This summer, my wife and my 15-year-old granddaughter, Avi, went on an Appalachian Service Project building trip. One of the groups there gave them T-shirts with a simple question printed on them:
How can we pray for you?
It didn't seem like a big deal at the time.
Then one day Avi was wearing her shirt while we were at Lowe's.
A woman in her 70s walked up to her and said, “Thank you for wearing that shirt. I have a prayer request.”
She told Avi about some physical problems she was going through and asked her to pray for her.
Needless to say, my 15-year-old granddaughter wasn't expecting that.
But when we got home, we prayed for her.
Later, we talked with some other friends who had been on the same trip. They had experienced the same thing. They wore their shirts, and complete strangers approached them and asked for prayer.
That got me thinking.
What if we simply gave people permission to ask?
Most of us probably walk past people every day who are hurting.
Someone may have just received a frightening diagnosis.
Someone's marriage may be falling apart.
Someone may be worried about a child or grandchild.
Someone may have lost a job.
Someone may simply feel alone.
We usually have no idea what the person standing beside us at Lowe's, Walmart, the grocery store, or a restaurant is going through.
But imagine wearing a shirt that simply asks:
How can I pray for you?
It's an invitation.
It tells the person standing next to you, If you're carrying something today, I'll stop and listen.
And people really do respond.
It's probably not a shirt for everyone
I'll say this upfront: this probably isn't a T-shirt for someone who wants to remain anonymous about their faith.
If you wear a shirt that says “How Can I Pray for You?”, there's a pretty good chance somebody is eventually going to take you up on the offer.
And then you have a decision to make.
You can listen.
You can pray.
You can encourage them.
And perhaps you can tell them why you believe prayer matters in the first place.
Jesus told His followers to go into the world and share the Good News. Sometimes we think that requires a church program, an evangelistic event, or having exactly the right words.
Sometimes it might begin with something much simpler:
“How can I pray for you?”
We don't know what God will do with a simple encounter
The Bible reminds us that one person plants and another waters, “but God gave the increase” (1 Corinthians 3:6).
That's important.
We don't have to know how the story ends.
Maybe you pray with someone and never see that person again.
Maybe your conversation reminds someone who has drifted away from God that He hasn't forgotten them.
Maybe it opens the door for you to share the Gospel.
Maybe someone simply needs to know that another human being cares enough to stop and listen.
We plant the seed.
God determines what happens next.
So we created the shirt
That experience with Avi gave me the idea to create our own “How Can I Pray for You?” shirt.
We created it through Helping Hands Orphanage, a ministry that is very close to our hearts. Helping Hands is working with young people in the Dominican Republic, helping them grow in their faith while learning education, entrepreneurship, and practical skills for their future.
Purchasing the shirt helps support that work.
But I'd love for the shirt to accomplish something else, too.
I'd love to see Christians wearing these shirts in grocery stores, restaurants, airports, ballgames, parks, and ordinary places all across the country.
Not because a T-shirt changes someone's life.
Jesus does.
The shirt simply opens a door.
And sometimes all God asks us to do is be willing to walk through the door He opens.
So here's the challenge:
Wear the shirt.
Go about your normal day.
And when somebody stops you and says,
“Actually, there is something you can pray about…”
stop.
Listen.
Pray.
And see what God does next.
See the “How Can I Pray for You?” shirt and support Helping Hands Orphanage →
