“First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for everyone” (1 Timothy 2:1).
When you are asked to pray for someone, how often do you wonder what to say? If you are asked to lead in prayer, it can be stressful.
The usual guidance is to just follow the leading of the Holy Spirit. This usually ends up with us saying whatever comes to mind. Often we are at a loss for words.
Let me help you get a grip on prayer. By that I mean that you will pray for five things for the person. To help you remember them, we will visualize them on the fingers of our hand.
The thumb will stand for the word HELP. This is a catch-all word. If you know what the person is struggling with, we ask God to help them in the situation.
The index finger will stand for the word SAVE. That, after all, was the whole point of Jesus coming and dying on the cross. If they are a Christian, we can pray that God saves them, or work out their salvation, or preserve them in eternal life.
The middle finger will stand for the word HEAL. It reaches the longest into our physical and emotional life. We can pray for healing for the body and the heart.
The ring finger will stand for the word GUIDE. We are married to Christ as Lord and Teacher. We should pray for his guidance and instructions.
The pinky finger will stand for the word PROTECT. It is a small detail that we often forget. We are weak, but God is strong. We should pray for protection by God and his angels.
So the five words are HELP, SAVE, HEAL, GUIDE, and PROTECT. Just remember these five words. When you pray, follow this order, don’t mix them up.: help, then save, then heal, then guide, and end with protect.
Here is an example of how to put these five words into a prayer. It is a prayer for you.
Dear Heavenly Father, I pray that you would HELP the reader understand and apply this lesson. That you would SAVE them from sin and confusion. If they are sick, I pray for their HEALing and health. Lord, I pray that you would GUIDE them into the truth and PROTECT them from all the snares of the enemy. I ask these things in Jesus’ name.