2 Corinthians 1:8-11 – For we do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead. He delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will deliver us again. You also must help us by prayer, so that many will give thanks on our behalf for the blessing granted us through the prayers of many.

THEME OF THE DAY: PRAYING FOR ONE ANOTHER. One of the most important displays of love Christians are to give toward one another is our praying for one another. It is has been said, “We are never more like the Lord Jesus than when we are praying for others.” It is a command, responsibility, and privilege. It also encourages other Christians to know we are loved enough to be prayed for.

I recently slipped on an icy front porch and hurt my back. My dog Jake contributed to my fall. I was taking him outside and in his excitement, he pulled on his leash a tad too hard and too quick. He is better equipped for icy surfaces with four paws and nice pads on those paws. Not us humans and down I went, bouncing off each step as I fell. As I was laid up for a couple of days, I received a nice email from a dear brother who is a Godly man and a praying man. The former is because of the latter. He ended his email with four of the most precious words a person may ever read or hear . . . “I’m praying for you.” I know he will and I know he will be specific. And that leads to today’s nugget theme . . .

How do we pray for one another? Are we praying generically or specifically? I know there are well-intended prayers offered for each other that lack specifics. I have prayed them. Let’s use me as an example of such praying. Here is what a generic prayer would look like, “Father, please bless Jim in all that he does today.” Again, that is a well-intended prayer, but it lacks substance and might not be a good one. I know this a stretch but not really. Imagine praying, “Lord, bless Jim in all that he does today” and I decide to sin up a storm or neglect the Lord. God obviously isn’t going to answer such a prayer. There is a better way to pray. Besides praying specifically for people because we are involved in their lives and know what to pray for, we are given the best way to pray for one another and that by praying the Word for them. Again, use me as an example . . .

Compare the generic prayer, “Father, bless Jim in all he does today” with this . . . “Father, keep Jim from the evil one today.” That is a direct quote from Jesus praying for His disciples in John 17:15. Or how about this Word-based prayer, “Father, out of the riches of your glory, strengthen Jim in his inner being by your Spirit that Christ may dwell in his heart by faith and be rooted and grounded in love”. That is a personalization of the Apostle Paul’s prayer found in Ephesians 3:14-19.

Do we see the difference between Word-based, spiritually specific prayer and generic praying? Yes, there are times when we pray for people we don’t know the temporal needs in their lives, but we can address the far more important needs in their lives – spiritual – by praying the Word for them. And would that not be the highest expression of our love for one another? May the request the disciples asked of the Lord Jesus be one we ask of Him too, “Lord, teach us to pray” and then find the answer in the greatest prayer book ever penned – our Bibles.

PRAYER: “Father, as the disciples asked of Your Son, so do I, ‘Lord, teach me to pray.’”

QUOTE: “Prayer is a language of love and a language not of vague generalizations.”