“I call on you, O God, for you will answer me, give ear to me and hear my prayer.” (Psalm 6:9)
Many of us have already heard the joke about life’s three greatest lies. You know, “I’m from Washington and I’m here to help; the check is in the mail; and, I’m praying for you”.
While we laugh at the humor behind those words, we are embarrassed to admit that few of us rarely live up to the promise, “I’m praying for you”.
Now don’t get me wrong. Most Christians do pray for others as soon as they learn of the need. But only a handful of Christians continue to pray for God to respond to that need. Sadly, many of us never place that need in our prayers again. Yes, we prayed for them, but we are not praying for them. There’s a big difference!
In 1990, I had a good friend who invited me to go to Sunday school and church with him one Sunday. That invitation changed my life. I met a Sunday school teacher who kept me on the edge of my seat. I had never heard anyone who had such command of the Bible and yet could make it so interesting. Christianity was finally beginning to make some sense.
I continued to visit this teacher’s class and eventually joined my friend’s church. However, about a year later my sinful lifestyle caught up with me. I had exhausted every option, except the one I should have begun with in the first place. So in desperation and with nowhere else to turn, I got down on my knees late one night and asked God to “get me out of this jam”. “If you do,” I promised him, “I’ll change”.
I’m embarrassed to tell you how many times I made that promised to God. I quit smoking on fewer tries. He had no reason to believe me. But only God knows our tomorrows and in spite of the fact that I had let him down so many times with my idle promises, he listened. Why?
Within just a few weeks of my cry for help, I accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior and one of the first persons I wanted to tell was my Sunday school teacher. I was so indebted to him because he was the first Christian who got through to me. So I telephoned him and told him that I needed to talk with him about something.
I guess my call seemed somewhat urgent because I remember how he so obligingly juggled his schedule so that he could sit down with me as soon as possible. He let me tell him all about my salvation experience, welcomed me into God’s family, and told me about an experience of his, all in an effort to start me out on my Christian walk with a good lesson about the power and privilege of prayer.
When I visited his class on that first Sunday morning, he shared with me just how much the look on my face alarmed him. Yes, he noticed that I was on the edge of my seat, but he also believed I was at the edge of life itself. He was right!
I must have really startled him because he sought out a special prayer warrior for me. He told her about that look on my face and the concern he had for my salvation. “Please add him to your list”, he pleaded with her.
She mentioned me in her prayers to God everyday for over a year and didn’t know me from Adam. But she loved me and if the truth has ever been told, I believe it might have been her plea and not mine to which God listened.
Praying for others continually is a privilege, but watching God answering it is an honor. Try it sometime. “The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man (or woman) availeth much”. (James 5:16)
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