Don't Phone a Friend... Yet

The focus of Day 11 was for God to equip and empower intercessors within the church. I admit that when I read the day’s focus, my mind immediately went to “prayer teams; we must pray for God to add more people to the prayer team”. I can be so narrow minded sometimes.

We do not need more people in the prayer team; we need all believers to be equipped and empowered to pray.

One our ministry leaders at church recently shared a powerful testimony of how God used him, through prayer, to bring comfort to a family in need. One of his former students reached out, because a sibling had been shot and they wanted the young pastor to go by the hospital, go in the room and pray. The pastor willingly went to the hospital, but before he made it, the young man was pronounced dead. A prayer of healing quickly turned into a prayer of comfort for a family in mourning.

I am overwhelmingly proud of the minister’s quick response to the call. The family had faith that the minister’s prayer would reach the God of the heavens and that it would be effective. They are right. James 5:16b says that “The prayer of a righteous man avails much”.

I want people to have that kind of confidence in me. Let me clarify. I do not want people to have confidence in my abilities, but I would like to distinguish myself as someone who is reliable to respond to the prayer needs of people. I want to be trustworthy and inspire confidence in someone to come to me with their concerns. James 5:16a says this: “Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each so that you may be healed.” I want to be that friend.

But more importantly, I want to see brothers and sisters equipped and empowered to pray for themselves. Hebrews 4:14-16 says this:

“Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are-yet he did not sin. 16 Let us then approach God's throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”

That’s right! We can approach the throne of grace ourselves with great confidence, and Jesus, the High priest, sitting at the right hand of the Father, intercedes on our behalf (Romans 8:34).

If you read my post, “The Light at the End of the Tunnel”, you know a little bit of my story. The night before my 16-day-old baby died, I sat in a small chapel at the hospital, crying and pleading with God. I did not know what to pray for. If I prayed for a miracle, I felt selfish. I did not know what quality of life my child would have (by the way, what parent knows that?). But if I did not pray for a miracle, I felt like I lacked faith. So I just basically sat there… prayerless.

The following day, I received the dreaded call: “Narcely, get your family together. Lillian is dying.” I immediately called my mom. I knew she would know exactly what to say and pray. And she did. She just said, “Narcely, just surrender your will and daughter to God”. So, I did. I surrendered.

Even when we do not know what we ought to pray for, according to Romans 8:26, “the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans.”

What is the point, or should I say, what are my points?

One. We can come to Christ directly with our petitions and requests and have the divine freedom to approach God with confidence as sons and daughters (Hebrews 4:16).

Two. It is a great privilege to have a prayerful and righteous friend we can call on when we have a need, including the need to confess our sins. There we find salvation, healing, forgiveness, purification, and strength to fight against temptation (James 5:16; 1 John 1:9; Matthew 26:41).

Three. The responsibility of prayer and intercession are not reserved for pastors; we all have a call to pray for ourselves and others, including our enemies (Romans 12:12; 1 Timothy 2:1-2; Ephesians 6:18; Matthew 5:44).

Four. We are to pray continually, and in every situation (Philippians 4:6; 1 Thessalonians 5:17; 2 Chronicles 16:11; Ephesians 6:18).

Five. The Lord is attentive to our prayers (Psalm 145:18, 1 Peter 3:12; 1 John 5:14-15; 2 Chronicles 7:14).

Six. Prayer is an act of worship (Psalm 141:2; 1 Timothy 2:8).

Seven. Prayer is spiritual discipline we must develop (Luke 11:2-4; Matthew 6:9-13; Luke 6:12; Luke 18:1; Colossians 4:2).

The only way we get better “equipped” at prayer is by praying. Therefore, before we phone a friend, let's call on Jesus. We have His direct line.