From prayers of faith

Prayer is the secret of spiritual growth, but if we go to the foot of the throne solely for our personal edification and our own needs, we are selfish. The Bible shows us that we can not neglect to pray seriously for the needs of those around us and give us examples of "prayers that support" (see 2 Corinthians 1:11).

People often say : "I'm going to pray for you," and they may be praying once or twice, then they quickly forget about each other's needs. True support in prayer is someone who prays unceasingly for the needs of others. He does not pray just once. No, he intercedes for them, day after day.

Your prayers do not need to be long. Just present your request and trust God to hear you.

This was shown to me one day while I was sick and in bed. One of my grandchildren came in and told me : "Grandma, I'm going to pray for you." My little support in prayer put his hand on my head and he prayed : "Jesus, let him go better."

I smiled and thanked him for his prayer. But he kept looking at me. Finally, he said : "You are healed. Get up !" Then I got up - and I was cured. His prayer of faith had set me back.

Powerful deliverances occur when the saints of God seek Him with perseverance, with a childlike faith for the needs of others. We can look at the scriptures and see how God acted powerfully as a result of prayers, and we can take courage by being supportive in prayer. Look at Paul's moving testimony on this subject :

"And we regarded our death sentence as certain, so as not to place our trust in ourselves, but to place it in God, who raises the dead. He has delivered us and will deliver us from such a death, from whom we hope he will deliver us again, yourselves also helping us with your prayers, so that the grace obtained for us by many will be for many an occasion to give thanks to us" (2 Corinthians 1: 9-11).

David Wilkerson