i am apart of a secret group created by my brother on facebook called "the hiding place." it is strictly for myself and my siblings to post prayer requests, silly memories, or something that is weighing heavily on our hearts. this morning, my sister posted a prayer request for a friend of her's who is dealing with an ailing mother. my brother derek, with wisdom and compassion far greater than most, made the comment, "this is how we should pray for others, as if it were happening to us."
i'm not sure why, but i sat and stared at that sentence for a long time. i was reminded of Romans 12:15, "Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep." have you ever done that? i'm sure you have; shared joy with another, or cried when you saw someone crying. maybe because you truly felt their pain, or maybe because seeing them hurt broke your heart. joy and tears can be contagious...but can we really say that when we pray for them, when we pray about anything, that we pray as if that very thing in their lives, or in the world, is happening to us? frankly, i'm not sure i can.
when we pray for hungry mouths to be fed, are we fervent enough in our prayers to seek the face of the Father and cry out for justice and mercy? or do we say a simple prayer like, "oh God, help them." yes, He hears those prayers also..but it's the heart behind the prayers that matters the most. how about when we ask that someone be healed from something? do we dare take it upon ourselves to put our bodies in their shoes and pray earnestly for a touch from the healing hand of a Savior?
what about when a friend is infertile, someone has lost their home in a fire, best friends get a divorce, a family member has a broken relationship with their child, a close relative has cancer, a nation devastated by disaster, famine, genocide? do we stay on our knees, with hands lifted high, pleading on others' accounts for the Creator of all to hear our prayers? do we care that much about one another that we are willing to enter the throne room of Heaven in order for the longings of others hearts to be fulfilled? we should. it's Biblical. when we say we "i'll pray for you" ....never underestimate the power of those words. take it seriously, because if someone is asking for prayer, you might be the only one listening. it could be your very prayer that is lifted up that causes a change in a situation. it could be your heart, your earnesty, your ferverncy, that could change a life.
what about one of the most important prayers of all? praying for the lost? i know that we can't pray as *if* we were lost, but we can pray as if we're going to hell right along side our friends, our neighbors, our co-workers. to put our loved ones, nations, people-groups in the face of God on a daily basis, pleading for the work of His Spirit to penetrate their hearts, is an act of pure love. if no man comes to the Father except by belief in Jesus and that He and He alone is the Way, the Truth, and the Life (John 14:6) , then why do we have such complacency when it comes to praying for others' salvation? there are so many unbelievers that pass our way every single day..and what are we doing about it? religions as a whole, going to hell because of their lack of faith, people dying daily thinking they were "good enough" in this life so Heaven is an obvious place for them. WAKE UP PEOPLE! WHY ARE WE NOT IN FERVENT, NEVER-CEASING PRAYER?????????
my plea today, to myself and to you, is that we start praying with more passion. more love, more mercy, more hunger to see God work in ways that only He can. i ask that we pray for other's spiritual, physical, and emotional lives as if they were our very own. "this is how we should pray for others, as if it was happening to us"
