'And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord's people. Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.'
Ephesians 6:19-20
Well, I suppose we can't really pray for Paul, if it is Paul who wrote Ephesians, since he is now having a great time up there in heaven, and there would be no point. But that doesn't mean we can't pray for each other. Prayer is the one way of getting your message to God and letting him know what's up. Of course, he does actually know what's up, but he won't really want to do anything about it until you've asked him. At my church, people pray for one another at the end of the service. But really, what does prayer for one another mean? Why should we bother? Can't they just pray for themselves?
Well, here's an idea. I actually got this off my mum, but I can tell God wants me to write it here. There is nothing in the armour of God that protects the back. So how do we make sure that our backs will be protected? I think, but I am not certain, that it is prayer from other people that protects the back. You know that saying, 'Watch my back'? It makes sense if you put it in this context. Your friends, your families, the people around you, those are the people that will watch your back. If you pray for somebody else, you are allowing their back to be protected as part of the armour of God.
That is why when Paul asked for prayer, he was keeping it in the same section as the armour of God. He asked to have prayer so that he may fight for what he believed in. And that is why prayer for others is so important. It will help them to fight. If you have anything that you want prayer for, post it in the comments below. Know always that God will protect you with his armour.
Prayer
Dear Lord,
Thank you for my friends, my family and all the other Christians around me. Please help me to be able to pray for others. Please help .................... so that he/she may be complete with the full armour of God. I love you.
Amen