Praying for Others

About that time, King Herod Agrippa began to persecute some believers in the church. He had the Apostle James (John's brother) killed with a sword. When Herod saw how much this pleased the Jewish people, he also arrested Peter. (This took place during the Passover celebration.) Then he imprisoned him, placing him under the guard of four squads of four soldiers each. Herod intended to bring Peter out for public trial after the Passover. But while Peter was in prison, the church prayed very earnestly for him. (Acts 12:1-5)

In the above scripture, we find that the Apostle James was killed. Yet, Apostle Peter was saved by a miraculous intervention from God. The angel of the Lord came into that prison cell and personally escorted Peter out of prison.

What made the difference?
Why was James killed but Peter saved?
I believe one of the keys was, "But while Peter was in prison, the church prayed very earnestly for him."

It is so important to recognize the power of prayer not just for our own lives but for those around us. We are commanded in scripture to pray for our leaders in our nation and our church. We are commanded to pray for one another.

There are many challenges we, as the body of Christ, have been facing, and most of those challenges could be due to a lack of fervent intercessory prayer.

Over the years, I have noticed if there is a prophetic, healing or deliverance meeting, people will flock in large numbers. However, when it's an intercessory prayer service, there are hardly any takers. We all want someone and everyone to pray for us when we are in the deepest pits, but sadly we don't answer the call to prayer when it's others on the line.

So then, let us pray fervently for our Pastors, church leaders, brothers and sisters in Christ, or anyone else the Lord puts on our hearts as if it were our own life we are praying for.

Talk is cheap, but there is a great need to increase our prayer life, not just for ourselves but for others. Will you answer the call of His Spirit?

Bible Reading : Genesis 8 -11