[Power of the Word] Asking For Prayer
Daniel Brady
“…and for me, that utterance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.” --Ephesians 6:19-20
Are you ever reluctant to share your prayer requests with other Christians? Do you worry that perhaps they will see your concerns as something trivial that they do not want to be troubled with? Are you so concerned with the command to view others as greater than yourself that you even hesitate to draw attention to yourself by sharing your prayer requests with others?
I would hope this is not true of anyone. However, if it is true of you—if you are reluctant to share your prayer requests with others, for whatever reason—let me encourage you by saying that Paul shared his prayer requests with others. He was neither ashamed nor afraid to say, “I need your prayers.”
This ties directly into what was previously said about praying for all the saints. Consider this: If you are commanded to pray for all the saints, then all the saints are likewise to pray for you. What a blessing to know that, if people are being obedient to God, you are being prayed for.
I spoke previously about praying the Word of God over people’s lives. If you have someone praying the Word of God over you—praying Paul’s prayers for the Church on your behalf—you are fortunate. However, we all face situations in which specific prayer is needed. Therefore, it is appropriate to mention our specific prayer requests to our Christian brothers and sisters, so they can pray for us as we face such circumstances.