06/12/2022
Do we thank God for our brothers and sisters in Christ? Do we pray for them on a daily basis, and not just for help when they are experiencing problems in their lives, offering thanks when they have been blessed, or for instruction when they are irritating us in some way? The apostle Paul wrote the Corinthians and told them that he prayed for them always, and likewise, that should be how we pray for our fellow Christians too. There was only one reason he gave for this, and it was because they were covered by the grace given them in Christ. Now let me ask a deeper question… do we pray for those whose souls are lost, and don’t know, or haven’t yet come to believe?
“I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus,”
1 Corinthians 1:4 ESV
We Pray for individuals all the time; we pray for our family members, our friends, those we know are in need, and so many others through the course of our lives, but we should also pray for the masses… the groups we don’t yet know by name, but who, even so, surround us in this world. If God so loved the world that He sent His only Son, then why should we love them less? Why should they be absent from our prayers? We repeat the scripture that tells us of this love, so why do we neglect to pray it over all those in the world… especially the lost that they might be found?
““For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”
John 3:16 ESV
I have a 45 minute drive to and from work each day, and I use that time to supplement my daily prayers, and to meditate on my relationship with the Lord. One day I was driving and praying when the Lord spoke very clearly to me, and told me to pray for all those traveling in their cars around me, and after I had done this He pointed out the houses, apartment buildings, stores, work places, and churches, and asked “What about these, have you prayed to me about the souls in them?” That day opened my eyes, and expanded my prayers to include the masses… all those I had never met, but that God knew by name, and on whose heads he had numbered the hairs. Do we think that He might only know the number of hairs on the heads of those who already believe, and not those that He loved enough to send His Son that they might be redeem?
“Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows.”
Luke 12:7 ESV
We often seek refuge from our prayerful oversight, and neglect for the world, by repeating a scripture in which Jesus says that he isn’t praying for the world, but in full context we see that this is a single instance in which He is praying specifically for those who already believed, and that God had already given to Him… He is not limiting prayer, but simply telling us who He is praying for right then. His ultimate desire is for ALL to be saved…
I am not praying for the world:
““I have manifested your name to the people whom you gave me out of the world. Yours they were, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours.”
John 17:6, 9 ESV
That all should be saved:
“But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.”
2 Peter 3:8-9 ESV
Jesus sends us into the world to teach, preach, deliver the gospel, and yes… that means to pray for all those who are lost or in need. The doorway that leads us into the world is the door of our own prayer closet, and the door that leads us outside our own home is the doorway into the physical world beyond.
“And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.””
Matthew 28:18-20 ESV
Each day we rise up from our beds and begin a new day of prayer, and a fresh walk with the Lord. Each day is like a fragrant breeze, and another opportunity to worship, and praise God. Every day is an opportunity to lift up our loved ones, our neighbors, our enemies, and all those in need, by name. But, there are so many needs for which to pray that we can’t possibly pray for them all by name individually, so we should pray for them in groups… just like Paul did with the believers in the church in Corinth, and around the world.
“To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints together with all those who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours:”
1 Corinthians 1:2 ESV
Let’s think back on our daily prayers, and then listen to those we are praying today; are we attempting to pour the enormity of our prayers into a small glass, limiting them to those in our lives that we know, or are we pouring them onto the ground, and thus covering the world as a whole? Think on this today, and let’s pray beyond everything we have ever known.
Prayer:
Father, we thank you for the love you have for the world, and for your Son Jesus who you sent to redeem us from our sins, and free us from death. We thank you for allowing us to reach out to you in prayer, and to intercede for those in need. Help us Lord God to love our neighbors, our enemies, and the world, enough that we will lift them up in our prayers every day. Holy, Holy, Holy, are you our God that desires that none should perish. Praised be your name for the burden of prayer we carry for the world, and every last soul within it. Holy Father call everyone who is lost to Christ, so that through Him they can come to know you, and be saved to life eternal. Open our eyes, and our hearts so that we can see the world as you do, and intercede for it as Jesus does. Merciful are you Father, and amazing is your grace that flows forth from Christ. Wash us in His precious blood, and cleanse us of all sin and death. Hear our prayers of contrition, and pleas for the world’s forgiveness. Forgive us, Father, and give us the heart to pray for the forgiveness of all those who need help in their faith, and to be given voice in their prayers. We pray that you will find us worthy in the day of our judgement, and that none of us that you have loved so completely will be lost. All glory is yours Lord, and praised be your name now, and forevermore.
“This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time.”
1 Timothy 2:3-6 ESV
Rich Forbes