Last post was on how it is a joy to be able to pray for others. This post will focus on the other side of the same coin, asking others to pray for you.
Is it simpler to offer prayers for someone rather than seeking prayers for yourself? Perhaps there’s a hesitation, a concern of not wanting to burden others with personal issues. It could be a comparison, thinking one’s struggles aren’t as significant as others, leading to the decision to keep it to oneself. Alternatively, the reluctance might stem from a pride issue, a fear that asking for prayers may expose vulnerabilities and weaknesses in one’s life.
Here are some reminders on the importance of asking other believers to pray for you:
1. Humbling Recognition of Dependence:
Opening up to seek prayer is a humble acknowledgment that our strength and abilities are limited. As Paul encourages in Ephesians 6:10, our true strength comes from the Lord and His might.
These well-known verses from Proverbs serve as a powerful reminder of our dependence on the Lord, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths” (Proverbs 3:5-6).
We must recognize that nothing occurs beyond the scope of God’s care and control. Turning to Him, we express our dependence and place our trust in His sovereignty.
2. Submission to God’s Authority:
Prayer is a powerful act of submission, recognizing that God is in charge. It’s a deliberate casting of ourselves before the Lord, surrendering our concerns and acknowledging His sovereignty. He who is charge of all things invites us to ask and seek him. When we ask other believers to pray for us, we are united in seeking God’s sovereignty.
We ask others to help us to say, “Not my will but your will be done.”
3. Shared Burden-Bearing:
Asking fellow believers for prayer is not a solitary endeavor but a shared burden-bearing. It’s an invitation for others to join in carrying the weight, creating a supportive community in alignment with God’s design.
We are commanded as fellow believers to be fellow burden bearers (Galatians 6:2).
Asking other believers to pray for you gives them an opportunity share your burden and to experience joy in lifting you up before the Lord.
Prayer is like breathing for the Christian
Let’s remember, prayer isn’t just a ministry within the church; it is the lifeblood of the church itself. It should flow so naturally in the life of a Christian, akin to the instinctive act of breathing for a person.
If then it is natural or as I look at it as the outflowing of ABIDING with God then we will naturally pray for others.
Pastor Iain M. Duguid writes this in his book The Whole Armor of God, “If you think of praying in the Spirit at all times, with all kinds of prayers, persistently for all of the saints, as a job description (Eph 6:18), it will wear you out. But for us as children of the great King, it is simply living life in the presence of our king. It is lifting hearts and minds and voices regularly to him in petition and praise as the Spirit leads.”
As we embrace prayer not as a duty but as the natural outflow of abiding with God, it becomes an integral part of our daily lives, akin to living in the constant presence of our King. Pastor Iain M. Duguid beautifully captures this essence in his book, highlighting that praying in the Spirit is not a wearisome job description but, as children of the great King, it is simply living life in communion with Him – lifting hearts, minds, and voices regularly in petition and praise, guided by the Spirit.
