Prayer: The Need, The Power, The Gift
Ephesians 6:18 ~ And pray in the Spirit on all
occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be
alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.
James 5:13 ~ Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray. Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise.
Once in a while I find myself flooded with emotion that is hard to contain. Usually it is because my heart is overwhelmed and I feel like I can no longer hold it in. This morning was one of those times.
Our youngest was having a rough morning with arthritis so we decided to sit in the back of the church instead of our usual spot toward the front. We were nearing the end of our worship through music. As we were singing, I glanced around the auditorium. My heart began to fill with emotion. You see, I love these people. They are dear to me like family. As I looked around, I saw many who have prayed for us. They faithfully prayed through the sickness and death of my mom. They prayed us through the deep grief. Prayed for our kiddos through various times, decisions, and missions trips. Prayed us through the last few months as we adjusted and walked through a big change in our family. I am so incredibly grateful and we have needed every one of those prayers!
I have had the privilege of doing the same for most of the people who were standing in the room this morning. Praying for new jobs. Praying for healing. Praying for salvation of a family member. Praying for healing in a marriage or family that is falling apart. Praying over a sobbing friend as they share their struggles. Praying for unity. Praying for our leadership. Praying for lives fully surrendered to Christ. Praying for protection from the enemy who seeks to destroy. Praying that God will break chains and bring freedom. Praying that God will bring revival in the homes of our church families. Praying. Praying. Praying. We are commanded to do so and love compels us to do so. What a privilege.
As I looked around and continued to sing, God was speaking to my heart. "Pray more for these precious people in the coming year. Be intentional. Challenge this body of believers to pray for one another daily, to be purposeful in petitions on behalf of one another." As we sat down and pastor started to preach, wouldn't you know it, his first point was how important it is to pray and to pray for one another. Yeah. I hear you, God.
And so, I am challenged. And I challenge our church family. When I say church family, I mean my home church but I also challenge the extended church family. Pray for one another. Pray for church and ministry leadership. Pray for families. Pray for young people. Pray for your church ministries. Pray as God leads. Pray specifically. Pray intentionally. Pray often.
Now, here's the catch. In order to be prayed for in a specific manner and to be able to pray for others in an informed way, you must allow yourself to be in fellowship with those around you. Not just a quick in and out on Sunday mornings but true, deep fellowship with one another. You must have times where your relationship deepens enough to be vulnerable; relationships that are solid enough to extend grace and be full of love when others share their struggles. This type of fellowship brings strength, help, hope, accountability, and protection. We need one another. We need to pray for one another. Prayer is mentioned more than 130 times in the Bible. It must be important if God talked about it that much. He wants us to make it a priority.
So, as we begin a new year, would you commit to intentional prayer? Pray for your family. Pray for friends. Pray for your church. Pray for those who do not yet know Christ. Pray.
Need a few ideas? Here you go.
1. Put your requests on small pieces of paper or index cards so they are easy to transport. Carry them with you and pray through them during the day when you have time. (I use note cards on a ring.)
2. Pray through your church directory. Pray for a new person/family each day. When you get to the end, start back at the beginning.
3. Have a box of pictures of family members, church staff, and/or missionaries and pray for a different one each day.
4. Have a group chat, text, etc. with close friends where you share new prayer requests with each other weekly or monthly.
5. Have your small group pick names each month or quarter and pray for that individual/couple specifically during that time.
6. When those unbelievably difficult times come, put together a specific group of people you can trust who will pray you through; people that you can update often who will passionately go before our Father, praying boldly and consistently until you come through on the other side. This is something that has helped me get through some pretty tough times.
7. Watch. Listen. Ask God for His eyes and ears and heart. When you do, you will be surprised how often God will allow you to see something in the eyes of a friend or notice their heavy heart. It gives you the opportunity to walk life by being a listening friend and also by praying for them as they walk through the situation.
There are so many blessings that come as we pray for one another. First and foremost, it creates deeper intimacy with our Heavenly Father. Your relationship with Him will never be the same. You will have a greater awareness of how He is working and will be amazed to see how God intertwines our lives for His purposes.
Second, you will find greater strength to walk life. As we deepen our relationships and pray for one another, we gain strength for the road ahead. When the road is tough, it is much easier to walk when we go before our Heavenly Father in prayer together. We gain courage and wisdom and have a team to cheer us on.
Third, you will find you have a deeper sense of gratitude and love for God and others. The more you spend time with Christ in prayer, the more you will see Him work. The more you see Him work, the deeper your love with be for this amazing Savior. Your heart can not help but overflow with gratitude and it becomes easier to trust and to follow all that He asks of you.
As we pray for one another, we increase in love exponentially. We find it much easier to love no matter what. We become more tolerant of our differences. We love supernaturally like Christ. We become more gracious. We become unified against the enemy that seeks to destroy. We are more grateful for one another.
Join me friend. Prayer is such an amazing gift. Take time to cultivate your relationship with Christ and bring requests before the One whose power is limitless. You will find that your life will never be the same.
Philippians 4:6 ~ Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
James 5:16 ~ Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.
Psalm 17:6 ~ I call on you, my God, for you will answer me; turn your ear to me and hear my prayer.
Psalm 102:17 ~ He will respond to the prayer of the destitute; he will not despise their plea.
