"Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective." James 5:18 (NIV)
I've been experiencing an ongoing medical condition for which the doctors say there is no cure and very little to be done in the way of treatment. It's painful and depressing at times, so when someone tells me they are praying for me, I am extremely grateful.
Recently God has been leading me to read several books on prayer; Intercessory Prayer by Dutch Sheets, The Power of a Praying Woman and The Power of Praying Together - both by Stormie Omartian, and now I'm reading Prayer by Richard J. Foster.
After reading these books, I find I have a richer prayer life than I've had in my 33+ years of following Christ and I've come to realize that the most effective and most loving thing I can do for another person is to pray for them.
Richard J. Foster puts it this way…"If we truly love people, we will desire for them far more than it is within our power to give them, and this will lead us to prayer. Intercession is a way of loving others." (Richard J. Foster - Prayer)
Even my friend, who is an atheist thanks me when I tell him I am praying for him. He says it's because he knows that I believe prayer will help him and he takes it as a sign that I care what happens to him…even though he doesn't believe in God or that there is any merit to prayer.
So, how much time do you spend praying for others?
Prayer:
Father, thank you for the power of prayer and for the privilege of coming to you not only for our own needs, but for the needs of those we love. Bring to mind those who are in need of praying and help us to be consistent in lifting up the needs of others to you. We thank you, now for the answers we will see in the coming days.
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(Copyright© 2011 Jan Christiansen. All rights reserved.)
Recently God has been leading me to read several books on prayer; Intercessory Prayer by Dutch Sheets, The Power of a Praying Woman and The Power of Praying Together - both by Stormie Omartian, and now I'm reading Prayer by Richard J. Foster.
After reading these books, I find I have a richer prayer life than I've had in my 33+ years of following Christ and I've come to realize that the most effective and most loving thing I can do for another person is to pray for them.
Richard J. Foster puts it this way…"If we truly love people, we will desire for them far more than it is within our power to give them, and this will lead us to prayer. Intercession is a way of loving others." (Richard J. Foster - Prayer)
Even my friend, who is an atheist thanks me when I tell him I am praying for him. He says it's because he knows that I believe prayer will help him and he takes it as a sign that I care what happens to him…even though he doesn't believe in God or that there is any merit to prayer.
So, how much time do you spend praying for others?
Prayer:
Father, thank you for the power of prayer and for the privilege of coming to you not only for our own needs, but for the needs of those we love. Bring to mind those who are in need of praying and help us to be consistent in lifting up the needs of others to you. We thank you, now for the answers we will see in the coming days.
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(Copyright© 2011 Jan Christiansen. All rights reserved.)
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