Prayer
Since I received a cancer diagnosis several weeks ago, I’ve had lots of people tell me they will be praying for me. That’s great! I truly appreciate their care and concern. It feels good to know I am surrounded by people who are concerned about my wellbeing, and maybe they even want me to stick around for a while.
But I’ve always been a person who asks “Why?” I can’t help it. It’s how my brain is wired. I’m sure I drove some of my teachers nuts because I was rarely content to just know the facts. I wanted to know why these facts were THE facts on this particular topic. I wanted the reasons. I wanted to understand things, not just know them.
So I can’t help but ask, Why are these people praying for me? What are they praying for?
A good, solid, biblically based reason is because God told us to. We are commanded to pray for each other. (James 5:16) Of course, that command is paired with confessing our sins to one another. (I have a feeling people are going to ignore the second part of that.) A command from God is certainly a good reason to do anything from honoring our parents and other authority figures to putting Him above all other things in our lives.
Some who told me they would pray for me referred to themselves as “prayer warriors,” That makes we wonder who or what are we declaring war on. Since we pray to our heavenly Father, are we declaring war on Him? That seems kind of extreme and VERY risky since He could wipe us all out with a Word. Are we warring against “against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places?” Of course we are. But that fight has been going on for millennia so those are prayers we should be offering every day, not just when a friend is going through a tough time.
I know some will be praying against demons whom they cite as the cause of my cancer. That may be true, but I believe it’s just as likely the cancer has happened because of my own poor choices in being a steward of my body or just because we live in a broken world corrupted by sin.
There are lots of other reasons people would have for praying for others but this post is already getting long, so let me jump to why I think we should pray for each other.
I believe praying for each other is about a couple of things. It’s to remind us that we are not alone, but that God has surrounded us with people who care about us and want the best for us. If we are the ones praying, it’s a reminder that our faith isn’t about being isolated believers, but being part of a living body, united in Christ.
I also believe we pray for each other to remind us God is in control. Prayer turns us toward Him and away from our own resources, thoughts, problem solving, and earthly wisdom. Prayer strengthens and builds our relationship with God.