The Urgency of Intercessory Prayer

We must pray for one another. Do not take this lightly! Many of us are naive concerning prayer, but the Bible teaches: "The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working" (James 5:16). A few verses earlier James instructed us: "You do not have, because you do not ask" (James 4:2) I believe that most churches today are a mere shadow of what they could be, if all of their members would dedicate themselves to regularly praying for their church. In short, God answers prayers.

Paul was constantly praying for other believers and appealing to other believers to pray for him. His letter to the church at Colosse shows us his commitment to prayer. At the front of the letter he writes: "And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you" (Col 1:9). As he closes the letter he writes: "Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving. 3 At the same time, pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ"(Col 4:2-3). If Paul, one of the greatest missionaries and theologians of the first century, needed the prayers of others how much more do we need the prayers of other believers.

I promise you that your friends and family have far greater needs than you realize. They need your prayers. If one of our family members broke a bone or lost a job, you and I would not fail to pray for them. I assure you that there is a spiritual war taking place in the lives of everyone around us and their present need is just as urgent as if they had experienced some unexpected tragedy.

If you will pray you will see God do amazing things. He is still in control. He still loves us. And He still answers prayers.

Let me invite you to post a story of an answered prayer that you have experienced. Your testimony may encourage someone else to pray.

Most importantly, would you pray for me? I desperately need your prayers to be the man that God has called me to be. And if you will post your name or send me an email, I will pray for you. And let's be honest for a moment, if you are not willing to pray for me or to let me pray for you, you have wasted your time reading this blog, so please respond. God bless you. I can't wait to hear from you.