February 20, 2022

Ephesians 6: 18 (NIV)

And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.

When a man is through with praying, that man is through with any life that matters.*

Anyone who spent time with Jesus knew that he was a “pray-er.” He modeled a life of prayer and taught his disciples a model prayer. Paul’s letters are rich with references to prayer – whether mentioning others in his prayers, begging for prayers on his own behalf, or urging us to pray for each other and even for those in authority over us. This verse in Ephesians is all-encompassing: all occasions; all kinds of prayer requests.

Our Savior believed in the power (and necessity) of prayer, therefore so do I. I believe that the most important purpose of prayer is to get to know God, but scripture spells out some specific things we should pray for. And I wonder: what if I don’t pray for “all the saints”? What if there’s a missionary out there for whom no one has remembered to pray? What happens to him? Will God abandon him because we have? Why does God want us to pray for each other?

My husband and I were far from home (we were in Wyoming – we live in Florida), when we got word that the marriage of one of our sons was in trouble. He insisted that he didn’t need me to come home and I was managing to hold myself together until, after another offer to return home to be with him, he said that he was fine because his twin brother had made the eight-hour trip from Georgia to be with him. That was when I broke down and cried for my hurting child, and that was when I knew what it must be like for God when his children care enough about each other to pray for one another and to help a hurting brother or sister. He wants us to pray for each other because he wants us to love each other.

Make the Father’s heart swell with emotion and make it your habit to pray for your brothers and sisters in Christ.

The prayers of one saint are to God melody, but the intercessions of many are harmony.*