Our conversations are sometimes robotic when we discuss prayer. Like humanoid android machines programmed with appropriate responses, we say things like “You’re in my prayers,” “Pray for me as I pray for you,” and the classic, “Keep me in your prayers.” But do these phrases reflect a genuine desire and belief in prayer—and a belief that the person will indeed pray for us? Think about it. Do we really expect people to pray for us when we make the frequently robotized request, “Keep me in your prayers?” Let’s concede that we sometimes say these things without thinking.
