“I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people. Ask God to help them; intercede on their behalf, and give thanks for them.”
1 Timothy 2:1 NLT
Happy Tuesday friends! Today I want to talk about one of the most powerful privileges we as Christians have which is to intercede for others in prayer.
To intercede is simply to go to God on behalf of someone else and, just as Paul is urging young Timothy to pray for ALL people, I believe that God expects the same of us.
Now some people are easy to pray for, right? Your grandmother who has always shown love to you, the father who has lost his son due to a drunk driver hitting him, a political leader whom you agree with.
But what about… your family member who has not shown love to you? Or for the drunk driver that accidentally killed the man’s son and has to live with the consequences the rest of his life? Or that political leader that you don’t agree with (right after these verses Paul actually talks about praying for those who rule over us) and whom you greatly dislike? Not so easy, right?
Just as Jesus came to us because we were in need and not because we were deserving we too need to bring ALL to God’s throne to intercede for them because they are in need—not because they are deserving or because they even are aware that they need God’s help in their life. the reality is that we have all fallen into that box before. Remember Paul’s words to the Romans…
“When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners. Now, most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good. But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.” (5:6-8 NLT)
Besides, imagine what your life would look like if you started each day off by praying for others, lifting up their needs, and thanking God for them. I bet you wouldn’t spend nearly as much time focusing on your own troubles or feeding your anger at others. I bet you would start to see others with empathetic eyes and that compassion and forgiveness would come that much easier even in the midst of the most difficult situations.
You see, prayer has the power to change lives but the life that is often most significantly changed is the one doing the praying. Prayer gives us a bigger and better perspective so let us become a people of prayer!
Refill with Randy 