Opening the Door for God to Work

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. ~Richard Foster

"Your name is on my prayer list," my friend Jennifer said, pointing to her Bible and notebook stacked beside the chair where I was sitting. "I'm praying you will be healed."  It felt like a hug for my heart, like shelter under a prayer tree, knowing she cared enough to pray for me.  

Prayer is an important part of  encouragement.  It's been just the last few years that I've realized how important it is to hear others are praying for you. I have many friends, who, without question, care for me.  But those who tell me they are praying specific prayers communicate a deeper level of caring.

It's one of the reasons I love Facebook, while so many others condemn the use.  It's a good way to add to your prayer list.  So many times I hear of prayer requests and can pray immediately for needs.  Then I can add them to my prayer list to continue to pray. Sometimes just the tone of a status update indicates the need for prayer.

Paul told the Ephesians, And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people. All these years later, it's still a principle to live by -- praying for all the Lord's people.

We know we need to pray for the unsaved.  So many times my prayers are focused on those who haven't accepted Jesus as Savior. I want to be faithful to pray for the young mother caring for three children, the lonely widow, the child struggling with dyslexia and his homeschooling mother.  I want to pray for marriages -- not only those experiencing difficulty, but for those committed to keeping a healthy relationship.  

There are times we need to put "feet" to our prayers.  A card, a small gift, or an offer to play with the kids for an hour or two.  Sometimes it's lunch out and a listening ear.  A.J. Gordon said,"You can do more than pray after you have prayed; but you can never do more than pray until you have prayed." Pray first.

What a privilege we have to take others to God through Jesus.  It's an intimate place where we meet God -- a treasured altar in this place we're invited to come with boldness. Jesus holds our prayers in His hands, covers them with His intercessory  prayers and carries them to the Father.  

Take some extra time this week to read through your Facebook status updates. Look people in the eye as you worship tomorrow. Ask God to place names of hurting people on your heart.  Let them sit under your sheltering tree as you carry them to the Father.  Then put feet to your prayers with a quick phone call, a private message on Facebook, a card or a plate of cookies. 

Oswald Chambers challenges me with his words, "If we think of prayer as the breath in our lungs and the blood from our hearts, we think rightly."  I'm asking God to keep my prayers unselfish -- that my prayer breaths will be more about others than myself, and the prayers pumping through my heart will  find me faithful.