- What is Prayer?
- Praying Continuously
- A Regular Time of Prayer
- Do You Believe God Can?
- The Waiting Game
- Praying in God’s Will
- Sharing in the Battle: Praying for Others
- Do You Pray for Your Enemies?
- God’s Sovereignty and Our Prayers
In seminary, our classes lasted four hours each, with two classes a day and a two-hour dinner break between each class. One day, the professor of our second class, Dr. Aderhold, warned us not to drive too far for dinner and to be back on time. That just happened to be the day we had planned to drive a little farther than usual to a particular restaurant. We were confident we could make it back in plenty of time. We would have, too, if it hadn’t taken longer than we thought to get there, if the service hadn’t been extremely slow, and if an accident on the interstate hadn’t made the drive back a slow crawl through traffic.
When we finally got back to the seminary, we had to park on the other side of the large parking lot, and then we sprinted across the parking lot, up three flights of stairs, and to the other side of the building. By the time we arrived at the classroom, I was completely out of breath, unable to even talk.
Dr. Aderhold began each class by asking for prayer requests so that us students, usually 150-200 of us, could pray for each other. It was vital to Dr. Aderhold that we pray for one another. In fact, it was one of the most important parts of our class time. That’s what was happening as our little group entered the room — late. I had just sat down, trying to catch my breath, when I heard Dr. Aderhold say, “Mr. Sims, would you lead us in prayer?”
Dr. Aderhold and I made eye contact and smiled at each other. I got the message. I’d been busted by one of the godliest men I’ve ever known. I had no idea what requests had been made before we got there, so I couldn’t pray for my classmates specifically. I could hardly even talk. But I prayed.
Not the highlight of my seminary career. Also not the highlight of my attempts to pray for others.
As Christians, though, we must pray for others. The great prophet Samuel considered it a sin for him not to do so:
“Moreover, as for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord by ceasing to pray for you, and I will instruct you in the good and the right way.” (1 Samuel 12:23)
Do we take prayer for others that seriously? When people ask you to pray for them, or when they share a need with you, do you pray? Or do you say the obligatory “You’re in my prayers” or “I’ll be praying for you” and never think of it again?
Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. (James 5:16)
When you pray for others, you’re not letting God know what’s going on. He already knows. Neither are you persuading God. He already knows what’s best. What you’re doing is joining with that person in coming to God, acting on that person’s behalf to bring their needs to the throne of your Heavenly Father. When you pray for someone, you bring the power of God to bear on their situation.
In his letter to the believers in Rome, the Apostle Paul wrote these words:
I appeal to you, brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to strive together with me in your prayers to God on my behalf, that I may be delivered from the unbelievers in Judea, and that my service for Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints, so that by God’s will I may come to you with joy and be refreshed in your company. (Romans 15:30-32)
Paul pleaded with people to pray for him. The believers in Rome who answered Paul’s request to pray went long periods with no news and very little hope. They had no idea whether their prayers were helping. But as you read Acts 21-28, you can see God at work. The Romans praying for Paul made a difference from a thousand miles away. You, too, can make a difference by praying for others.
As you mark out time in your daily schedule to get alone with God, pray not just for yourself, but for others as well. God will honor your prayers, and you will make a difference. In his commentary on Romans entitled Exploring Romans, John Phillips wrote these words:
It is part of the genius of Christianity that any believer can become a warrior in the battle at any time and in any place and make his influence count to the ends of the earth and high in heavenly places, simply by engaging in prayer. By praying for missionaries a believer can place himself in a canoe in the Amazon, in an igloo in the Arctic, in a tent in the Sahara, in a submarine at the bottom of the ocean, in a plane high in the stratosphere. He can ward off from the missionary dangers in the jungle, diseases in the city slum, disasters on the deep. He can arm the missionary’s witness with supernatural power, lift him from the slough of despond, route the unseen foes that lurk in the spirit world, and strengthen his hand in God. By praying in the Spirit, the exercised believer can conquer time and space and have a share in the battle.
May we each join that battle every day.