How Often Do You Pray For Other People?
How often do you pray for other people? By others, I don’t mean just for your family, but for friends, neighbors, those in your church or school and even people in leadership in your community? It might seem like a lot of people to include, but we can take a lesson from Jesus on the issue of:
Jesus Prayed For All Future Believers
“My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, 21 that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. 22 I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one— 23 I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.”
On the night he was betrayed, Jesus prayed. First he prayed that he would be glorified and complete his mission to die for our sins. Then he prayed for his disciples. Finally, he prayed for all future believers. That is, he prayed for billions of believers, most of whom did not even exist on that night.
By our Lord’s example then, we are to pray for those around us, our families, friends, and neighbors. But that’s not all. Jesus also underscored the importance of praying for others in a famous prayer made shortly before his death on the Cross.
Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”
It was amazing that Jesus could think of others in His time of suffering. Even more amazing was that he asked God to forgive those who were in the process of killing him and even playing dice to see who would get to keep his clothing.
Should we pray for those who have harmed us? I won’t lie to you, my friends, this last point is a tall order for me. Nonetheless, that is what Jesus did and what he wants us to do.
Our prayers can accomplish great things. They help us draw closer to God and Jesus. They also help us focus by thinking of others. And they fulfill our duty, which Oswald Chambers lists below:
Oswald Chambers — Our Duty Is To Pray
Oswald Chambers, the late, great Scottish preacher, evangelist, and author shows us what we can accomplish through our prayers for those around us:
…In the teachings of Jesus Christ, prayer is the working of the miracle of redemption in me, which produces the miracle of redemption in others, through the power of God……However God may engineer your circumstances, your duty is to pray. Never allow yourself this thought, “I am of no use where I am,” because you certainly cannot be used where you have not yet been placed. Wherever God has placed you and whatever your circumstances, you should pray, continually offering up prayers to Him…
…When you labor at prayer, from God’s perspective there are always results. What an astonishment it will be to see, once the veil is finally lifted, all the souls that have been reaped by you, simply because you have been in the habit of taking your orders from Jesus Christ.
My Utmost for His Highest (October 17)
Prayer is powerful when we pray based on the redemption that Jesus earned for us. You and I can tap into this power any time and in any place through prayer.
How Often Do You Pray For Others?
Fortunately, Jesus is at work today at the right hand of God. He intercedes for us, helping us pray for others just like this little boy:
When I was this boy’s age, this was my prayer at night:
“Now I lay me down to sleep. I pray the Lord my soul to keep. If I should die before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take. Please bless Mom and Dad…. [After Mom and Dad, I listed my brother and sisters, grandparents, and friends.]…Amen.”
The Battlefield Is Us
Do the cares and anxieties of the world distract you from praying? Do they invade your thoughts as you pray? I think it’s safe to say most of us could answer ‘yes’ to that question.
We’re in a spiritual battle and the battlefield is inside our minds and our hearts. We’re fighting to take charge of our own thoughts and control our fears and anxieties so we can be fearless and disciplined in service to our Lord and to those around us.
No matter what distractions, wandering thoughts, cares, or anxieties you face, you can turn to God in prayer. When you do that, take time to pray for other people too.
Yours in Christ, Kurt
Click for more on prayer: Finding God Through Prayer
