"Prayer, Let's Pray for One Another"

Dear Friends,

Next Sunday, there will be prayer team members stationed in the front of the church following each of our services. As I shared last week, they will be available each Sunday to pray with and for anyone who has a need. The Word of God encourages “to bear one another’s burdens” (Galatians 6:2), and one way we can do this is through prayer.

The promise of God is that “the prayer of a righteous person has great power in its working” (James 5:16). Does this mean that only the prayers of the super spiritual prayer warrior will be heard? No, not at all. The word righteous in the Bible refers to whoever has faith in Jesus, and as a result is the recipient of His righteousness. If you are a believer that is you. As a believer who has trusted in Jesus Christ, you have received his righteousness. No you are not perfect, and no you are not special in the sense that your prayers are more powerful. It simply means because you are in right standing with Jesus, your prayers are effectual, that is they can effect change.

Prayer is a powerful way through which we grow closer to God and closer to one another. Praying for others draw us closer to them. Jesus tells us we are to pray “in His name” (John 14:13-14). If you do something “in the name” of someone else, it means you do it according to His wishes. Therefore, the better you know and understand God, the more effective you will be for you will know how and what to pray for. The more you know the heart of God, the better able you will be to pray for those things that are in accord with His heart’s desire.

There are times when we won’t know what and how to pray for someone, or when we are asked to pray for something that we truly sense is not a part of His will. This can be awkward, but not if we pray that whatever is asked for will glorify the Father. In John 14:13 Jesus promised, “Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.” In every situation it is appropriate to pray “that the Father be glorified”, even if you feel uncomfortable about praying for something someone asks you to pray for while your heart tells you the request is wrong.

My hope is that each one of you will avail yourself of the opportunity to come forward to seek prayer whenever the Holy Spirit prompts you.

Yours in faith and friendship,

Pastor Tom

PS The above thoughts were drawn from the following online articles “Pray for One Another” by Donald Whitney and “Why is Praying for others Important.org”