more into the person that I am praying for to see what they need. I listen closer to what they have to say. I watched to see if they have changed and if prayers have been answered.
I know that might sound a little creepy but I am the deep kind of person and if I know them personally I usually care enough about them to do that. Usually I ask them first but if I know they won't answer, it is then that I am aware of them and their doings. I like to be intentional about everything especially when it comes to my family and friends. That is what I am doing here. I am being more intentional about the person in charge of the ministry more then the ministry itself and that goes for every ministry or job. That goes for everything in life. We have to be intentional with how we view things all the time, right? I will put what the word "intentional" means on here since I did that for the word "ministry". Intentional means "done with intention or on purpose".
Because of that change, it has grown my prayer life and my relationship life in ways I didn't think of. It really showed me that when you pray for a certain person, you see more of who they really are. I really look more into the person that I am praying for to see what they need. I listen closer to what they have to say. I watched to see if they have changed and if prayers have been answered.
I know that might sound a little creepy but I am the deep kind of person and if I know them personally I usually care enough about them to do that. Usually I ask them first but if I know they won't answer, it is then that I am aware of them and their doings. I like to be intentional about everything especially when it comes to my family and friends. That is what I am doing here. I am being more intentional about the person in charge of the ministry more then the ministry itself and that goes for every ministry or job. That goes for everything in life. We have to be intentional with how we view things all the time, right? I will put what the word "intentional" means on here since I did that for the word "ministry". Intentional means "done with intention or on purpose".
Sometimes we have to think to pray for a certain person. We have to make it a commitment to pray for them and only them. Where if you pray for the bigger thing like a ministry it is easy to remember that. Now when you pray for something bigger then them like a ministry, your focus is on the ministry itself or at least it was for me. Ministry is: "the service, functions, or profession of a minister of religion". I was watching the ministry and praying for what it needed as a ministry.
Now don't get me wrong, both are good prayers but it needs to be even out at least. That is why I, sometimes, pray for the whole team. If they are having something big like an outing they are doing together or sponsors they are trying to get, it is then I pray for the ministry. You are praying for the service and functions of the activity as a whole, not just the person.
I also look at it this way. You are never sure what will happen in the future. That is why I pray more for the people then the ministry. People can learn lessons and live on (use what they learned during that season of life) even after the material things are over. For lack of better words in that sentence. You will also become more intentional with other things in life. I mean praying for a person is small compare to other things in life. If you are intentional with that and can see the changes, then it makes you wonder if you were intentional with other things how would they turn out.
I know this might sound somewhat confusing because I am honestly trying to make it a little long but I hope I get the point across clearly. The point is: "It is always better to pray for people, then it is the ministry" if you are only going to pick one or want to pick one. I will say, though, there are times that I start out praying for the person and then I go right into the ministry because sometimes the person, since they are the leader of the ministry, will lead me into praying for everything as a whole. That is funny when it happens too. I just start to think about all that the person is doing and then the team are doing that same thing so I pray for them too.
I will also say it works for the ministries like Compassion International and World Vision and your church, friends going in a group on a mission trip and so on too. You can pray for a certain person whether it is your child, your friend or your pastor or someone or some people in the church. You know them personally so you know how to pray for them but at the same time you need to pray for the ministry/group every once in awhile too.
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