5 Things to Pray for a Suffering Friend: Prayers That Change Things for Friends or Family Who Are Walking through Trials

5 Things to Pray

by Helen Thorne

Help to pray for people dealing with grief, illness, emotional distress, mental-health issues or difficult circumstances. It can sometimes be hard to know how best to help friends, family or fellow church members who are struggling through pain and suffering. But one guaranteed way to love them well is to commit to pray for them regularly. Whether someone you know is dealing with grief, illness, emotional distress, mental-health issues or difficult circumstances, this guide will help you to pray for them with compassion and purpose. Each of the 21 prayer themes in this book takes a passage of Scripture and suggests five things to pray for your struggling friend-relevant for whatever their troubles may be. You can use this book in any number of work through it as part of your daily quiet time or pick it up whenever you want to pray for your friend.

96 pages, Paperback

Published April 1, 2024

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Helen Thorne is Assistant Director of the Open Bible Institute where she oversees the Cert HE Theology courses validated by Middlesex university and offers general student support. She is also a trustee for Capital Youthworks, the charity behind Sorted - an annual youth event held in London.

Reviews

[Susy C. *MotherLambReads* · Rating 5 out of 5]

A little book but packed with powerful truths. Just came out this month from @thegoodbookcompanyusa. We always have circumstances and hard times when we don’t know what to pray for or say to a friend. ⁣
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This book rooted in verses gives words of comfort for any circumstance and struggle. ⁣
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It’s divided into the categories:⁣
𝘚𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘖𝘶𝘵⁣
𝘓𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘜𝘱⁣
𝘚𝘰𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘐𝘯⁣
𝘗𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘖𝘯⁣
⁣
💬 *𝙈𝙮 𝙝𝙤𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙩 𝙤𝙥𝙞𝙣𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙨 𝙞𝙣 𝙚𝙭𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙚 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙗𝙤𝙤𝙠.*
💬 𝘔𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸𝘴 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘣𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘵: 𝘩𝘵𝘵𝘱𝘴://𝘸𝘸𝘸.𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘮.𝘤𝘰𝘮/𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘭𝘢𝘮𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘴/

[Amanda (The Little Book Spot) · Rating 5 out of 5]

“The best kind of a friend is a praying friend.”

Small book- huge impact! This book is divided into 21 themes of prayer, which provide countless opportunities (actually much more than just 5) and ways to pray for a friend.

Use this book as a guide and resource to cover your friend & friendship in prayer. This brief yet mighty book leaves no stone unturned and is helpful when we feel at a loss of what to pray for when a friend is experiencing a difficult trial. This could include anything from mental distress to grief to illness to financial difficulties. Of course, there are battles that may not even be known… cover this too!

This book was easy to read, practical, and a huge blessing to me. I prayed many of the prompts and topics for a specific friend in mind. What better way to honor and love my friend than to cover her entirely in prayer in so many areas I may not have thought of on my own.

There are many other books in this authors series including 5 things to pray for your church, world, city, kids, spouse and more!

Thank you so much to @thegoodbookcompanyusa for gifting me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

[Panda Incognito · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this brief book, Helen Thorne shares themed lists of prayer prompts that people can use to pray for suffering loved ones. Each list focuses on a different theme, such as praying for your friend to be able to express their pain to others, or praying for them to trust in God's faithfulness. The topics include a good blend of spiritual themes and practical issues, and the author connects each topic with a specific Scripture passage, relating all five prayer prompts to a Bible verse and briefly describing a spiritual truth. Each section also includes a few blank lines where readers can write down prayer points for that theme.

The prompts are broad and general enough that they will apply to people in a variety of different life stages, and will apply to different forms of suffering. The majority of the prompts assume that you are praying for loved ones who share your faith, but some of them are also geared towards loved ones with different beliefs, and people can adapt any of the prompts to fit with their needs. I appreciate how generally applicable this book is, and it can be a helpful prayer guide for individuals and groups.

This book is simple but powerful, providing clear direction for how people can care for their friends' needs, take their friends' concerns before God, and pray about their friends' holistic spiritual and emotional health, instead of just focusing on a desired outcome for a particular struggle. The author never makes false promises or guarantees particular results from praying in a particular way, but encourages readers to take hope in the truth that God hears our prayers and cares for us and our loved ones.

I received a free copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

[Cindy Chan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a helpful book for ideas to pray biblically and widely for others and themselves, particularly in (but not limited to) moments of suffering and hardships. I appreciate Helen's reminders from the Bible throughout the book, and have used them in my prayers for daily living as well as those around me who are facing different challenges. This would make a wonderful resource for intentional prayer time for individuals or small groups.

Note: I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

[Elaine Willis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Helpful little book for those who long to pray Biblically for those who are in a hard season.

[Dena McGoldrick Butler · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's a great little resource book full of scripture-based truths about prayer. There are several of these, each with a specific purpose. I purchased and gave them as gifts this year.