We are called to pray for people.
In my last blog post, I shared about how it is our birthright to hear the voice of the Lord. I shared that according to Scripture, God speaks to us and shared several examples of how to start hearing the voice of the Lord. If you missed that post, here is a direct link to read it. https://gracemcallister.theworldrace.org/post/the-reality-of-our-birthright/
God also asks us to pray for others. Galatians 6:2 says, “Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.” So how do we bear one another’s burdens? Well, 1 Corinthians 13 says to do it in love. And Ephesians 6:18 says to do it all the time through prayer. “Praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplications for all the saints”. In learning to pray for others, God has stripped me of all fear in environments and deepened my trust in his protection. He has shown me his deep love for his people.
This past week, I was in Denver, Colorado on a trip with my parents. One evening, we had a 30-minute walk to our Airbnb from the baseball stadium we had been at. It was around 10:30pm, and the streets were filled with people who had made their home on them. We passed people who were lacking the resources they needed for a comfortable night, and others who were experiencing heavy drug use. As our walk began, I was in my own world texting a friend. I looked up from my phone and saw the reality of the streets we were walking through. I repented to the Lord for being distracted and not in tune with the Holy Spirit. I then began to pray. I had no idea what each individual needed, but I knew God did. God brought Romans 8:26-27 to mind. “Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groaning too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.” I prayed that God would meet the needs of every single person we were passing. That they would encounter the love and presence of Jesus. As I was praying, God kept bringing the word “Anai” to mind. I had never heard or spoken the word “Anai” before. God told me in my spirit that it wasn’t English and showed me in my mind how to spell it. I had never experienced this before. I pulled out my phone and googled “what language is anai from”. Google responded with “Hebrew meaning ‘God has answered'”. God saw the people on the streets of Denver and heard my prayers of intercession for them. In his grace and kindness, he spoke to me in Hebrew that he heard me and was answering my prayers. That is the power of the God that we serve. My faith was deeply increased.
“And this is the confidence that we have towards him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him”. 1 John 5:14-15
If you’ve never prayed for someone else without a direct reason, here are a few ideas of where to start.
Ask God to bring a scripture verse to mind to encourage them.
Ask the Holy Spirit to help you pray; he already knows them.
Ask God for His will to be done in their life.
Pray for God to bless them and provide for them.
Ask God to show you how much he loves them.
Pray for people in your life that you know, and pray for people you’ve never met. I promise that the more you pray for others, the more God will change your heart. Fear and judgment will flee, and the love God has for all of his children will fill your heart.
Grace
Beautiful!