Many times I have asked for prayer, some for others in need, illnesses, sometimes personal or family issues and I am always so grateful for the many that chose to join me. Many requests come through Social Media and I join in praying for many of these.
Recently, I have been thinking about prayer and why do I ask for others to join me? Would God, Creator of the Universe and the King of kings and Lord of lords not hear the pleas of just one of His children? Of course He does! As we pray in faith and in line with His will, God promises to hear. When we share these requests with others; we desire other to share this burden or ours, — sometimes we need clarity, we feel weak, helpless, or facing overwhelming issues and we cry out for others to come along side, to pray with us.
Sometimes, we are not clear what direction to take, or what God’s will is. We want God’s will, and we want God to address our need. To be sure, God will address our need, our request: Sometimes it is yes, sometimes it is no, and sometimes it is to wait.
As we ask other to join us, it is not to try to convince an unwilling God to do what we want. God is not waiting until we have a great numbers of “Likes” and “Emojis” before He will act. When we join together in prayer, we are joining together in seeking the will of a Loving Father, aligning our wills and desires to His. Our pleas are not an attempt to amass so many prayer warriors so that “God will” do what we ask. In asking others to join, we are presenting our needs, but at the same time aligning our will to His will. Remember Jesus’ prayer in the garden: “Let this cup pass, but not my will, but Yours be done.”
Nothing we have done makes us worthy of our Holy God to answer; He does so out of His love, mercy, and grace– Who He is. We come to Him in faith, depending on His nature and character. [For some, asking others to join us might be motivated from a lack of faith, and inviting others could be for “helping us in our unbelief,” as the father pleaded with Jesus when the disciples could not heal his son.] Our faith is only as strong as the object of our faith: if our faith if based on how we feel, then our faith ultimately resides in us.
However, if the object of our faith is based in the nature and character of God, then we are trusting in the only One that can make a difference. We must always remember, that [1] God is in control, [2] God loves us {think of the cross}, [3] God has a plan for our lives, and [4] we can trust God.
These are just a few thoughts “to chew on” as we pray and as we ask others to join us. Much more could be said, I am only sharing a few.
Blessings!