First of all, then, I urge that petitions, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for everyone, 1 Timothy 2:1
What do a 170” deer, a 10 pound bass, a double bearded turkey, a King eider, and a blue plumed Harlequin duck all have in common? They are all things we probably pray for each year as we head to out to the woods and water! If we are honest, no doubt we have all prayed for some very rich success afield. Is there anything wrong with that? Nope! After all, I suspect more men pray each fall about the time of the whitetail rut then just about any other time of the year, save maybe the Super Bowl.
Do you notice today’s verse though? It says we are to offer prayer and give thanks for everyone. By everyone it means people other than you. There is nothing wrong with praying for yourself, we just shouldn’t stop there.
Think for a minute, how many times has someone shared a need with you and your response has been, “I will pray for you.” Then, we completely forget to pray for that person until the next time we see them and suddenly we remember what it is we promised we would do? Often times, we mutter a quick prayer under our breath so that we can “honestly” say to the person, “I was just praying for you!” I’ve done it and I bet you have too.
Praying for others is not only a great responsibility but it is also a tremendous privilege we have to be able to intercede, directly with God, on their behalf. We may lack the resources or wisdom to help another with whatever it is they might be facing but we can pray to the One who can help. Prayer provides us with the opportunity to be involved in the outcomes of the problems and challenges others are facing. Not only that, we get to offer praise and give thanks when those prayers are answered.
When we actively engage in praying for others we gain a much greater perspective of selflessness as we shift the focus away from ourselves. We focus on the needs of others instead of being bogged down in the material things that often tend to hijack our own prayer life. We truly become focused on the needs of others. To me, this has to be one of the greatest benefits of praying for other people. It is so easy to get wrapped up in our own lives, struggles, and needs, that we lose focus of those around us who may also be in need.
Prayer Journal App
I encourage you to make a list of people to pray for. And when someone shares a need with you and you say, “I will pray for you”, immediately make a note or set a reminder in your phone. Maybe your list is too long and you can’t pray for everyone every day. That’s fine, schedule people to pray for throughout the week; certain people and particular needs on specific days of the week. Keep that list, however, so that when prayers are answered you can note that as well. It is awesome to look back over your prayer journal and see just how amazing God really is.
And while you are at, you can pray for the big buck, the coveted elk tag in a hard to draw unit, or that you win the trip to fly fish for peacock bass in the Amazon. But first remember to pray for everyone. Your heart will be touched and the rewards will be greater than anything else you can ever experience.
Like this:
Like Loading...
