I don’t know about you, but I can’t help but think how nice it would be, in the midst of our difficulties, to have people praying for us…I mean, “God, can’t you just send someone to pray???”
I would propose, however, that perhaps God has already done this, but we just don’t realize it. I mean, if someone doesn’t contact us and say, “Hey, I’m praying for you about_____”, would we even know?
Several years ago, my family and I were caught up in a very legalistic religion. We have since learned it is commonly thought of as a “sect”, and after having been in and having come out, we realize that it does, indeed, very much feel like a sect. We know from personal experience that coming out of this religion is very difficult. It was, perhaps, the most difficult thing I’ve ever done. I see how others in this sect struggle, and I know that most of them do not have the courage to come out. So what made us different? Why were we able to break the chains of religion when other sincere members of this sect cannot?
We would learn, only later, that there was someone, a solid, spirit-filled prayer warrior in Africa, who was praying for us to come out. He had been an e-correspondent for years. He had never voiced any objection to our religion or any pressure to come out. He had just silently prayed for us.
Some time after this, as I was “catching up” with a friend about our change in churches, she admitted that she had been praying for me to “come out” for years.
It made me wonder how many others there had been praying for us, ones who I was never made aware of! And as I think back over this, I realize that God did, indeed, post “watchmen” on the “walls” so to speak, people who would pray continually for us.
It makes me think of the text in Isaiah 62:7: “O Jerusalem, I have posted watchmen on your walls; they will pray day and night, continually.” (Isaiah 62:6 NLT). This was written at a time when God had already promised Jerusalem would be re-established, yet all of Israel awaited the fulfillment of the promise. I’m sure there were many who thought, “If only someone cared enough about our situation to pray for us!” Meanwhile, God had already raised up an army of “watchmen”, and He had already placed it on their hearts to pray “day and night, continually”!
What problem do you find yourself in the midst of at the moment? God has promised to carry you through, but in the midst of it all, when there doesn’t appear to be any end, any light at the end of the tunnel, I know how hard it is to remember that promise. If this is where you find yourself today, take heart! God has already posted prayer warriors around the world, most of whom you will never even know about this side of heaven, who are lifting you and your difficulties before the Lord in prayer! They are praying continually, day and night. You need not fear. God has this!
In His love,
Lyn
Lynona Gordon Chaffart, Speech-Language Pathologist, mother of two, Author — “Aboard God’s Train — A Journey With God Through the Valley of Cancer”, Author and Moderator for The Nugget, a tri-weekly internet newsletter, andScriptural Nuggets, a website devoted to Christian devotionals and inspirational poems, withAnswers2Prayer Ministries. Follow Lyn on Twitter @lynchaffart.