Pray for me, someone says to you. How seriously do you take such a request? Ken Carter, a pastor for nearly 30 years, says that he has learned to honor the request Pray for me as a cry for help. It is an acknowledgment that we are limited and finite creatures. It is a trust placed in a higher power, he comments. It is always prompted by a situation that would not be desired, yet it is always an occasion for the grace of God. Carter compares a person in need whether it s because of illness, grief, a broken relationship, a job loss, or a spiritual crisis to someone holding a bucket that is full. The bucket is filled with emotion, grief, confusion, and disappointment. An intercessor comes alongside the person in need, holding an empty bucket. The person in need pours out his or her concerns into the intercessor s empty bucket. The intercessor then receives that person s agenda as a calling from God to pray for him or her.