Many people are wondering what to do with their extra time as we stay at home in an effort to combat the coronavirus. During this pandemic we are urged to avoid going out in public. By isolating ourselves, we can help to prevent the virus from spreading. By staying home we keep ourselves healthy and keep others healthy too.

But what do we do while we are cooped up at home? There is only so much television we can watch. How about spending more time in prayer? The Bible urges us to “Pray continually.” (1 Thess.5:17). And, over and over, we are urged to pray for one another. Colossians 4:2-3 says “Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. And pray for us too…”

Let me offer a few practical suggestions about how to pray for your fellow Christians.

First, do you have a directory that lists the members of your congregation? Many churches do, and some even have a pictorial directory that enables you to put names with faces as you pray. Take some time to pray through the pages of your church directory. That way you can be sure that you don’t miss praying for anyone who is listed there. Pray not only for their health. Pray for their faith to grow, for their finances to be in order and for their families to be blessed.

Another way you can pray for other Christians is to pray through the contact list on your cell phone. Remember how it was back in the old days, when you actually had to remember phone numbers? Now you have them stored in your phone. Take some time to scroll through your contacts and say a prayer for the people listed there. You might even want to send them a text or give them a call to tell them that you just said a prayer for them. Everyone appreciates it when they know you are praying for them.

Finally, you can say prayers for people by remembering where they sit at church. You remember when we used to be able to go to church, right? (I am just kidding! Hopefully we will all be able to assemble together safely at our respective church buildings in the not-too-distant future.) If your church is like ours, most people tend to sit in the same seat every Sunday. Close your eyes and picture your church family with everyone assembled together. Then slowly go down each row and pray for people, one individual or one family at a time. You might not be able to remember everyone, but you will be surprised at how many people you have prayed for by the time you open up your eyes.

Those are just a few ways we can pray for our fellow believers. Let’s lift each other up to God, because we all certainly need all the prayers we can get!