Coveting is OK

Here's a question I've been pondering: in the church/Christian circles there's a common phrase we use (part of the "Christianese" vernacular) that doesn't make sense to me. When we want someone to pray for us we drop it in: "we'd really covet your prayers on this".*

I am completely stumped on this one. Coveting is a sin, right (I think it even made the top ten)? "To feel inordinate desire for what belongs to another" is Merriam-Webster's definition of covet. But feeling an intense desire to have other peoples' prayer is the one exception to the "thou shalt not covet" commandment?

I am really curious as to the origin on this phrase. My exhaustive study (consisting of a google search "where did 'covet your prayers' come from") proved inconclusive. I typed the phrase "covet your prayers" into Biblegateway.com and also got zero results.

Can anyone help me figure out:
a) Why we use this phrase
b) Where did it come from

(*I'm not trying to minimize anybody's personal/public request for prayer. It is just this phrasing that I've always been curious about.)

Animals vs. Humans

It's time to talk about something that has been irking me for awhile...I keep seeing these very sad and very dramatic adds urging us to "save the animals".  One set of adds invokes some weepy Sarah McLaughlin song while the camera tightens on some very adorable cats and dogs.  Then Sarah herself gets on, urging us to donate to stop abused animals.

The next ad has similar weepy music, but they have a really BIG star: Noah Wiley (at least I think that was his name).  He was on ER like 8 years ago.  But anyway, Noah tells us that polar bears are going extinct and we've got to act now and support the WWF (I'm not joking - that's what it is called.  I really wish they'd get Hulk Hogan to do these ads.  That might only add to the confusion).

Now look, I'm not about forcing the extinction of animals and I'm absolutely not down with abusing animals.  But each time I see these ads I also seem to think the same thing: "what about all the HUMANS that are dying and being abused???  How come I'm not seeing any commercials about saving them?

I mean, couldn't we just join forces, knock out this world hunger thing then, day after that we'll tackle the polar bear extinction.  Or we could start with the abused cats and dogs (I'm not set on the order).  Maybe I'm too black and white about this...and certainly a little judgmental I guess.

What do you think?