Proverbs 15:8 ~ The LORD detests the sacrifice of the wicked, but the prayer of the upright pleases him.
James 5:13 ~ Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray. Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise.
Once in a while I find myself flooded with emotion that is hard to contain. Usually it is because my heart is overwhelmed and I feel like I can no longer hold it in. This morning was one of those times.
Our youngest was having a rough morning with arthritis so we decided to sit in the back of the church instead of our usual spot toward the front. We were nearing the end of our worship through music. As we were singing, I glanced around the auditorium. My heart began to fill with emotion. You see, I love these people. They are dear to me like family. As I looked around, I saw many who have prayed for us. They faithfully prayed through the sickness and death of my mom. They prayed us through the deep grief. Prayed for our kiddos through various times, decisions, and missions trips. Prayed us through the last few months as we adjusted and walked through a big change in our family. I am so incredibly grateful and we have needed every one of those prayers!
I have had the privilege of doing the same for most of the people who were standing in the room this morning. Praying for new jobs. Praying for healing. Praying for salvation of a family member. Praying for healing in a marriage or family that is falling apart. Praying over a sobbing friend as they share their struggles. Praying for unity. Praying for our leadership. Praying for lives fully surrendered to Christ. Praying for protection from the enemy who seeks to destroy. Praying that God will break chains and bring freedom. Praying that God will bring revival in the homes of our church families. Praying. Praying. Praying. We are commanded to do so and love compels us to do so. What a privilege.
As I looked around and continued to sing, God was speaking to my heart. "Pray more for these precious people in the coming year. Be intentional. Challenge this body of believers to pray for one another daily, to be purposeful in petitions on behalf of one another." As we sat down and pastor started to preach, wouldn't you know it, his first point was how important it is to pray and to pray for one another. Yeah. I hear you, God.
And so, I am challenged. And I challenge our church family. When I say church family, I mean my home church but I also challenge the extended church family. Pray for one another. Pray for church and ministry leadership. Pray for families. Pray for young people. Pray for your church ministries. Pray as God leads. Pray specifically. Pray intentionally. Pray often.
Now, here's the catch. In order to be prayed for in a specific manner and to be able to pray for others in an informed way, you must allow yourself to be in fellowship with those around you. Not just a quick in and out on Sunday mornings but true, deep fellowship with one another. You must have times where your relationship deepens enough to be vulnerable; relationships that are solid enough to extend grace and be full of love when others share their struggles. This type of fellowship brings strength, help, hope, accountability, and protection. We need one another. We need to pray for one another. Prayer is mentioned more than 130 times in the Bible. It must be important if God talked about it that much. He wants us to make it a priority.
So, as we begin a new year, would you commit to intentional prayer? Pray for your family. Pray for friends. Pray for your church. Pray for those who do not yet know Christ. Pray.
Need a few ideas? Here you go.
1. Put your requests on small pieces of paper or index cards so they are easy to transport. Carry them with you and pray through them during the day when you have time. (I use note cards on a ring.)
2. Pray through your church directory. Pray for a new person/family each day. When you get to the end, start back at the beginning.
3. Have a box of pictures of family members, church staff, and/or missionaries and pray for a different one each day.
4. Have a group chat, text, etc. with close friends where you share new prayer requests with each other weekly or monthly.
5. Have your small group pick names each month or quarter and pray for that individual/couple specifically during that time.
6. When those unbelievably difficult times come, put together a specific group of people you can trust who will pray you through; people that you can update often who will passionately go before our Father, praying boldly and consistently until you come through on the other side. This is something that has helped me get through some pretty tough times.
7. Watch. Listen. Ask God for His eyes and ears and heart. When you do, you will be surprised how often God will allow you to see something in the eyes of a friend or notice their heavy heart. It gives you the opportunity to walk life by being a listening friend and also by praying for them as they walk through the situation.
There are so many blessings that come as we pray for one another. First and foremost, it creates deeper intimacy with our Heavenly Father. Your relationship with Him will never be the same. You will have a greater awareness of how He is working and will be amazed to see how God intertwines our lives for His purposes.
Second, you will find greater strength to walk life. As we deepen our relationships and pray for one another, we gain strength for the road ahead. When the road is tough, it is much easier to walk when we go before our Heavenly Father in prayer together. We gain courage and wisdom and have a team to cheer us on.
Third, you will find you have a deeper sense of gratitude and love for God and others. The more you spend time with Christ in prayer, the more you will see Him work. The more you see Him work, the deeper your love with be for this amazing Savior. Your heart can not help but overflow with gratitude and it becomes easier to trust and to follow all that He asks of you.
As we pray for one another, we increase in love exponentially. We find it much easier to love no matter what. We become more tolerant of our differences. We love supernaturally like Christ. We become more gracious. We become unified against the enemy that seeks to destroy. We are more grateful for one another.
Join me friend. Prayer is such an amazing gift. Take time to cultivate your relationship with Christ and bring requests before the One whose power is limitless. You will find that your life will never be the same.
Philippians 4:6 ~ Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
James 5:16 ~ Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.
Psalm 17:6 ~ I call on you, my God, for you will answer me; turn your ear to me and hear my prayer.
Psalm 102:17 ~ He will respond to the prayer of the destitute; he will not despise their plea.
Proverbs 15:8 ~ The LORD detests the sacrifice of the wicked, but the prayer of the upright pleases him.
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