By: John Mitchell
In a court of law, a lawyer represents, and is an advocate for, the needs of his client. The lawyer speaks for his client, an intercessory request to the judge and jury, to have mercy on, and to help, his client. When we pray to God, our Judge, for the needs of someone else, we are speaking for that person. We are asking God to have mercy on, and to help, the person for whom we are praying. We are being an advocate for someone, when we intercede for them to God, in an intercessory prayer. Everyone is in need of prayer, because everyone has sinned. “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). Jesus said; “I do not pray for the world, but for those whom You have given Me, for they are Yours” (John 17:9). John 9:31 tells us that God does not hear the prayers of a sinner. “Now we know that God does not hear sinners.” Jesus doesn’t pray for sinners, and God doesn’t hear the prayers of sinners. Then who prays to God for sinners to turn away from their sins, and repent, and to love, follow, and obey God? We, who are the members of the body of Christ, and are the sons and daughters in the family of God, are supposed to pray for the lost to turn away from their life of sin, and start living their lives for God. “Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made FOR ALL MEN” (1 Timothy 2:1). On the road to Damascus, Jesus told Saul that He wanted Saul to be a minister to the Gentiles for this purpose; “to open their eyes, in order to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of their sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in Me.” (Acts 26:18) Just as God wanted Saul, later renamed Paul, to preach the gospel to others and to pray for them, God also wants us to preach the gospel to others, and to pray for them. God is; “not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9b). We are told to; “Go into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned” (Mark 16:15,16). In our past, someone prayed for us, for our salvation, which is the most important need of our life. It could have been a parent, or grandparent, a brother or sister, or even someone who you didn’t know, who could have been praying for you. There are many people who we do know, that are lost and in need of prayer. From our family members to our friends, to people who we don’t know, and have never met, but we have been told that they are in need of prayer. If we are not praying for God’s will to be done in the lives of the members of our family, then who is going to be praying for them? You may have heard someone say one time that they would say a prayer for a family member of yours. That’s great that someone said a prayer for one of your loved ones, one time. Who is praying for them daily? Even if someone is praying daily for that relative of yours, you should also be praying for that relative of yours, and for all of your family, and not depending on someone else to do it for you. It’s wonderful that we are a part of a family here in the world, of this earth that we live on. It is even more wonderful to be spiritually, a member of the family of God, on our way to our home in heaven. “For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.” (Philippians 3:20) So let’s pray for the will of God to be done in the lives of the people who we are praying for, so that our spiritual family of God will grow and grow. You may be thinking; “Does prayer ever help anyone, or is it just a bunch of words that don’t help anyone? “The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much” (James 5:16). “Be anxious for nothing, but IN EVERYTHING BY PRAYER and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6,7). Because God has given each of us a free will, God will not force His will on us, over our own will for ourselves. For God’s will to be done in our life, we have to communicate to God in prayer, that we want His will to be done in our life. We need to give up our will, and submit to God’s will for us. When we pray for God’s will to be done in someone else’s life, we are asking God to encourage, and to help the other person, to be able to realize that God’s will for him is far better than his own will for himself. If we don’t see our prayer answered by the next day, don’t stop praying. In God’s way, and in God’s timing, He will answer our prayers. God has been so patient with each of us in our spiritual growth. We need to be patient with others in their spiritual growth. “Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought to love one another” (1 John 4:11). You may be related to, or know someone, who seems to you to be so ungodly, that you think it would be a waste of time to pray for them. Spiritually that person is just a hopeless case. We can’t say that any person is too bad and doesn’t deserve our prayers. None of us deserve any one’s prayers, or God’s forgiveness and salvation. The more ungodly a person is, the more they need to be prayed for. We are commanded to preach the gospel to everyone. And remember this, one person spiritually sows, or plants a seed, another person waters it, and still another person reaps the harvest. We each need to do our part. It is the Lord who adds to the church. When we are planting the spiritual seed of the gospel, and watering, and harvesting, it is not our eloquence, or lack of it, that opens the heart of the sinner to repent. It is the power of the word of God, the gospel, that leads a sinner out of the kingdom of darkness, and into the kingdom of light. If we say a person impossible to be saved, where is our faith? With God all things are possible (Matthew 19:26).