Cliche Sayings for a "Not So Cliche" Time..."I'm Praying for You"

by Kendra Rueckert

“I’m praying for you”. Coming up with something to expand on with this one was difficult for me. I knew right away it was in fact a popular “cliché” phrase, but what could I say about it? Is it just me that when I hear it I often ignore the gesture, thinking “yeah right”? Is it just me that when I hear it I forget about the power of prayer? I’d be surprised if I were alone in those boats.

First, let’s look at the spoken gesture of the “I’m praying for you” cliché. In this phrase your friend commits to doing something for you. They are saying that they too are “in it” to help by prayer. As much as I would like to analyze and convince myself that they aren’t being genuine with their words, I can never really know then and will never know for sure if they will pray for me…but that doesn’t matter. After all there is power in their current words. It is a prayer. They are in prayer for you. Jesus spent some time preaching about relationships with others and coming to agreements over issues and reminds us “Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them.” (Matthew 18:19-20 NIV) Jesus is present in the spoken words of “I’m praying for you”. Just because this phrase is focused on the present tense does that make it less of a promise? In a word…no.

There is power in prayer. There are dozens of examples in the Bible about the power of prayer. God promises to act. When God promises it WILL be done. So when we pray, what then, on our end? It’s one little five letter word with a bigger meaning…trust. Now trust is another example highlighted numerous times in the Bible. Think about it…Did Noah have a written guarantee that there would be a flood? Did the royal official know that when he returned to his son he would be cured just as Jesus said? Both cases can be answered with a resounding “no”. Both of these cases also highlight a trust between us and God. Trust is a bond that only God can fulfill completely because he is perfectly trustworthy. How do I know? “God is love.” (1 John 4:8)

As I wind around in this “prayer path” one might ask in the words of Tina Turner, “What’s love got to do with it?” Love has everything to do with it. God doesn’t have to listen to our prayers. He doesn’t have to pay attention to us. Realistically, he doesn’t even need us. He WANTS us. This Creator of the universe is fully 100% pure unadulterated in love with us. In first Corinthians we gain further insight into God in that he “always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.” (1 Corinthians 13:7 NIV) Cue an alarmed reaction of, “Wait, wait that verse is about love and mostly always read for weddings…it doesn’t apply!” Actually, back up in this article a bit and I’ll work out some math for you...

GOD=LOVE= always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres

SO

GOD= always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres

“I’m praying for you” might be one of the kindest reassurances that a friend can give, especially when jobs don’t seem to open up or when life just isn’t happening how you originally hoped. It’s a reminder of the POWER and PRESENCE of God through prayer.

My prayer is that you are refreshed in our awesome trustworthy God knowing that He will NEVER fail you because “Love never fails.” (1 Corinthians 13:8)