28 Days: Day 12

SCRIPTURE

• James 5:16 (NIV) ¹⁶ Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.
• 1 Timothy 2:1 (NIV) ¹ I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone--  

OBSERVATION

“One thing more, the soul-winner must be a master of the art of prayer. You cannot bring souls to God if you go not to God yourself. You must get your battle-axe, and your weapons of war, from the armoury of sacred communication with Christ. If you are much alone with Jesus, you will catch His Spirit; you will be fired with the flame that burned in His breast, and consumed His life. You will weep with the tears that fell upon Jerusalem when He saw it perishing; and if you cannot speak so eloquently as He did, yet shall there be about what you say somewhat of the same power which in Him thrilled the hearts and awoke the consciences of men. My dear hearers, especially you members of the church, I am always so anxious lest any of you should begin to lie upon your oars, and take things easy in the matters of God's kingdom. There are some of you—I bless you, and I bless God at the remembrance of you—who are in season, and out of season, in earnest for winning souls, and you are the truly wise; but I fear there are others whose hands are slack, who are satisfied to let me preach, but do not themselves preach; who take these seats, and occupy these pews, and hope the cause goes well, but that is all they do.”(The Soul Winner Charles Spurgeon [Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1989]

UNDERSTANDING

All around us we see evidence of people who are struggling with and breaking under the stress and strain of everyday life; lost people who are at the end of their rope and without hope. In their time of need, they do not need judgment or condemnation or pithy Christian clichés. What they need is to feel the mercy and compassion of God from the people of God. There is no better way to convey that we care than to offer to pray for someone. Even the most skeptical or unreligious person will accept our offer and see it for what it is.There is power in prayer! Not only in it’s power to communicate our love for the hurting, but it also releases the redemptive power of God into that person’s life and circumstances. Whether they ever admit it or not, they will understand that your prayers helped and God will use that truth to touch their hearts with His love.

LIFE APPLICATION

The next time someone shares a struggle or concern with you, offer to pray for them right then and there. If they decline, don’t be offended. Respect their feelings and let them know that you will be praying for them. Check in with them often, continue to walk with them through the struggle and be ready to rejoice with them when God answers your prayer on their behalf. Remember, people don’t care what you know until they know that you care. Care enough to pray!