Why Praying is the Most Important Thing You Can Do for People

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I’ve read countless books about prayer in my life.

But in recent years, the Lord has shown me that I need to read less about prayer and spend more time in prayer.

Here are a few things I’ve learned from actually praying…

♥ Prayer can be comforting—as we bring every need to God’s Throne of Grace and receive His grace and mercy.
♥ Prayer can be reflective—thanking and praising God for His blessings, goodness, and grace.
♥ Prayer can be seeking—pleading with God for wisdom, guidance, and direction in life.

All amazing blessings! Yet, maybe one of the most important things to remember is that…

♥ Prayer is warfare—it is our God-given weapon in the battle between good and evil . . . between God’s heavenly warriors and the enemy’s demonic forces.

And that is what Paul is asking his readers to do toward the end of Romans:

Dear brothers and sisters, I urge you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to join in my struggle by praying to God for me. Do this because of your love for me, given to you by the Holy Spirit. 

Romans 15:30

When you and I go to God’s Throne for a family member, friend, or even a complete stranger . . . when we pray for people, we are going to battle for them. Interceding for someone as they fight an illness, or live through grief, loneliness, joblessness, depression, or anything else this world throws at them . . . can make all the difference in their battle physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.

I love this quote from Pastor Tony Evans…

“Simply defined, prayer is earthly permission for heavenly interference.”

May you and I find ourselves faithfully praying for people inviting the blessing of heavenly interference as together we fight the battles of life.

A Prayer Asking God to Help Us Pray for People

Lord, Your Word consistently tells us to pray for one another. You told us to bring our burdens to You and that You will help us. (Matthew 11:28) And Paul wrote that it is Your will that we would carry each other’s burdens. (Galatians 6:2) One of the most loving and compassionate ways we can love one another is to carry someone’s burden to You in prayer.

Please forgive me. I pray about many things but too often I don’t pay close enough attention to the battles the people around me are facing . . . too often I fail to pray as intentionally as fervently as I should. Too often I say I’ll pray for someone and forget as soon as I walk away or I “shoot off” a quick brief prayer and fail to think about it again. I’m so sorry.

You have given us this awesome gift. You promise to hear the prayers of Your children. Please empower me to become a prayer warrior. Help me to faithfully pray for the people around me. Make me intentional about helping them fight their spiritual battles through the gift of prayer. Lord, You have already won the spiritual war . . . Yours is the kingdom, the power, and the glory. Forever and ever. Amen.

During the covid lockdown our pastor challenged us to find a way to reach out and encourage our neighbors.

Rev and I prayed about it and decided to drop a short letter off at each home on our street telling our neighbors that we would pray for them. Here’s a copy of what we left:

We added each of our email addresses and also placed a mailbox out front so people could leave a request anonymously.

It turned out to be such a simple way to reach out. It has blessed us and we pray that it is blessing our neighbors too.

On today’s note write:

Lord, help me faithfully pray for people.

If you would like us to pray for you . . . please leave your request on the Blessing Counters Prayer Page or in the comments below.

Finally, I want to close today by praying this prayer for each of you.

I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Romans 15:13

Click here to read the rest of Romans 15.

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