I recently talked with Tim Augustyn, Pastor of Ministry Resources at Open the Bible, about a simple but powerful tool for praying for others: Nancy Guthrie's book I'm Praying for You: 40 Days of Praying the Bible for Someone Who is Suffering (10 of Those, 2021). Here are highlights of our conversation.
Kevin Halloran: Tim, how are you using the book to pray for others?? Tim Augustyn: I put together a list of about fifteen people that I'm praying for every day. I've selected people who are in a trial like a health problem. I picked some believers and some unbelievers and started praying for them every day. The book has a QR code that allows you to send a text to the person with the Scripture passage and what you're praying for them based on the Scripture passage. It really engages people. They've been very interactive about what I'm praying for them, and commenting on it and sharing other prayer requests. They are also trying to make sense of the Scripture passage. A lot of unbelievers may not want you to evangelize them. But who is going to deny prayer? Exactly. Some of the conversations that I'm having are with an unbeliever. And I almost feel like I'm discipling through this because it touches on almost every area of the Christian life. I'm encouraging her with things to think about and things to do. It's pretty special. It's a Spirit inspired way to love them, and point them to Christ, but also hopefully stir up faith in them through His Word. That's exactly right. I had some buddies say to me, "I'm, really troubled by this." And I thought, maybe I shouldn't have prayed for them. Their comment was, "I like to be a giver. But I feel like I'm receiving this, and I feel really loved by it." An interesting reaction! I've also had another person say to me, "I've never before had a pastor pray for me specifically and regularly that I'm aware of." They probably have, but they didn't know it. And it's so it's made me reflect on the fact that we do pray for people, but oftentimes they're not aware that we are praying or what we're praying for them. It's a double benefit for them: you're praying for them and you're sending them the encouragement of the Scriptures. I'm finding it to be an effective way to engage with the person who's going through a trial over a period of time. I love things that are simple, but profoundly helpful. And this book and approach seems to be both. It really is. I'm doing it for fifteen people daily which takes me 10–15 minutes. It's pretty simply laid out. She gives you a Scripture passage, a one and a half page explanation of it, and then a little prayer with fill-in-the-blanks for their name. And then she gives you a copy to send to them in a text that you get from the QR code. It's all there for you, and it helps me think about the person and what their situation is and try to apply it. It's a really helpful way to pray for people. I think the most surprising thing is how encouraged I've been with the interactive element. Praying for others is a real privilege! Often we want to do intercede more for others but without a intentionality, our desire falls by the wayside. This book's simple technique gives you steps to follow. I'm done with the forty days but still wanted to pray longer for some of the people. So I just made my own model based on the one she had set out. The experience has taught me how to pray the Bible for people, which is a great gift. Is there a specific Scripture or truth that you've prayed that has touched people in a special way? What I started noticing is since I have fifteen people (I'm sending the text out to about ten) is that there are certain things that you touch on that resonate. For example, one of the texts that Nancy Guthrie wrote touched on the idea that your suffering has gone on for a long time. And I immediately had three or four people respond back. But it wasn't necessarily the particular Scripture passage, it was a need that people felt. Nancy Guthrie is so helpful in understanding suffering and what suffering people experience. She connects a depth of experience with the truth of Scripture. She's very tenderhearted and that has made me more tenderhearted. I am excited to recommend I'm Praying for You by Nancy Guthrie to more people and hope that it will be a useful tool for personal growth and for ministry to others.
Kevin Halloran: Tim, how are you using the book to pray for others?? Tim Augustyn: I put together a list of about fifteen people that I'm praying for every day. I've selected people who are in a trial like a health problem. I picked some believers and some unbelievers and started praying for them every day. The book has a QR code that allows you to send a text to the person with the Scripture passage and what you're praying for them based on the Scripture passage. It really engages people. They've been very interactive about what I'm praying for them, and commenting on it and sharing other prayer requests. They are also trying to make sense of the Scripture passage. A lot of unbelievers may not want you to evangelize them. But who is going to deny prayer? Exactly. Some of the conversations that I'm having are with an unbeliever. And I almost feel like I'm discipling through this because it touches on almost every area of the Christian life. I'm encouraging her with things to think about and things to do. It's pretty special. It's a Spirit inspired way to love them, and point them to Christ, but also hopefully stir up faith in them through His Word. That's exactly right. I had some buddies say to me, "I'm, really troubled by this." And I thought, maybe I shouldn't have prayed for them. Their comment was, "I like to be a giver. But I feel like I'm receiving this, and I feel really loved by it." An interesting reaction! I've also had another person say to me, "I've never before had a pastor pray for me specifically and regularly that I'm aware of." They probably have, but they didn't know it. And it's so it's made me reflect on the fact that we do pray for people, but oftentimes they're not aware that we are praying or what we're praying for them. It's a double benefit for them: you're praying for them and you're sending them the encouragement of the Scriptures. I'm finding it to be an effective way to engage with the person who's going through a trial over a period of time. I love things that are simple, but profoundly helpful. And this book and approach seems to be both. It really is. I'm doing it for fifteen people daily which takes me 10–15 minutes. It's pretty simply laid out. She gives you a Scripture passage, a one and a half page explanation of it, and then a little prayer with fill-in-the-blanks for their name. And then she gives you a copy to send to them in a text that you get from the QR code. It's all there for you, and it helps me think about the person and what their situation is and try to apply it. It's a really helpful way to pray for people. I think the most surprising thing is how encouraged I've been with the interactive element. Praying for others is a real privilege! Often we want to do intercede more for others but without a intentionality, our desire falls by the wayside. This book's simple technique gives you steps to follow. I'm done with the forty days but still wanted to pray longer for some of the people. So I just made my own model based on the one she had set out. The experience has taught me how to pray the Bible for people, which is a great gift. Is there a specific Scripture or truth that you've prayed that has touched people in a special way? What I started noticing is since I have fifteen people (I'm sending the text out to about ten) is that there are certain things that you touch on that resonate. For example, one of the texts that Nancy Guthrie wrote touched on the idea that your suffering has gone on for a long time. And I immediately had three or four people respond back. But it wasn't necessarily the particular Scripture passage, it was a need that people felt. Nancy Guthrie is so helpful in understanding suffering and what suffering people experience. She connects a depth of experience with the truth of Scripture. She's very tenderhearted and that has made me more tenderhearted. I am excited to recommend I'm Praying for You by Nancy Guthrie to more people and hope that it will be a useful tool for personal growth and for ministry to others.
