“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. {19} Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, [20} for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.”
Ephesians 6:18-20
“Pray for me.”
I’ve had a number of people ask me to pray for them of late. It got me to thinking: what does it say when someone asks you to pray for them?
For one thing it says they believe in prayer. Paul asked the Ephesians to pray for him because he believed that it would move God to strengthen him and increase his courage and faith. He knew what lay ahead! He knew he would face terrible opposition. And so he said, “Pray for me…that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel.”
If you believe in prayer you will do what Paul did: ask the people you love and trust to pray for you.
James said, “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 5:16).
It is! And if we believe that it is, we will pray for one another.
Another thing it says when someone asks you to pray for them is that they have a deep concern. They are troubled by this matter and it’s important we match their concern.
Paul instructs us to do this very thing in Romans 12:15 when he says, “Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.”
In practical terms, this means that we must develop empathy over the issue they are troubled with. Empathy is, by definition, “The ability to understand and share the feelings of another.” It’s something I feel we have to work at because I don’t think it comes naturally to most of us.
But empathy is powerful! It draws us closer, strengthens the ties that bind us together in Christ, and is the very thing which makes encouragement possible.
It’s also an absolute necessity if we are to fulfill commands such as Galatians 6:2 — “Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.” And 1 Peter 3:8 — “Have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind.”
When someone asks you to pray for them, realize that they are sharing their heart with you. Take it seriously. Try to empathize with the issue that’s troubling them.
Finally, when someone asks you to pray for them it says that they trust and respect you.
I hope you feel honored when someone asks you to pray for them. You should.
And I hope you feel humbled because it is a great and awesome responsibility to go before God on behalf of another.
When we make intercession for another, we take on the same role as did some of God’s greatest people of faith.
Abraham made intercession for Lot and his family and the righteous who dwelt in the midst of Sodom and Gomorrah (Gen. 18).
Moses made intercession for Israel after they worshipped the golden calf. He prayed that God would relent from His fierce anger and not destroy them (Exod. 32).
Elijah made intercession for God’s people as he stood on Mount Carmel. He prayed that God would make Himself known to them (1 Kings 18:36-38). And did He!
Jesus prayed for His disciples before the ordeal of the Cross (Jn. 17). He prayed for their protection, safety, and closeness to God (Jn. 17:11). John tells us that in heaven He continues to make intercession for us today (1 Jn. 2:1).
In his book, Life Together: The Classic Exploration of Christian Community, Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote:
“A Christian fellowship lives and exists by the intercession of its members for one another, or it collapses. I can no longer condemn or hate a brother for whom I pray, no matter how much trouble he causes me. His face, that hitherto may have been strange and intolerable to me, is transformed in intercession into the countenance of a brother for whom Christ died, the face of a forgiven sinner.”
Next time someone asks you to pray for them, approach that prayer with the seriousness and humility it deserves. It’s an honor. It’s a privilege. It’s important