September 7, 2020 8:00 pm
“Are people still praying for me?”
That was one of the first questions a missionary asked his wife whenever she was allowed to visit him in prison. He had been falsely accused and incarcerated for his faith for two years. His life was frequently in danger because of the conditions and hostility in the prison, and Christians around the world were earnestly praying for him. He wanted to be assured they wouldn’t stop, because he believed God was using their prayers in a powerful way.
Our prayers for others—especially those who are persecuted for their faith—are a vital gift. Paul made this clear when he wrote the believers in Corinth about hardships he faced during his missionary journey. He “was under great pressure,” so much that he “despaired of life itself” (2 Corinthians 1:8). But then he told them God had delivered him and described the tool He’d used to do it: “We have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us, as you help us by your prayers” (vv. 10–11, emphasis added).
God moves through our prayers to accomplish great good in the lives of His people. One of the best ways to love others is to pray for them, because through our prayers we open the door to the help only God can provide. When we pray for others, we love them in His strength. There is none greater or more loving than He.
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Welcome to today's encouragement from Our Daily Bread. The writer for today is James Banks, and the devotional is entitled, Loving Others with Our Prayers. Are people still praying for me? That was one of the first questions a missionary asked his wife whenever she was allowed to visit him in prison. He had been falsely accused and incarcerated for his faith for two years. His life was frequently in danger because of the conditions and hostility in the prison, and believers around the world were earnestly praying for him. He wanted to be assured they wouldn't stop because he believed God was using their prayers in a powerful way. Our prayers for others, especially for those who are persecuted for their faith, are a vital gift. Paul made this clear when he wrote the believers in Corinth about hardships he faced during his missionary journey.
He was under great pressure, so much that he despaired of life itself. But then in 2 Corinthians 1, he told them God had delivered him and described the tool he'd used to do it. We have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us, he said, as you help us by your prayers. God moves through our prayers to accomplish great good in the lives of his people. One of the best ways to love others is to pray for them because through our prayers we open the door to the help only God can provide. When we pray for others, we love them in his strength.
There's none greater or more loving than he. Today's Our Daily Bread devotional scripture reading comes to us from 2 Corinthians 1, verses 8-11. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us, as you help us by your prayers. Then many will give thanks on our behalf, for the gracious favor granted us in answer to the prayers of many. Now, let's pray together. Almighty God, we thank you for the amazing gift of prayer and the encouragement, hope and peace we receive as we meet you in it. Thank you also for the privilege we have in lifting up others to you. We ask that you would lay someone on our heart who is struggling right now and need some encouragement and show us how we can reach out to them in a special way as well. Thank you, Lord. It's in Jesus' name that we pray. Amen.
Whisper: medium.en / 2024-03-17 01:43:51 / 2024-03-17 01:45:15 / 1
