James 5:16 Amplified Bible (AMP)
16 Therefore, confess your sins to one another [your false steps, your offenses], and pray for one another, that you may be healed and restored. The heartfelt and persistent prayer of a righteous man (believer) can accomplish much [when put into action and made effective by God—it is dynamic and can have tremendous power].
One of the greatest things you can give to someone is prayer. In Christian circles it is common for us to say to each other that “I am praying for you!” But truth be told, many times it’s just a cliché. I know this because I have found myself saying and never getting to the praying part.
When we pray for someone, it is called intercession meaning we are making a plea for the sake of another person. Praying for another is a powerful thing because it is selfless. All our attention is on someone else and we are pleading for their sake to make their life better. The blessing of the prayer is for someone else and not us.
Praying for another brings the miraculous into their realm and that’s a wonderful thing. James tells us that the heartfelt and persistent prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much. I sometimes think that we do not really understand the power of our prayer. I sometimes wish that for just a moment, God would draw the curtain that separates the spiritual from the physical world so that we can have a sneak peek at what happens when we pray.
Our prayers for others have to be heartfelt and persistent. Heartfelt meaning, they have to be genuine and from the heart, not something we do just to fulfill our religious duty. We have to be consistent and in doing so our prayers will accomplish much. We should pray for them the same way we would desire someone to pray for us if we were in the same circumstances.
One thing I am learning to do is to pray for people at the time they tell me to remember them in prayer. I would rather stop what I am doing and take a minute or two and pray with them on the spot because I have realized many times when I say I will pray for them I end up forgetting.
You can give away a prayer today, I am sure there is someone in your circles who needs prayer.
Reflections
Do you often find yourself telling others you will pray for them but never getting to the actual praying?
What is the general content of your prayers, is it for self or for others?
Jesus is forever making intercession for us; how does that make you feel?
