When you pray for other people, you can make a difference in their lives. At Guideposts, we believe that God hears and answers prayer. As we continue to grow our digital prayer presence at Guideposts, we have made it easy for anyone to pray for the concerns of others. You can pray for someone else on the Pray for Others page on the Guideposts website, or post a comment on the OurPrayer Facebook page in response to prayer requests that appear there.
“Prayer is a part of our mission and a part of our company,” says Guideposts President and CEO John W. Temple III. “I believe that praying for others works and is beneficial to everybody involved.”
As beneficial as it may be, it can be difficult to pray for others, especially if your own needs feel overwhelming.
The Rev. Dr. Pablo R. Diaz admits that for many years he mainly prayed for himself. “My prayer time was focused on me and my problems,” says Diaz, the Vice President of Ministry for Guideposts Outreach Division. “But at a certain point I made a conscious decision to start praying for others. I can’t tell you how much this has enriched my prayer life.”
Diaz lists multiple benefits of interceding for others. For example, when praying for someone with a life-threatening disease like cancer, Diaz is reminded that his burdens are often much lighter than many others. He also finds that lifting up the struggles of other men and women exposes his own vulnerability. “I come in touch with my frail self,” says Diaz. “Things that I have buried surface to the top in unexpected ways so God can deal with them.”
The concept of praying for others—also known as intercessory prayer—has deep Biblical roots. From Moses, who pleaded for God’s mercy for the people of Israel to the Apostle Paul who continually encouraged his followers to intercede for others, the Bible is full of examples of people praying for one, including “Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed.” (James 5:16) From the first book of Timothy we hear: “First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people.”
For more than 60 years, prayer has been the bedrock of the Guideposts ministry. As we continue to grow our digital prayer presence, we make it easy to request prayers and to pray for others–on both social media and the Guideposts site.
We reach people wherever they are—home, work, in line at the grocery store—through the OurPrayer App, which is available on both IOS and Android platforms. It allows our followers to request prayers, pray for others or even choose a ‘fast-track prayer’ option. Or visitors can choose to pray for a request they see on the OurPrayer Facebook page.
Guideposts Executive Editor Rick Hamlin has been impressed by the rapid growth of the OurPrayer Facebook page. “It allows a robust prayer community to just happen organically,” he says. “If you are on the Facebook site and you see that someone has gone through something difficult you may think: ‘Wow, I’ve been through that’ and your heart just fills with compassion. It’s a natural response to say: ‘let me pray. I understand what you’re going through.’ “
A woman named Susan raved about the benefits of being part of the OurPrayer Facebook community.. “This page has been a great blessing in my life,” she writes. “Their timely encouragement has uplifted me many times. Every time a prayer request is posted I can be assured of prayers.”
