The Simple Gift of Prayer
May we, followers of Christ, be known as a people who offer simple prayers to others every single day.
One of the simplest gifts we can offer to somebody else is prayer. In fact, Christians should be known for giving away prayer left and right to people. The apostle Paul, in his first letter to Timothy, encouraged believers to pray for absolutely anybody and everybody. He wrote, "I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people" (1 Tim. 2:1 ESV). It is our delight and our responsibility to pray to the living God on behalf of other people. It's a gift that we can offer to others.
Consider this: are we not a people who believe that God hears our prayers and enjoys answering them according to His purposes? If we truly believe that we have a friendship with God and that He listens to us, His children, then prayer becomes such a wonderful gift and privilege. And prayer is not just a gift to be kept for ourselves. It's a gift that we can and must share with others too.
Think about the temple of God that was once in Jerusalem (destroyed in 70 AD). It was primarily for the Israelite/Jewish community to worship God. However, the temple was also available (in certain sections) for non-Jewish people to worship God and pray to Him. Jesus confirmed this availability of the temple when He said these words in the gospel of Mark (quoting Isaiah 56:7): “Is it not written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations’?" (Mk. 11:17 ESV). Although the temple was originally and primarily for the Jewish people, it wasn't solely for them. God provided a way for everyone else to access the temple too to worship Him and pray to Him. The gift of prayer was granted to everybody who desired to seek God. In the same way, though prayer is such an awesome gift to us, God's children, it is something that we can share with others too. And plenty of people need prayer for various things in life.
Everybody has something they could use prayer for (even if they may not disclose it outright). On the Daily Monastic Facebook page, I regularly ask people to send in prayer requests so that I can pray for them by name. It's not surprising to see several dozens of requests, which includes things ranging from financial worries to upcoming examinations to relationship issues. People have things that we can pray for. As believers in Christ, we can and should offer prayer to them. This is something we should be known for.
And if we think about it, prayer doesn't really cost us much. Prayer is neither expensive nor hard to do. It's one of the simplest things we can do for others. It only takes a little bit of time and effort on our end. But the value we give through prayer is tremendous. We are praying for somebody in the midst of their need or sorrow and bringing their requests up to the Lord for Him to take care of. If we believe that nothing is too hard for the Lord, then prayer brings us and the people we pray for much comfort and peace knowing that God can indeed help us and take care of the cares and concerns that we bring to His attention. May we, followers of Christ, be known as a people who offer simple prayers to others every single day.
Barnabas the Monastic
Servant of Christ. Husband. Dad. Modern Monastic. I have a wild ambition in life: get as close to the Lord Jesus Christ as I can while on earth. I explore and integrate ancient Christian monk wisdom in modern everyday life. Lives in Canada.
