By Gina Caswell Kelly
What do you think happens when you pray for someone? We are told in God’s Word that we should lift each other before the Lord in prayer. Galations tells us to “Carry each other’s burdens and fulfill the law of Christ.” In Colossians, Paul reminds us once again that we are to pray for others. He says, “We have not stopped praying for you.” James tells us to pray for each other. And the list goes on!
It also says we are to pray for our enemies. Wait. What? Yes! In Matthew, Jesus says, “I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” Wow! I can tell you from experience, it becomes pretty hard to to dislike someone if you are praying for them daily. It is tough, but it is definitely worth doing.
Praying for others is often called “intercessory prayer.” I have been a prayer person all my life. I can remember being very young and praying for a certain thing and seeing that prayer answered right before my eyes. I was taught well when I was a child about praying for others. But what does praying for others look like?
When I lived in town, I would do prayer walking daily. I would pray for everyone in every house I would walk past. I would pray over empty and for sale houses for the people who were buying or moving into those houses. Even if I did not know who lived in the houses, I would pray. I might see bikes outside that showed kids lived there, or I might see a boat out front or a travel trailer. All these things are cues about how to pray. Just writing all this makes me think I need to start this up again!
But, I had this vision of a bright yellow ribbon of light just following me as I walked. The ribbon of light would cover each house as I prayed. The light would be seen from heaven. Of course, that is not at all what I could see, but it did make a beautiful picture in my mind. And, who knows? Maybe that was what God saw as I walked and prayed.
Prayer is such a gift. We can personally stand before God! We don’t need anyone else as a go-between. We stand before God ourselves and call out our needs and concerns to Him. We call out our thanksgivings. We call out our praise. And the very God that created all things hears us when we pray. He. Hears. Us. That is such an amazing thing to imagine. That He is listening to me!
I tell my grandsons that I pray every single day for them, every time they cross my mind. That is probably better than 20 times a day. Sometimes I pray that God will just put a quick smile on their face in that minute. Sometimes I pray for deeper wisdom and understanding. But what a gift to be able to give to others! The knowledge that someone called their name before God!
Go to God in prayer for yourself, for others. It will make a difference!
