Pray for One Another

“Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, so that you may be healed” (James 5:16).

This, my friend, is a call to intercession. Intercession is the standing in the gap for another in their time of need. There have been times in my own life when I have not been able to pray for myself. How thankful I have been that God raised up intercessors for me during such times.

One of the terms that we hear used when we talk to other Christians about prayer is the term “prayer closet.” The prayer closet is that secret place in which we get alone with God. It is that place in which we enter into our most intimate moments with our Heavenly Father. The prayer closet is not just a place we go to lay down the burdens of our lives it is also a place where we apprehend the burden of our Lord’s heart for others.

Dr. Bob Pierce, founder of World Vision, one day prayed, “Lord, break my heart with the things that break yours.” God answered that prayer and broke Dr. Bob’s heart with the plight of the world’s poor and suffering. As a result, World Vision was born and later on Samaritan’s Purse.

One of the greatest benefits of interceding for others is that it gets our eyes off of ourselves. Intercession for others is one of the greatest expressions of loving one another that there is.

When we intercede for others, we literally lay them at Jesus feet, much like the four men who lowered their paralyzed friend down through roof, placing him at Jesus’ feet (Mark 2:1-13).

James said, “Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, so that you may be healed.” I see two applications for the phrase, “so that you may be healed.”

First, prayer releases God’s supernatural touch to an ailing brother or sister. The prayer of faith that has the power to heal and restore.

Second, I see a reward for the faithful intercessor. On more than one occasion, as I have committed to pray for another, God has brought healing and restoration into my own life, healing, and restoration for which I was not specifically praying. It was as if God came through the back door of my life and applied His touch while my attention was diverted in the direction of another. Pray for One Another.