What does it mean to pray for others? – It simply means, praying on behalf of someone else, it means interceding for someone else. God tells us that this is important. So, find out how to pray for others who are facing trials and may be too weak or overwhelmed to pray or don’t even know how to pray. Praying for one another is a powerful way for us to bear one another’s burdens. It is a loving act to pray for someone and help them connect with their maker.
The Bible also commands us to pray for one another because the prayer of a good person has a powerful effect (James 5:16,). When we are faithful in praying for others, God will use our obedience to help us grow spiritually. He will help us grow and strengthen us in our prayer. Also, when we pray for others it is a way of telling them that we love and care for them.
Prayer is a powerful weapon against the devil and a way of building relationship with God, our Father. God tirelessly calls each person to this mysterious encounter which is prayer. Each day without fail we should devote some time specially to God, raising our minds to him, without any need for the words to come to our lips, for they are being sung in our heart. But for some people, it can be a difficult task for them to pray. Usually, they want to pray but often times they just cannot find themselves praying. This is worst when they are in trouble and going through some challenges. This is therefore, the time for us to pray for such people whether they are our family members or friends. The important thing is that we found them and we are willing to pray for them. Galatians 6:2 tells us, “Help carry one another’s burdens, and in this way you will obey the law of Christ.” Taking another’s hand and praying for them is a powerful blessing you can give another person.
Occasionally, our friend or a family member approaches us and asks us to pray for him/ her. Two things are involved here, it’s either, the person does not believe in his / her capability to pray or because he/ she sees you as someone who has the tenacity to pray or sees you as a prayer warrior.
When such happens, invoke the Holy Spirit and ask for direction and strength to do so. Aside that, one should make it a point of duty to pray every day for each of our family members whether they asked for it or not. We may not know the effect of our daily prayers for the family, friends and colleagues. The truth of the matter is that prayer unites us in our communities. Praying for one another removes our isolation. Our prayer may not change the situations that we were praying about, but it could change our perception of feeling alone in the situation. We all have struggles that cause us to feel isolated. So, we should not think for a second that we are all alone in the situation we sometimes find ourselves. Prayer makes a difference. God’s power is seen when His people join together in prayer for one another. Jesus Himself prayed for those who persecuted Him. He also prayed for His apostles not to fall into sin.
There is a misconception that only certain people are called or gifted to be intercessory prayer warriors. There are people in our churches and in our lives who seem to have that special intimate connection with God. They are relentless when it comes to praying for others. Some of these people work hard to develop themselves to that level of spirituality. The truth is that we are all called to pray for others. Whether we believe it or not, we are all fortified to be prayer warriors for ourselves and for others. After all, we are heirs with Christ and adopted sons and daughters and therefore, possess the same power and access to God, that our Savior enjoys. All we need to do is to be deliberate and consistent about it. We can either murmur, or cry out, and offer our requests to our Heavenly Father, and HE will hear us.
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