Anytime we speak to others about a particularly difficult or stressful situation they may be enduring, it’s in our nature to try and bring some bit of comfort to whomever we’re confronting. Along with our other usual encouragements we often also respond with the common: “I’ll pray for you.” Or, if you’re not religious, you respond with a similar, paralleling response such as “I’ll keep you in my thoughts” or something of the like.

However, when we tell these things to others out of condolence with the hopes of bringing some peace or encouragement to them, do we actually hold to our words?

Do we actually pray for those whom we are promising to pray for? Or are we simply just saying that we will do something in order to appease them in that moment?

Do we make these claims and intend to keep them? Or has making these promises just become a habit?

I’ll be the first to admit that I’m guilty of telling others that I’ll pray for them and keep them in my thoughts without actually and wholeheartedly doing so. This being said, I believe that many make promises and intentions to pray for their friends and acquaintances without always following through with their word-it's normal and nothing to be frowned upon, but in recognizing this, we should seek to be more aware of our intentions and the words that we share with others: if you tell someone that you are going to pray for them or that you will be thinking about them, make it your incentive to actually do so. When we go around promising prayers to those in need without actually fulfilling our promises, the issue lies in that we often fail to realize just how powerful prayer, positive thoughts, and etc. really are and how they can impact the lives of others. We see these statements of planning to take action as words of encouragement rather than as an actual action.

So next time you tell someone that you’ll pray for him or her, actually do it. Your prayers and thoughts might just be exactly what that individual may be needing, but just telling her or him that you're going to do something without actually doing it is as meaningless as a promise of action without the action.

Remember: actions often speak louder than words.