Monday, 26 October 2009 18:13
Pray
Prayer and Intercession
We have been commissioned
If we are to reach, if we are to touch, if we are to have an effect in this life that God has granted us for His kingdom, certainly prayer must play an integral and essential role in this enterprise. A soldier is trained and equipped for a purpose. The Apostle Paul, in his last instructions to his spiritual son Timothy, spoke to this point directly before he was to lay His life down for the sake of Christ.
2 Ti 2:3
3 Suffer hardship with me, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. 4 No soldier in active service entangles himself in the affairs of everyday life, so that he may please the one who enlisted him as a soldier.
2 Timothy 2:3
NASU
The verse above speaks of discipline, focus, and faithfulness. We are to...not break ranks, we are to...remain focused on our mission, finally and most importantly, we are to...keep in mind at all times who our Commander is, King Jesus. This is how is must be with prayer if we are to remain faithful to our commission.
In Ephesians 6:10-20 Paul called the Ephesian church to be strong in the Lord (rather than man's strength), recognizing that there was a battle to be waged against great heavenly forces, and after having donned the armor of God, they were to pray...
Eph 6:18-20
18 With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints, 19 and pray on my behalf, that utterance may be given to me in the opening of my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in proclaiming it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.
Ephesians 6:18-20
NASU
Pray with all prayer and petition, "...at all times in the Spirit." And what "prey tell" were they praying for? "In this view" the Apostle continued, "be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints". Not only were they to pray for "all the saints", that they were to pray on Paul's behalf as well.
Listen to the New Living Translation version...
Eph 6:18
18 Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere. Ephesians 6:18
NLT
You can't get much plainer than that. Therefore in that spirit, and in His as well we invite you to pray with us. It is our spiritual mandate, it is our commission as good soldiers of Christ Jesus.
There is a section in our forum for prayer requests to facilitate our praying together.