“As for me, I will certainly not sin against the LORD by ending my prayers for you.” 1 Sam 12:23 NLT
Epaphras, who is one of you and a servant of Christ Jesus, sends greetings. He is always wrestling in prayer for you, that you may stand firm in all the will of God, mature and fully assured. Col. 4:12 NIV
Heavenly Father, both of these Scriptures convict me today, even as they encourage me. They encourage me, because they underscore the centrality of prayer in good friendship. That you are pleased to use our prayers for each other, as a means of unfolding your sovereign plan for our lives, is astounding. They convict me, because it’s so easy not to follow through, when I tell someone “I’ll be praying for you.”
So, not wasting any more time, here are some storylines I’m praying for today in the lives of friends. Father, I pray for friends showing-and-telling the gospel in various places around the world. Some have lost heart and health; others struggle with kids who “never signed on for this”; some face demonic assault, local disdain, and parents who think they’re crazy for serving Jesus. I thank you for their courage and sacrifice. Give each a large measure of fresh grace, wisdom from heaven, and supernatural encouragement.
I also pray for friends whose marriages are somewhere in the continuum of dry, disconnected, danger, or near death. Father, Satan hates marriage; you love it. May your love trump his evil machinations. Bring your power, grace, peace, and hope to bear. It’s complicated, but you do complications better than anyone.
Lastly, like Epaphras, I “wrestle in prayer” for my friends—primarily for their experience of the gospel. Everything begins to go downhill when we lose our sense of gospel-astonishment, chill in our affection for Jesus, or get too busy to fellowship with you.
Father, pour out your Spirit upon us—me included. Restore to us the joy of our salvation. Bring us back to childlike wonder over the good news of having our sins forgiven, being robed in Jesus’ righteousness, knowing you as our Abba, Father, and having citizenship in heaven. Once again, may we all be able to say, “everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord” (Phil. 3:8). So very Amen I pray, in Jesus’ mighty and worthy name.
