Merry Fifteenth Day of Christmas—Delivering God’s Gifts, Part 4

Another way we can help deliver God’s gifts is by praying for others; “the heartfelt prayer of someone upright works very powerfully.” James 5:16 (New Jerusalem Bible).  Given that, it’s no surprise God commands us to pray for others in at least four circumstances.  

         First, we must “pray for those who persecute” us. Matthew 5:44. Persistent prayer of this sort changes both the persecutor and the persecuted, and might protect others from being persecuted.

         Second, we must pray for each other. James 5:14-17 directs us to pray for the sick, but those are not the only folks we should be praying for. We are to “pray for all God's holy people.” Ephesians 6:18 (New Jerusalem Bible)(emphasis added).

         Third, we must pray for church leaders. Ephesians 6:19-20.

        Fourth, we must pray for the communities and nation God puts us in and the leaders He puts over us. Jeremiah 29:7, Baruch 1:10-12, 1 Timothy 2:1-2. Further, we are to do this regardless of our personal opinions about those communities, nations, and leaders. More about this can be found here, here, here, here, and here. 

         In short, prayer allows us to deliver a lot of God’s goodness. The world needs as much of that goodness as it can get. Maybe that’s why we are commanded to “pray at every opportunity.” Ephesians 6:18.

         Try it, you’ll be glad you did. More on that tomorrow.