Taking time to pray may be the essential thing that you do regularly. Is the Lord asking you to pray for someone today? Does He want to take you to a new level in your prayer life? Will you say yes to the Lord’s leading, whatever it may be, in connection with your prayer life?
Jesus is both God and man, yet He needed to spend time in prayer. Mark 1:35 “Before daybreak the next morning, Jesus got up and went out to an isolated place to pray.”[1] Note that Jesus spent time praying before the sunrise and did so by Himself. There are times to pray together, and other times the Lord wants us to pray alone.
Praying for Others Changes How We See Them
There is something about praying for others that changes how you view them. Perhaps you don’t have a close relationship with or are estranged from a person in your life. God can change your view of them. It is hard to be angry at someone and then lift them to God’s throne of grace for Him to bless them.
If you have a problematic relationship, the Lord may be prompting you to pray for them. I have done this, and it has changed me. Sometimes we want God to change the other person, and God wants to change the person praying and those receiving the prayer. This is the beautiful thing about the Lord.
Prayer Affects my Heart
The Apostle Paul gives us fantastic insight into prayer. 1 Thessalonians 5:16 Always be joyful. 17 Never stop praying. 18 Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus. [2] Isn’t it interesting that prayer is in between joy and being thankful? When we live out these spiritual qualities, it changes how we see and interact with others.
Acts 16:25 Around midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening.[3] Although they were in prison and beaten, Paul and Silas don’t respond with anger but with prayer and praise. This is so unusual that other prisoners are listening. The text does not say what they were praying about, but they had the other prisoners’ attention, whatever it was.
Taking Time to Pray Puts God First
The Lord helps us reprioritize our life as we pray. Prayer is two-way communication with God; we speak but also listen. God wants us to pray for others but also intervenes for us. Romans 8:26 And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words.[4]
To hear more about taking time to pray, listen here:
https://podpoint.com/light-of-christ-church-podcast/mark-preaching-and-healing
[1-4] Tyndale House Publishers. (2015). Holy Bible: New Living Translation. Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers.