“I Will Be Praying For You…”: The Problem With Christian Cliches

Christian cliches.

I am not sure how I feel about them only because if they are sincere or true, then I have no problem with them! Scriptural references such as “God has a plan” or “Do not worry” are so true, yet sometimes they are hard to hear. I sound like a debby downer, but when you are telling someone about a hard situation you are going through, you sometimes just need to let it off your mind. Though these are good reminders (especially that God has a plan), they aren’t necessarily the best thing to say at that time. Keeping focus is good, but sometimes it is best to say nothing at all.

But in an effort to say something, we often revert to saying “I will pray for you.”

Wonderful! You can never go wrong with prayer.

Right?

Well, I think this is where Christian cliches cause a problem. This is something that has been on my heart the past month or so. Not because I have experienced this or have had someone “fail to pray” when they said they would, but I know for me, this is something I want to be very careful of. Prayer is a serious spiritual discipline, that I believe, we should not take lightly.

If I say “I will be praying for you…” I want to mean it. I want it to mean something so deep that that person knows that I will be fervently praying for them. Lifting them up as often as I can remember. I am sure there have been times in my life where I have jumped on the Christian cliche bandwagon, though. If I say I will be praying for someone and don’t, I feel I am not only lying, but I am giving a false hope that I am lifting that person up in prayer, and my heart is empty towards God because I failed to share that burden with Him. The One who WANTS to hear every concern.

Even though that person may not know that I do not pray for them, to me, it is a slap to the friendship/relationship. What kind of friend am I, if my friendship is filled with empty words? Empty promises? To me, those empty words are filled with hypocrisy.

When Dan and I were going through some of the most difficult moments of our lives, it was those who were prayer warriors that gave us the comfort that we were not alone. We had countless people telling us that they were praying for us and I truly believe they all meant it because we truly felt the prayers. What if God was waiting to give a blessing, but we failed to ask? What if that blessing was intended for that other person and we failed to ask? Do I believe God is a conditional God? No. But I do know that He blesses in countless ways and I do not ever want to miss an opportunity because I failed to pray when I said I would.

I am one of those who walks down the road, talking to herself. Running/walking is one of the best times for me to pray. I don’t just want to throw up prayers on the fly without it being heartfelt. Though, when I exercise, it is basically a conversation between me and God. I say whatever is on my mind, who is on my mind, and ask Him what should be on my mind. It is during these moments that God often speaks in subtle ways; puts people on my heart. Is this the only time I pray, no, but finding that time is what is most important, so that those Christian cliches do not become empty promises.

I want you to trust that if I say I am praying for you, I will.

The power of prayer. I am a firm believer in it.
Are you?