I pray

“Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God.”
‭‭Romans‬ ‭8:26-27‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

I pray

Life has stripped me of many of the things that we humans delight in. Everything is a struggle, from getting up in the morning, to heading off to church on Sunday. Day after day I battle my flesh which wants to lounge in PJs and watch eschatological videos all day. I manage to generate the strength to head off to church, where I can interact with my fellow saints.

I used to be a very active minister in my local church, serving in music ministry, deacons, teaching, a christian recovery group, and at one point completed a bible degree. I was busy. Prayer was hit or miss for me, back in those days. I had a prayer list, but frequently other things would get in the way. I knew that prayer was very important, as I had spent my childhood and much of my early life watching and listening to my mother pray constantly for her family.

Little by little, things began to fall away from my life as my health declined, and I could not keep up the level of commitment I had previously. Then came dialysis, five hours of sitting in a chair, motionless, having my blood cleaned by a machine. When I started that journey I tried to watch television, but there was little on and I hated soap operas.

I moved to worship music on my iPod. One day I decided to pray for my pastor, and I sent him a message. Over time I was sending messages to all the people in my message app. Then I moved to my facebook friends and a ministry was born. Thus became the Prayer Chair.

Now, most of what I do is pray. I have found that the more I communicate with my Lord, the more He communicates with me. No, I don’t hear the voice of God thundering throuigh me with some kind of fresh revelation. There is no need for that. I have the bible. The word of God penetrates my heart and every fiber of being. I read it daily, and each day I find something new, some deeper understanding, in a verse or passage that I may have read a thousand times.

As I have gotten to know God, I have found that I have become far more sensitive to the Holy Spirit, when I go to God. He guides me in how to pray for individuals that I know. He also helps with the people I don’t know. The great thing about praying is that the Holy Spirit takes your prayers and prepares them for maximum effectiveness before presenting them to the Father.

I know that the prayers that I send up on behalf of others, cannot miss. I don’t have to know exactly what is happening in a persons life, I simply need to intercede. On top of that, Jesus is interceding for us as well as He ministers as the High Priest before the Father.

Believers, take the time to pray for one another. We are in perilous times with no liklihood that life will get back to “normal.” I am not even sure that we will even have a “new normal”, as things are devolving day after day, and getting worse. If I didn’t know any better, I would swear we were in the middle of the tribulation already.

Now is the time to intercede on behalf of our bothers and sisters, to pray for the lost, to pray for the grieving, the forgotten, the sad, the addicted. Make time today. Know that your prayers are guided, refashioned and refined and that there is no ineffective prayer.

“Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”
‭‭I Thessalonians‬ ‭5:16-18‬ ‭NKJV‬‬