A must-read post over at Cerulean Sanctum about telling people you're going to pray for them, but not following through with it. (Thanks to the Thinklings for the link.)

This is something I've been hideously guilty of doing, and I've often wondered how many other Christians do the same thing. I'd listen to somebody's plight, or hear about a particular prayer need, and declare confidently that I would Definitely Pray For That Person.

The problem was, I'd go on to promptly forget about it. Or I'd pray about it once or twice and figure that I had adequately done my Christian duty. A few weeks later, after the person's crisis had passed (for better or for worse), they'd talk about how much the community's prayers meant to them during their difficult time... and I would guiltily realize that if God intervened to help that person, it certainly wasn't because I had been faithfully asking Him to do so.

I've been doing better about this lately, mostly because my wife is wonderful about reminding me of specific needs before we pray. But it's still something I have to watch out for, because it's so easy for me to make a "feelgood" promise like that and not mean it. I think that a false promise of prayer isn't far from "taking God's name in vain"--when I do it, I'm being flippant about an activity that connects us to God himself. So let's watch what we say--and what we promise.