Dietrich Bonhoeffer on Praying For One Another

“A Christian fellowship lives and exists by the intercession of its members for one another, or it collapses. I can no longer condemn or hate a brother for whom I pray, no matter how much trouble he causes me. His face, that hitherto may have been strange and intolerable to me, is transformed in intercession into the countenance of a brother for whom Christ died, the face of a forgiven sinner.”
― Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together: The Classic Exploration of Christian Community

We lay people need to pray for our Pastor and for each other.  I have found, like Dietrich Bonhoeffer, that in praying for someone my feelings about them transform.  Often God reveals something that shows me I have been misjudging or misunderstanding them.  Prayer is an important ministry of the laity;  we are never too old, too young, too ill, or too ignorant to pray.  It is such a simple gift we can give others, and one we often neglect.