Glossary entry (derived from question below)
English term or phrase:
pray about joining
English answer:
ask God for guidance about whether to join
Added to glossary by
Matheus Chaud
Jun 14, 2018 14:02
5 yrs ago
English term
Brazil
IT Specialist • M.A. in Linguistics
Native in: Portuguese (Variant: Brazilian) 
Works in: English to Portuguese, Spanish to Portuguese, Portuguese to English, and 1 more.
pray about joining
English
Art/Literary
Religion
This is a letter from a reader of a religious book to its author:
I have had many people tell me that they see grace and anointing on me.
(...)
The revelation that others see the glory of God on me is very precious.
Some people have asked me to pray about joining their ministry team, that is new but encouraging.
I asked this question in my language pair (English to Portuguese), but there was no consensus. Some of the interpretations were:
- to pray to God for wisdom to decide whether she should join a ministry team
- to beg/strongly wish that she would become a member of the ministry team
I'd like more opinions about that. Thank you!!
I have had many people tell me that they see grace and anointing on me.
(...)
The revelation that others see the glory of God on me is very precious.
Some people have asked me to pray about joining their ministry team, that is new but encouraging.
I asked this question in my language pair (English to Portuguese), but there was no consensus. Some of the interpretations were:
- to pray to God for wisdom to decide whether she should join a ministry team
- to beg/strongly wish that she would become a member of the ministry team
I'd like more opinions about that. Thank you!!
Responses
+4
35 mins
Selected
ask God for guidance about whether to join [in practice, consider joining]
I am pretty sure it means the first of the options you've quoted. Formally speaking, it means ask God to tell you whether to join. An atheist would say that this amounts to considering whether to join: the voice that answers your prayer is really a voice within yourself, and if the answer is "Yes, join", that amouints to a personal decision to do so. However, even though an unbeliever might say that you get the answer you really want, a believer who prays naturally sees that answer as coming from God.
So "pray about" is a personal, individual matter between the believer and God. Obviously those who ask her to pray about it are hoping that God will tell her to join, but the expression itself doesn't actually mean that (the second option you've quoted).
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Note added at 52 mins (2018-06-14 14:54:54 GMT)
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This is an expression used by Christians of various denominations, from Pentecostal:
"Through a series of life challenges, God led Linda to Christian Life Ministries. After going through CLM’s training and working as a sit-in, Linda was asked to pray about joining the ministry team as a counselor and in 2004 she became a full time staff member."
https://www.clmrapidcity.com/linda-johnson/
to Catholic:
"Pastoral Care Volunteers Needed
This ministry serves the sick and the home bound in our parish boundaries by bringing them the Eucharist, visiting the lonely, praying with the dying and their families. [...]
Please pray about joining the ministry."
http://ctk-catholic.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/169250.01...
In a non-religious context the equivalent would be "was asked to consider joining" in the first case, with the implication "was urged to join", and "please consider joining" in the second, with the implication "please join".
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Note added at 4 hrs (2018-06-14 18:21:52 GMT)
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You might almost say, I think, that this means "they asked my to consider, with the aid of/by means of prayer, (the idea of) joining their ministry team". It is acknowledgement that a believer will make a decision of this kind with God's help, by praying about it.
So "pray about" is a personal, individual matter between the believer and God. Obviously those who ask her to pray about it are hoping that God will tell her to join, but the expression itself doesn't actually mean that (the second option you've quoted).
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 52 mins (2018-06-14 14:54:54 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
This is an expression used by Christians of various denominations, from Pentecostal:
"Through a series of life challenges, God led Linda to Christian Life Ministries. After going through CLM’s training and working as a sit-in, Linda was asked to pray about joining the ministry team as a counselor and in 2004 she became a full time staff member."
https://www.clmrapidcity.com/linda-johnson/
to Catholic:
"Pastoral Care Volunteers Needed
This ministry serves the sick and the home bound in our parish boundaries by bringing them the Eucharist, visiting the lonely, praying with the dying and their families. [...]
Please pray about joining the ministry."
http://ctk-catholic.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/169250.01...
In a non-religious context the equivalent would be "was asked to consider joining" in the first case, with the implication "was urged to join", and "please consider joining" in the second, with the implication "please join".
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Note added at 4 hrs (2018-06-14 18:21:52 GMT)
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You might almost say, I think, that this means "they asked my to consider, with the aid of/by means of prayer, (the idea of) joining their ministry team". It is acknowledgement that a believer will make a decision of this kind with God's help, by praying about it.
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "I'd like to thank you all for contribution and help! Particularly Charles, with his always helpful explanations and research."
-1
2 hrs
zahra Helali jula
Iran
Iran
Iran
Native in: Persian (Farsi) 
Works in: English to Persian (Farsi), Persian (Farsi) to English, Persian (Farsi), and 1 more.
say and ask God to do something magical for allying
say and ask God to do something magical for allying or joining
Peer comment(s):
| neutral |
B D Finch
: Remove "and ask": "say God to do" can then be seen to be wrong. The source term doesn't involve "magic" and "allying" not only doesn't mean "joining", it requires the preposition "with" and a complement.
6 hrs
|
| disagree |
AllegroTrans
: Jumbled and meaningless construction
17 hrs
|
+1
16 hrs
airmailrpl
Brazil
Brazil
Native in English
&
English
Works in field
Brazil
Technical - Fast - good price - accurate
Native in: English (Variant: US) , Portuguese (Variant: Brazilian)
Works in: English to Portuguese, Portuguese to English, English, and 1 more.
Related KudoZ points
:
4
to pray to God for wisdom to decide whether she should join a ministry team
pray about joining => to pray to God for wisdom to decide whether she should join a ministry team
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