The following is a guest article by Pastor Chris Bilardi, author of The Red Church, or, the Art of Pennsylvania German Braucherei, available from Pendraig Publishing.

EFFECTIVE INTERCESSORY PRAYER

Praying for others — that is to say, praying in intercession — does not have to be a chore. In fact, it is very simple because God does all the work. In Christian intercessory prayer one can use a modification of the Eastern “Jesus Prayer.”

In its long version: “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.” The shorter version: “Lord Jesus Christ have mercy on me.”

That “me” can be changed to anyone’s name — as in: “Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on your servant ____.” If the person being prayed for is not Christian or their religious status is unknown, the “your servant” bit can be omitted.

If praying for the dead in Christ, “Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on your departed servant ____.”

If someone is in need, this is a quick prayer of intercession that can be used anytime. Also, praying for the well being of ‘strangers’ often produces some amazing results.

Again, this type of praying takes very little time, and all that is required is that one cares enough to do it in the first place. Christ does all the rest.