Philippians 4:6 and Romans 8:26 – Be
anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with
thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and
the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and
minds through Christ Jesus.
…. Likewise the Spirit also helps in
our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the
Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot
be uttered. Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because
He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God.
There are so many prayers in the Bible. Many of the prayers from women like Hannah…
Job…King David…and even Jesus… that lift up petitions for themselves. There are also prayers from Moses…the
psalmists…and again …Jesus …that lift up prayers for others. Our prayers need to balance in importance. We need to lift up daily prayers for our own
needs…for strength…for protection from temptation and the evil that satan might
have placed in our pathway. But part of
our prayers should always be for others… because Jesus taught us to consider
others as more important as ourselves.
There is a danger in letting our prayer life become too ‘one-sided.’
If we pray only for ourselves…we might become too centered on our own needs. If all our prayers are for others…we miss out
on an intimate relationship with God that rivals no other relationship we could
ever have. Jesus gave us examples of
both … announcing that he had been praying for his disciples ..especially Peter…in
Luke 22…and then later praying so hard for himself in Gethsemane in that his sweat became bloody from the stress.
I as reflect on my own prayer habits…I do pray for both…but
can’t say for certain that I balance them equally. I am thinking that if I had
kept the habit of journaling my prayers a daily habit…I could go back and check
my prayers more carefully. Perhaps the urging
of God this morning is too begin this practice anew today…and write all my
prayers down….so I can be sure that I am praying for others…as much as I pray
for myself. Moses…King David…and many others recorded their prayers in the
Bible.
Instead of a prayer journal…I used prayer cards. They were just simple index cards that I
wrote the requests others gave me down on…but now that I think back...I rarely
wrote one down for myself. I think I will be going to the dollar store today…so
I can buy some new index cards. I couldn’t even tell you where the old ones are
now. Shame on me for letting such a great habit go by the wayside and get
ditched for whatever reason.
Father…thank you for the reminder that I need to balance my
prayers to you…so that as many of the prayers that leave my lips are for others
as they are for me. Forgive me for letting the habits you have tried to teach
me in the past fizzle out to nothing. Help me to establish a new journal of
prayer time with you…and instill in me a passion to never let it weaken again.
Amen.
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