Intercessory Prayer

Intercessory Prayer

I pray for you constantly, asking God, the glorious Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, to give you spiritual wisdom and insight so that you might grow in your knowledge of God.

Ephesians 1:16-17

MARTIN LUTHER SAID, “As it is the business of tailors to make clothes and cobblers to mend shoes, so it is the business of Christians to pray.” Intercession is one ministry which requires no special spiritual gift. All Christians are equipped to pray.

Not only is intercessory prayer a ministry, it is also a responsibility. The prophet Samuel told the Israelites, “I will certainly not sin against the LORD by ending my prayers for you” (1 Samuel 12:23). The apostle Paul began many of his epistles by telling his readers how frequently he prayed for them. Prayer is one of the means that God has chosen to let us cooperate with him in getting his work done. It is a ministry that husbands and wives can do together. They can pray for each other as well as for their children, their parents, their pastor and church, other ministries, and world missions.

If you don’t have a daily prayer time with your spouse, why not start today? Ask your spouse to spend five minutes praying with you. If you don’t want to pray out loud, then pray silently. Take the first step in learning the ministry of intercessory prayer.

Heavenly Father, your Word makes clear how important prayer is. I want to lift up my spouse, my family, and others to you meaningfully and often. Please help us as a couple to develop good habits of prayer. As we pray together, may that shared experience and our shared desires for your will to be done draw us closer together.

Prayer