12/18/2024
I was lifted up by the message and scripture of my devotional reading today. The scripture reading that blessed me so immensely was from 2nd Corinthians. And, as I read this scripture, the words of my devotional reading this morning echoed in them. They spoke to me of Jesus being the pattern of prayer, selfless, and the great intercessor who stands at the right hand of God... In this I could see a lesson in how we should all pray for others… it was a lesson in love, and in comforting others.
“Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.”
2 Corinthians 1:3-4 KJV
In the course of my life I have been through a season with cancer, and have had family and friends who have experienced various other afflictions such as addiction, heart disease, and even incurable diseases such as Lou Gehrig’s Disease. These sufferings may remain personal challenges for us for the rest of our lives, but they also place each of us in a unique position from which we can effectively pray for others. Our God has comforted, and continues to comfort, us in our suffering so that we might join Him in doing the same for others through our understanding, our faith, and knowing how to pray... how to bring hope to others where none had existed before.
So many people suffer each day, but they don't need to suffer alone because we have been strategically placed, by God's very will, and our own answered petitions, to pray with them. Through our ministering, we can bring them to an increase in Christ and lift their needs before God Himself even as Jesus does for us now. Paul told the Corinthians:
“And our hope of you is stedfast, knowing, that as ye are partakers of the sufferings, so shall ye be also of the consolation.”
2 Corinthians 1:7 KJV
There is consolation, comforting, and an end to our suffering. Many of us have witnessed this in our own lives, and through the lessons taught by our personal challenging seasons of pain and anguish. Whether we have walked through our valleys, or are still in their midst, we can now walk knowingly with others through their trials and intercede in prayer for them along the way. God prepares us to show compassion and to lift up those who are struggling through hardship, even as he has provided intercession for us through our own tribulations with the prayers of others, and the understanding intercession of Jesus Christ.
“Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us.”
Romans 8:34 ESV
So, as we come across those struggling as we once struggled, we should have understanding and sympathy for them. We should pray for those around us who are traveling the selfsame road that once brought us such heartache, pain, or to your knees in hopelessness. As we pray, we should find within ourselves the compassion of Christ that sustained us through our dark valleys and use it to strengthen them as they are in the midst of their suffering. Can we do this for others? Can we take our own suffering and turn it outward to the benefit of others? O that you can, and that one day you will pray for me too.
“In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, and also for me…”
Ephesians 6:16-19 ESV
Prayer:
Thank you, Father, for the lessons in prayer taught by my suffering and hardship. Thank you for the valleys of death, and long walks in the wilderness where I have faced my hopelessness. Thank you, Father, for allowing me to see your hope and healing in myself so that I can share it with those who find themselves in those selfsame places and seasons now. Father, bare my heart, and make it sensitive to those who are struggling through infirmities and the hard places in their lives. There are many who travel this way that you have been leading me down... don't let me pass a single one without a prayer, give me a servant’s heart, and a kind hand. Lord, I pray that even as Jesus prayed for the sick, and the spiritually crippled, that your Holy Spirit will lead me in intercession for those I come across each day. Holy Father, hear my humbled words, and if it be your will... heal those I bring before you; make whole those who are broken and lost, forgive the sins of the sinners, and open their hearts to others who likewise need their enlightened prayers. Holy, Holy, Holy, are you our God who works all things for good for those who love you. Holy are you who takes the worst of our pains, and the most intense suffering and hopelessness we have encountered, then turns them to good as your spirit teaches us to intercede for others in similar circumstances. Merciful are you Father, I pray today that you increase the mercy within me too, and hear my words of intercession as I pray with your Son Jesus for all those around me. Let your Holy Spirit lead me in heartfelt prayers that flows from the fountains of my own tragedies and suffering. Let the times I have spent on the crosses I have born not be in vain but benefit those who are facing life’s hard seasons. Let each of them see the other side of calvary as they approach with their own crosses of suffering. Help the personal witness of my life become prayers of hope for them just as Jesus’s is to us all. Praised be your name Lord for the hard times I have faced that have led me here to Calvary and to the mercy, and comfort that lies beyond. No more tears, no more suffering, only peace and joy for all eternity.
Amen! Amen! Amen!
“And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.””
Revelation 21:3-4 ESV
Rich Forbes