How wonderful it is to see people in earnest prayer! We love to read what Mary, Queen of Scots said about the prayer of John Knox.
Prayers are powerful because we have a sovereign God who answers prayers. We
often say, “Pray for me,” and “Will pray for you,” and often neglect to pray
earnestly. When there are specific prayer points to pray for we pray more
spontaneously, but we do not want to pray only after hearing or learning bad
news or tragedies, do we? How do we pray for one another and regularly even if
we do not get bad news or possibly good news?
Last year I was in a
three men prayer group. Though we lived in different cities of India, we prayed
for one another mentioning each other name regularly. We asked ourselves what
to pray for each other, and following are the four Prayer points we pray for
each other regularly for a year:
What
to pray for (to become):
1. Bible-saturated prayerful Christian
2. God and man favored Christian
3. Exemplary Christian- in speech, conduct, love,
faith, purity
4. Others (Current Individual Struggles and
Needs)
The Biblical Rationale for the
above points are given below:
1.
BIBLE-SATURATED PRAYERFUL CHRISTIAN (Colossians
3:16; 1Thessalonians 5:17)
Years ago, while I was a committee member in Evangelical Union
(SSEU), I used to tell about the importance of BP (yes, the fame medical
terminology for Blood Pressure). The doctor has a special interest in checking
the BP of patients. Dr. Joseph H. Henderson, MD
(Cardiovascular Disease), says, “Blood Pressure should be
checked regularly because it is a barometer of health and
there are often no symptoms to alert one to
the presence of high blood pressure.”
I proposed another BP (an acronym for Bible-reading
and Prayer) as the barometer of Spiritual Health, which we must check
regularly too. It is prescribed by the learned Paul, the Apostle of our Lord
Jesus Christ.
Colossians 3:16
“Let the WORD OF CHRIST dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and
hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.”
1Thessalonians 5:17
“PRAY Without Ceasing,”
The rewards of reading bible are well written in Psalm 19:7-14 and Psalm 119.
2.
GOD AND MAN FAVORED CHRISTIAN (Luke 2:52; 1Samuel
2:26)
I often hear people saying, “Such and such person is
too heavenly-minded, that he is not earthly-good.” You know that’s totally
wrong. There is nobody who is TOO heavenly-minded. Even Apostle Paul I believe is
not TOO heavenly-minded. He is just heavenly-minded.
However, sadly “no earthly-good” tag is true to many Christian.
God has created us to be hardworking and to do good works (Ephesians 2:10).
Moreover, A heavenly minded person should be the “light”
of the world (Matthew 5:14). Of course, light exposes the darkness, and
eventually, the people of the world (who are in darkness) will not like you. Nevertheless,
look at Jesus and Samuel. We ought to imitate them.
Luke 2:52
“And Jesus
increased in wisdom and in stature and in FAVOR WITH God
and man.”
1Samuel 2:26
“Now the boy Samuel
continued to grow both in stature and in FAVOR WITH the LORD and also with man.”
Remember, we are IN the world, though NOT OF
the world (John 17). We must try to maintain peace (Romans 12:18; Hebrews 12:14).
Jesus has overcome the world, and we are the overcomers (John 16:33; 1John 5:4).
3.
EXEMPLARY CHRISTIAN- in SPEECH, CONDUCT, LOVE,
FAITH, PURITY (1Timothy 4:12; Galatians 5:22-26; Colossians 4:5-6)
How often do we live
a double-life, a hypocritical life!!! We are the citizens of heaven (Philippians
3:20), and even ambassadors on earth (2Corinthians 5:20). Yet our lifestyle is
often farthest from it. Gandhi and Teresa have lived life better than most
Christian (speaking worldly). Jesus says that a good tree must bear good fruits,
and out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth really speaks (Luke 6:43-45).
1Timothy 4:12
“Let no one despise
you for your youth, BUT SET the believers AN EXAMPLE in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity.”
Galatians 5:22-26
“But the fruit of
the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience,
kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its
passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, LET US ALSO KEEP IN STEP WITH THE SPIRIT. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.”
Colossians 4:5-6
“Walk in wisdom TOWARD
OUTSIDERS, making the best use of the time. Let your speech always be gracious,
seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each
person.”
4.
OTHER INDIVIDUAL STRUGGLES AND NEEDS (Galatians
6:2; James 5:13-20)
This is one of the
top reasons that we ask prayer for each other. Look at the following Scripture
portions.
Galatians 6:2
“BEAR ONE ANOTHER'S
BURDENS, and so fulfill the law of
Christ.”
James 5:13-20
“Is anyone among
you suffering? LET HIM PRAY. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise. Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, AND LET THEM PRAY OVER HIM, anointing him with oil
in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord
will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Therefore, confess your sins to one another and PRAY FOR ONE
ANOTHER, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed fervently
that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on
the earth. Then he prayed again,
and heaven gave rain, and the earth bore its fruit. My brothers, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone brings
him back, let him know that
whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death
and will cover a multitude of sins.”