On Their Behalf

I know I’ve written before about prayer, specifically about how important it is for your relationship with God and how beneficial it is to bring the things weighing on your heart to Jesus. But this devotion is going to be a little different. Instead of talking about praying for ourselves, I want to talk about the power of praying for someone else.

I know this firsthand, not only because of what the Bible teaches, but because of someone the Lord placed in my life.

My great-grandma, my Mi Mi, was the most godly woman I’ve ever known. No matter what time of day you stopped by her house, she was always glorifying God. You'd find her reading her Bible, listening to gospel music, or watching preachers on television. She loved the Lord with her whole heart, and everyone in our family knew it. She was special to every single one of us, and considering how big that side of my family is, that's saying something.

But more than anything else, I'll always remember how she prayed for me.

It didn't matter if I was struggling with something in my personal life or simply had a big test coming up at school. All I had to say was, "Mi Mi, I need you to pray for me," and I knew she would. There was never a doubt in my mind that she would take my name before the Lord.

Now that she's gone, you can truly feel the absence of those prayers. Of course, I know God still hears my prayers, but there's something incredibly comforting about knowing someone is faithfully going to the Lord on your behalf. It's a gift that I don't think we appreciate until it's gone.

My Mi Mi taught me that through her life, but Scripture teaches us the very same thing.

One example is found in Exodus 32. While Moses was on Mount Sinai talking with God, the Israelites built and worshiped a golden calf. Their sin angered the Lord so greatly that He told Moses He was ready to destroy them (Exodus 32:10). And honestly, He would have been completely just in doing so.

But the very next verses tell us that Moses "besought" the Lord. In other words, he pleaded with God. He interceded on behalf of the people, asking the Lord to show them mercy. Then, in verse 14, we're told that the Lord repented from the disaster He had spoken of bringing upon them.

Now, if you know the rest of the story, you know the Israelites still faced consequences for their sin. God didn't simply overlook what they had done. But because someone was willing to stand before the Lord and pray on their behalf, the outcome was far different than it could have been.

That's the power of prayer.

So I don't write this to make you feel guilty if your prayer life isn't where you want it to be. I write it to encourage you.

First, I encourage you to find people who will faithfully pray for you, people who will pray when you ask them to and people who pray for you even when you don't know they are. Having someone willing to go before the Lord on your behalf is one of the greatest blessings you can have.

Second, I encourage you to become that person for someone else.

Maybe while you've been reading this, the Lord has quietly placed someone's name on your heart. If He has, don't ignore it. Pray for them. You may have no idea what they're facing, but God does. Moses didn't know what was happening down the mountain until the Lord revealed it to him, yet God still used him to intercede for His people.

Never underestimate what God can do through a simple, faithful prayer.

Prayer reaches farther than we ever could. The Lord desires for us to come to Him, and I can't help but think that when He hears His children lifting one another up, His heart is pleased. What a beautiful picture it is when God's people love each other enough to carry one another's burdens into His presence.