Philippians 1:3-4 I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine making request for you all with joy
I love this scripture. I love reading the letters that Paul wrote to the various churches because in many of them he informs the people that he is praying for them. I think that is so awesome and so essential. Sometimes we get bogged down with our own problems and our own situations and many times our prayers are consumed with our needs. But Paul is a great example of how a Christian should be. He was imprisoned, threatened with death and faced so many tribulations, yet he took time to pray for others. I think that is a lesson we should all apply to our own life. Even in the midst of our trials, even in the midst of our situations make time to say a prayer for someone we know. They don’t even have to be going through something, but pray that God would always guide them in their decisions, pray that they will always trust in the Lord, pray that they will continue to walk in the Truth, pray that God would bless them, pray that God would use them, pray that God would do great things through in them.
The second reason why I love this scripture is because Paul not only prayed for the people, but he let them know that he was praying for them. There is a scripture I believe in Proverbs that I love; it tells us that there is life and death in the power of the tongue. I love this scripture because we have the ability to bring life to someone just by the words we speak. So often we are quick to criticize, quick to pass judgment, quick to condemn. It makes me sick to my stomach when I hear of people who have nothing but negative things to say.But we have the ability to bring life rather than death.
Having said all of this I have a challenge for each of us this upcoming week. I encourage us to be like Paul, not only to intercede for people but to let people know that we are praying for them. They might not be going through anything, they might not be facing a trial, but just to know that someone is praying for them is encouragement enough. Rather than using our tongue to bring death to someone, I encourage you this week to send a card to someone, write a short email, give someone a call and let them know you appreciate all that they do and that they are in your prayers.
I think Paul is such a great example because he prayed for people. I think intercessory prayer is so important and so crucial. Sometimes we get caught up in the titles and the spotlight and we think that is what matters. In my prayers, I daily tell God if He never uses my voice to give another conference I am okay with that, I would rather intercede for the needs of people, I would rather send cards of encouragement, I would rather send emails than speak in front of many. This week our challenge (and I am going to partake in it as well) is to send at least five emails, cards or phone calls and let someone know that you are praying for them and that you appreciate them.