Sunday, November 16, 1997 In Your Absence:
In this week's lesson, which came from John 17:9-19 and James 5:14-16, we learned about how to pray effectively for others. Sometimes, we may not pray for other people as we should because we do not think that the Lord will do anything differently. At other times, we may not pray for others simply because we do not know what to pray. However, while these two explanations are understandable and show that we are human, they are not how our Lord would have us to be.
This week's lesson focused on four keys to praying effectively for those around us. First, we can pray for unhindered fellowship among ourselves. Jesus was about to leave His disciples, and He knew that they would come under attack. He knew that some of those attacks would come from within the Church and that some would come from without. Therefore, He prayed and asked that His disciples might be able to withstand the opposition which they would face and that they might remain unified. When we feel the need to pray for someone and do not know exactly how or what to say, we can begin by following Jesus' example and ask that our brother or sister's fellowship with God and others not be broken. Second, we can pray and ask that another person's joy be complete even in the midst of their opposition. If you name Christ as your Savior and Lord, then you will certainly feel opposition at some point in your life. Sometimes, that opposition might be very painful, and sometimes, it may even take away your joy. As Christians, we can pray and ask that our brothers and sisters in the Lord be able to maintain their joy even in the midst of their most difficult difficulties.
After we have prayed for unhindered fellowship among ourselves and for unfettered joy for our brothers and sisters in the Lord, we can next approach God to pray for the ministry of others. God calls each of us to an individual ministry, but because we are weak and frail, we can sometimes let ourselves be drawn away from that particular service. In praying for one another, let us ask of the Lord that each of us be found faithful to do that which He has called us to do. Let us also pray that our adversary, the devil, not be successful at keeping us from our appointed tasks. Jesus prayed for His disciples and asked that they be set apart and made dedicated to their service to Him. As Christians, we can pray in a similar fashion for our co-laborers in the Lord. After we have done that, we can then pray for others with respect to their physical and spiritual healing. We do not pray the prayer of salvation for anyone except ourselves, but we can certainly pray and ask the Holy Spirit to minister the message of salvation to someone else. As Christians, we do well when we concern ourselves with the eternal condition of those around us. As the popular Christian song goes, people really do need the Lord, and we, who know Christ as Savior, need to be sensitive to that need in others. May we always be ready to share with those around us the hope which we have in Jesus (see I Peter 3:15). May we also be faithful to pray for the physical healing needs of others. We do not have the ability to heal anyone, but we can certainly approach the Great Physician with our petitions on their behalf.
In my opinion, the essence of Christ-like living is manifested in caring for and caring about others. May each of us always be faithful to do our part in this very important mission.
Tom of Spotswood"He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life." (I John 5:12)
"And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart." (Jeremiah 29:13)
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