Be GENEROUS with your Prayers

March 19, 2026

Acts 2:42

“And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.”

Matthew 5:44

But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you

1 Timothy 2:1-3

First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior.

Galatians 6:2

Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.



Helen was a member of a previous church that I Pastored, and each week at our Wednesday night Prayer meeting, when we were putting our prayer list together for our prayer time, she would often request prayer for some unknown person. What I mean is, not even Helen knew the person. For example, on the way to church she would see an Ambulance, or Fire Truck on their way to a scene, or she would see an accident that had just occurred on her route to church, and she would ask for prayer for these situations. I can remember thinking that her requests seemed odd, I mean, why pray for people or circumstances that we do not know about. Truth, is I learned a lot from Helen about prayer on those Wednesday nights, that prayer can be an act of generosity.

Think about it: when we pray, we’re spending time talking with a God who listens, responds, and acts with real power. Scripture even says, “ask anything in my name.” And when you look again at today’s verses, you’ll notice that those early believers devoted themselves… to prayer.

Jesus invites us to pray for people who are unkind to us, to pray for leaders (yes, even the ones we don’t agree with), and to pray for others in a way that brings God joy. Prayer is generous because we’re asking the Creator of the universe to do something good for someone else. That’s huge. Helen understood that long before I did, and she taught me what generous prayer really looks like.

Isn’t it amazing to know that God actually wants to hear from us? We don’t need special skills, spiritual credentials, or some kind of “high-level clearance.” There are no locked doors, except the ones we sometimes close ourselves. Wherever we are, whatever we’re doing, day or night, we can talk to God. We can tell him what matters to us, what’s weighing on us, what we’re thankful for. We can just… be honest.

Corrie Ten Boom said  “We never know how God will answer our prayers, but we can expect that He will get us involved in His plan for the answer. If we are true intercessors, we must be ready to take part in God’s work on behalf of the people for whom we pray.”

Who might you share the generous gift of prayer with today?  

HINT:  Go to your local news source, or on air media, or click open your Facebook/Instagram etc newsfeed. Just offer up some brief prayers for the stories, or the people in them that you see listed or hear about there.