I was reading a story at washingtonpost.com and it was a write up about the prayer warriors at Refreshing Spring Church of God in Christ in Riverdale New York. These prayer warriors prepare for service by coming to church two hours before the congregants and pray that the spirit of the Lord abides and the church. They pray before morning services, and during the week they pray on behalf of those in need, excusing themselves to a quiet room at their jobs, gathering around hospital beds, or bowing heads on a conference call. If you are unfamiliar with the term or concept of a prayer warrior imagine someone who is going into battle. That is also true of prayer warriors, except their weapons are prayers not weapons. We are also called intercessory prayers because they pray to God for others. Have you ever felt a nudge in your spirit to pray for another person or a complete stranger? There are times when I pray I see the faces of people I know and I am led to pray for them. How wonderful God must be to have his people praying you those of us who need it.
My intention was not to make this a churchy but a spiritual post. To me prayer is simply communicating with God spirit to spirit. It’s solving problems and addressing issues spiritually. It can be like salve on a painful sore. There is nothing more beautiful and unselfish than to pray on behalf of another person, to put your own wants and needs aside and go to the Father on behalf of another person. I believe God has millions of prayer warriors and you never know when he has assigned one to pray specifically for you.
Thankfully I am past the stage of feeling like I have to be a saint devoid of sin to pray for others. I can’t count the times God has grabbed me in the spiritual collar and told me that regardless of my stage in life his love for me was boundless, immeasurable, infallible, justified, impenetrable by other forces, uninfluenced, pure and the highest form of love one could be blessed enough to obtain. So even if I am knee deep in trouble or sin I still feel confidant enough to pray for other people. And yes……….I believe God hears my prayer.
Now back to our regular scheduled programming.
1 comment:
Thank you for speaking this truth in love. It is important to remember that God hears us, and we do not have to be living "perfect" lives to be heard. He wants to hear us, especially in times of distress. After all, He asked Job to pray for others when he was at the very bottom of losing all himself.
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