Have you ever noticed how relatively easy it is to pray for someone else, and then, in faith, turn the matter over to God to resolve; but how difficult it is to do the same thing for your own needs? What we tend to do in the latter case is to pray, and pray, and pray some more; then call our family and friends to pray with and for us; then wring our hands as we look for the physical manifestation (results) of the prayer, to the point that doubt and disbelief set in, killing off our faith.
Has this ever happened to you? What’s the answer?
1. Faith works by love (Galatians 5:6
2. The fervent prayer of the righteous avails much (James 5:16)
3. Let patience have her perfect work (James 1:4)
1. Love
Love is giving and is very much an outward, not an inward or self-centered force or energy. Love is God. Simply put, prayer may work best when it is faith-filled and for others.
2. Fervency
Fervent prayer demands and gets God’s attention, and also demands a promptly manifested reply. Our being intimately familiar with (i.e., “walking in the shoes of”) our own problems pushes us to pray fervently more for ourselves than for others. How can we pray as fervently for others as we do for ourselves?
An Approach that Works!
To escape this trap, it might help to see our personal problems as the “Finger of God” pointing out opportunities for fervent prayer for others who have the exact, same kind of problems or needs we are currently experiencing. In essence, our problems and needs may likely be a faint (mirror) reflection of similar but far more serious, intense and deep-rooted problems of someone who is desperately crying out to God (praying for him/herself, like you do) for answers!
The beauty of this model or approach is that we do not even need to know who has the problem and needs our prayer. Praying “in the understanding” (our own language) or “in the Spirit” for someone with a similar, but far more serious problem than ours ensures that we are:
(a) putting our faith to work by love;
(b) adding fervency to our prayers; and
(c) unleashing God’s power to respond and avail much in His response!
3. Patience
Having done this, we are then ready to “let Patience have her perfect work,” by letting go, and letting God be God. Quietly look and listen for “the footsteps of Patience” in your own problems, guarding against anxiousness and fear which only works self-centeredly to turn the spot light back onto you and your own problems.
Like me, you’ll typically find two eye-opening results.
o First, the person you’ve been praying for may likely ‘walk across the stage of
your life,’ you may meet or come to know for whom you have been
praying. This can be a powerful tool for witnessing. Imagine meeting
someone and saying, “Wow, you’re the exact person for whom I have been
praying!”
o Second, by taking the spotlight off of you and your own problems, you’ll
likely find that God has quietly and surprisingly stepped in and resolved
them!
Bottom Line
Allow your problems to be the “trigger source” to:
(i) add fervency in your prayers for others,
(ii) put your faith to work by love;
(iii) unleash the power of God in the lives of others; and
(iv) allow Patience to steady your focus and resolve
In this sense, problems and difficulties
can be our best friends!!!
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