1 Timothy 2:1 I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men.Suppose you're in the position to speak to someone on behalf of a friend. You know your friend is in need, and you want to help them. So you meet with the person who has the most ability and qualifications to help your friend. You explain the circumstances, and tell how good a person your friend is and what they have done for you.
That is called interceding. We are taught in today's scripture to pray for others, to intercede on their behalf. To ask God to help and meet the need in each person's life. The scripture also teaches us when we pray to make requests on behalf of others. What are the needs of these people? Is it food, clothes, friendship? We are to pray, plead, and speak to God on behalf of others.
A lot of times, and I'm guilty of this as well, we tend to kneel down in prayer and ask the Lord for this and that. To give us this or that. One simple "thank you", get up and go our own way. When asked by his disciples, Jesus taught them what is known as the Model Prayer.
First, we're to give praise and thankfulness to the Lord for all things He has done for us. To pray for His will to be done in our lives. Then, we ask for food, and other daily essentials. We ask Him to forgive us our sins. That's right. Is there something we said or done to hurt someone's feelings? Did we go someplace we shouldn't? There are so many things we could've said/done, or not said/or done during the day. Maybe the Lord laid it on our hearts to talk to someone about salvation. Did we go and talk to them, or did we come up with excuses to not go?
But guess what? We're supposed to forgive those who said or did something to hurt our feelings. That is something we must do before we ask God to forgive us. Then He will forgive us. Guarding our thoughts, paths, footsteps, is part of prayer as well. There are many times that the devil will place a thought in my mind that shouldn't be there. I try to immediately ask God's forgiveness and ask Him to remove it from my mind. Sometimes I fail to do that, but when that happens, the Lord has a way of reminding me. Then I begin to feel the guilt. When that happens, I have to ask forgiveness.
Also, Christ has a way of protecting us from harm. Like the other day. After shutting down the computer where I'd been working, I looked on my phone and saw there was a message from the weather channel. It was a tornado warning. When I looked at the map, there were no indications of a tornado. The Lord, who is all powerful, had directed that tornado into another direction, which protected me from harm. And all this before I knew there had been a tornado in the area.
All we have to do is ask Jesus to lead, guide, and protect us. If we'll listen to His still small voice, He will let us know what we need to do or say in any given situation. Let's remember when we pray, to pray for others, for Him to meet each need. Then thank Him for all He has done for us.
