Heart Tugs and Random Prayers
Have you ever felt an overwhelming burden to pray for someone (a tug at your heart), but you weren’t quite sure why? I have several times. Usually it is in the middle of the night, and I wake up suddenly. It takes a minute to get my wits about me, but then a name will come to mind. I have come to realize that this is God telling me to pray for that person. It is difficult to pray for someone when you don’t have any idea what is going on! But knowing isn’t the point… prayer is. God uses prayer in so many ways. Whether it is in a spiritual battle going on (that the other person may not even be aware of), or a trial they are going through, or just for the encouragement received when they find out they were randomly prayed for.
Just today, I was on the receiving end of such a prayer. I have always questioned myself when letting someone know I prayed about them in the night. I didn’t want to sound like the “holy roller” type or like I was bragging that I prayed in the night. But… I see that in a new light now. I was so encouraged by the fact that God works where we don’t know… that he impresses things on our hearts to benefit and encourage the fellowship of believers… no matter what their physical location. I do not know this person. He is part of one of my supporting churches, and felt led to specifically pray for me… not knowing why. I thank God for his obedience to pray and for his willingness to tell me about it. God’s timing is perfect and I received encouragement right when I needed it.
So when you can’t sleep at night, ask God who you should be praying for. There is a reason you can’t sleep. And during the day… if a name randomly pops in your head, pray for that person. And don’t we really know that prayers are not random? Then don’t be afraid to tell the person you prayed for about it later. The fact that you did may have been the reason for the prayer in the first place!
