Pray with me can be a humbling request. When we ask others for assistance, we admit our weakness, and our need for the Lord and others. Matthew 18:20 For where two or three gather together as my followers, I am there among them.” [1] The Lord clarifies there is power in prayer when we meet, and He is present with us. The Lord being in the center of those praying is a fantastic picture of the Lord’s mercy and grace as His children seek Him. When I humbly asked others to pray for me, it led to powerful spiritual experiences.
Jesus asked His Disciples to Pray
Jesus knew the cross awaited Him as He went to the Garden of Gethsemane to pray. He wanted the support of His disciples and asked them to join Him in prayer. Mark 14:32 They went to the olive grove called Gethsemane, and Jesus said, “Sit here while I go and pray.” 33 He took Peter, James, and John with him, and he became deeply troubled and distressed. 34 He told them, “My soul is crushed with grief to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.” [2]
Jesus needed His disciples to be with Him and pray for Him as He faced the challenge of the cross. We sometimes forget that Jesus was God and man as He contemplated dying for the world’s sins. In their weakness, the disciples failed Jesus and did not keep watch as He desired. Although we let others down, the Lord will never let us down.
Praying for Others is a Blessing from the Lord
When someone asks you to pray for them, it is a blessing to them and from the Lord. Think about how few people that person would ask for individual prayer, and you are one of them. Prayers to the Lord are precious. Scripture gives excellent insight into how vital God’s children’s prayers are.
Revelation 5:8 And when he took the scroll, the four living beings and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp, and they held gold bowls filled with incense, which are the prayers of God’s people.[3] Your prayers are so precious they are kept in golden bowls for the Lord. As we pray for others, it helps us see that person as the Lord sees them.
During Vacation Bible School, a young student’s mother joined our adult Bible class for the week. As we discussed the lesson, the mother revealed all the challenges she was facing, so I asked her if we could pray for her at the end of our first class. She humbly allowed me to pray for her and then sobbed. She went on to explain no one had ever prayed for her before. I believe this is a glimpse of both the power of prayer and the importance of praying for others.
Pray with me is a request that can help us on our life journey. To hear more, listen here:
https://podpoint.com/light-of-christ-church-podcast/mark-gods-will-not-mine
[1-3] Tyndale House Publishers. (2015). Holy Bible: New Living Translation . Tyndale House Publishers.