“Sending prayers your way.” I’m noticing this comment more and more, especially on Facebook and other social media. I know what the sender intends to say. At least, I sincerely hope they are not actually sending the prayers toward the person in need. If so, they should not expect an answer to their prayer. Only God answers prayer and then likely only prayer offered directly to Him. The direction of our prayer must always be God-ward, not man-ward. The Bible instructs us to “pray for one another” (James 5:16), but to address our prayer to God alone. Prior to Jesus teaching His disciples to pray, in what we call “The Lord’s Prayer” He said, “When you pray . . . pray to your Father” (Matthew 6:6). Paul modeled prayer addressed to the Lord, when he wrote, “Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord . . . (2 Corinthians 12:8). I know, some will say that I’m just a picky professor of prayer, attacking something that is no more than a word game. But prayer is a serious matter, and we will practice it best when we think and speak of it correctly. So today, I’m sending prayer TO God, FOR you, my readers.
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