We all seem to have gotten the misconception and the comforting idea that that he with the most prayers wins.
“I’ve got my whole church praying for him,” people would whisper as my brother-in-law fought his last year of cancer. Our whole church at the time was praying for him. I have been reliving this the past few days over Facebook while a friend’s great love battles in intensive care (and from a realistic acquaintance’s view, probably not going to make it). “My whole church is praying for him,” someone says. Others nod through their keyboards and agree. Everyone is praying. The more prayers he gets, the faster he heals? It doesn’t work that way, folks. People die. People get sicker. My brother-in-law died. This young man may as well. We aren’t praying for the outcome we want. There are reasons beyond our limited knowledge. It is not a popularity contest.
Now, I have, myself, experienced three mighty big miraculous healings. My husband as well. I know that miracles exist in the day to day and are not uncommon. But, what if the fellow in intensive care gets one thousand prayers and he dies today; did Creator ignore everyone’s prayers? We are praying for the wrong things.
Creator already knew the outcome of Ken’s illness. The spirit world knew when he would die. He was never going to get better, no matter how many people, across how many religious walls, were praying.
When you pray for someone, particularly this time of year, pray for comfort. For strength. For peace with the outcome. For guidance. Pray for love.
Then after you are done praying, BE THERE. If you are close to someone (or even if you are not), see what you can do. You can’t just say a quick prayer then be on your way. Creator can’t do it all alone, the spirit world works through you! Don’t ask, just do. A meal for the freezer. A letter. See if they need errands run. Animals need checked on. Offer a hug. Send love. Love is prayer. Put them in your mind and send them great love. Everything is energy, send love and they will feel it. Light a candle.
By continuing to believe that the most prayers wins, we leave out those that don’t have large families or large churches, or maybe anyone. Do they lose out? This is not a competition, folks, pray for everyone, pray daily (doesn’t matter who you pray to…it all goes to the same place, Creator is everywhere), and pray for love. The universe has the rest taken care of. Instead of getting your whole church to pray for something, listen. You will hear in your heart when someone needs an uplifting word, when you can do something, when you can be the prayer. And if you cannot, pray for peace.
Farmgirl School 
I find this trend deeply troubling. See it on FB all the time, which makes me wonder if people really believe that those not hooked into social media–or those w/o all that many FB ‘friends’ are just out of luck. It’s as if we expect the creator is keeping a tally on some giant blackboard in the sky and makes decisions based on numbers.
Sending love to you and yours!
It has a lot more to do with the person who is ill than for others praying for them. What do they want and what are they praying for. I watched an interesting video on YouTube about how the cells in our body respond to our thoughts and perception. We pray and pray for many things and don’t get results because we still have limiting beliefs. I was brought up as a Christian and had questions with no answers. I received a calling when I was in my late teens-early 20’s but didn’t understand what it meant. I prayed and talked to God and told Him I was not going to preach or teach until I had answers. Now I am 58. The answers started coming in December 2016… My calling was to “rise up” which I had no idea what that was supposed to mean. We are spiritual beings living a human experience and we are very powerful. But, because of the way we have been taught, our subconscious mind blocks blessings, healing, abundance, wealth, and so on. We have to meditate, listen to and repeat affirmations, listen to music on different frequencies, and so on to get rid of and replace those old beliefs. The “C” word will through you through a tailspin and we automatically think we are doomed. We have Angels and guides by our side continually or when we call upon them for guidance, help, positive energy, etc. I am including the link to the video and there are others. We have been deceived about many things.
I appreciate this comment! You are so right.