Verse of the day: Genesis 19:29 And it came to pass, when God destroyed the
cities of the plain, that God remembered Abraham, and sent Lot out of the midst
of the overthrow, when He overthrew the cities in which Lot had dwelt.
How important is prayer in the life of the born again
believer? This is almost a rhetorical question, as the answer is “of utmost
importance!” It is the one area where many struggle, because it is the one area
the enemy will fight us most. Prayer is our lifeline to God, through Christ. I
once had a professor in college who asked a class of future pastors/preachers how
many of them prayed over the sermons they would be presenting in class that
day. When no one raised their hand, he dismissed the class by saying, “If they
were not worth praying over, they are not worth preaching.” That has stayed
with me in all my years of ministry. Today’s verse is a reminder of how
important it is to not just pray for our own needs, and circumstances, but for
the salvation, well-being, needs, and circumstances of others. Jesus
demonstrated the importance of intercessory prayer by praying for those who
were persecuting Him, and by praying for His disciples, and all believers (Luke
23:34; John 17:20-23). James 5:16 tells us to pray for each other for healing.
Ephesian 6:18:20 tells us to pray for other Christians. 1 Timothy 2:1-2 tells
us to pray for all men, including those in positions of authority. In none of
these Scriptures does it tell us to only pray for those that we agree with or
like. As a matter of fact, we are commanded to even pray for our enemies in Matthew
5:44. Sadly, I see too many Christians wasting way too much time posting
critical and slanderous things about our country’s leaders; time that could be
better spent praying for them. In this chapter of Genesis, we see the
importance of Abraham’s intercession for his nephew Lot (Genesis 18). What a
wonderful example of the fact that we do not need 100 people praying for us in
order for God to acknowledge and honor the request. All that is needed is at
least one person who is fervently, earnestly, and regularly praying, in faith,
for us, and we for them. Our God is a God who always answers our prayers. We
often give up because God answers in His time, and His way. We may not always
get the answer we want, but we will always get an answer in accordance to God’s
will, and in a way that will be best for us, and will glorify Him the most.
Romans 8 reminds us that we have a Helper, the Holy Spirit, who helps us in
prayer, when we do not know what, or how, to pray, so that our prayers are in
line with God’s will for whatever the situation is. Let us remember that
whether we are praying for ourselves or for others, the most important answer
to prayer is that God’s will be done, regardless of what that means for us,
because He will always work all things together for our good (Romans 8:28).
Jesus demonstrated this for us in the garden, just before He was beaten and
crucified for our sins (Luke 22:42). Let us be steadfast in prayer, never
giving up or being discouraged, even when God’s response is “no” or “not yet”.
Let us also remember that just because we do not hear an answer or see an
answer, that does not mean that God did not hear us or is not already working
out a solution. We, like Abraham, must be praying, and watching, as we see that
he (Abraham) rose early in the morning, looking toward Sodom and Gomorrah, to
see if God honored his request (verse 27; Luke 21:36). Who are we not praying
for that needs our prayers today?
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