It’s radical, an act of rebellion against this world’s priorities, and one of the most powerful blessings we can have and give. It may not seem like a powerful tool because it’s often done in secret. However, prayer is all that and more. It takes faith to turn our eyes from our pain and troubles and go to God on behalf of another person. This mindset and heartbeat is the ultimate rebellion against this selfish world. Intercessory prayer demonstrates that you cannot out-give God because it returns more blessings and faith than we had in the first place.
6 Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.
James 5:16
Faith to Pray for Others
When I was actively battling stage four, I was pressing into Him, leaning on Him, and desperate for my life, my healing. My faith was challenged for myself but brought to a different level for others. It was a radical act of faith to take my hands off my problems long enough to pray for others. When we do this, you trust God to take care of our situation; we take advantage of our closeness and humility towards him to bring someone else’s needs to Him. This pleases Him greatly and strengthens us. It’s encouraging to pray for others fighting lighter or even different battles than you. It takes you back to those hard places then and reminds you that God comes through for you, and what might be huge for us is easy for Him.
2 Carry one another’s burdens and in this way you will fulfill the requirements of the law of Christ [that is, the law of Christian love].
Galatians 6:2
My Cancer Example
I remember being at the store (in a wheelchair as I was too weak to walk) with my two friends. We were acting goofy and having a ton of fun, an act of rebellion and power when fighting death. As we passed this aisle, I saw a young woman looking confused as she studied the female products. My heart was drawn to her, and I immediately approached her and asked if she needed help. She told us that she was bleeding, and her doctor told her they were sending her for cancer testing that day. She was so scared that making a simple decision was paralyzing. I gathered my two friends, Angie and Dolly, and we prayed for that young lady in the middle of the Burbank Target. She didn’t know I was in the middle of a stage 4 cancer battle. It was an act of faith, not to mention it, to focus on her, pray for her, and love her.
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
Matthew 11:28
Serving God in Prayer
Serving others through intercessory prayer is one of the most powerful ways we can serve God. Praying for someone who is overwhelmed and has trouble believing blesses them, but it also builds our faith. It reminds us that what feels impossible to us is easy for God. When we reach out to God on behalf of others despite our trials, it is an act of love, and God is love. Intercessory prayer is trusting God with your stuff long enough to pray for and have compassion for others. It’s tapping into the most potent, eternal force that has ever been and will ever be. Intercessory prayer exercises our faith, increases our hope, and is an act of love. It’s radical and rebellious from the way of the world. Everything we see will one day pass away, but God said three things will remain after everything goes: Faith, hope, and love, and the greatest of these is love.
And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
1 Corinthians 13:13
