ARE YOU COMMITTING THE SIN OF NEGLECT IN PRAYER?

1Samuel 12:23 KJV Moreover as for me, God forbid that I should sin against the LORD in ceasing to pray for you: but I will teach you the good and the right way.

Dear Believer,

Too many professing believers and leaders do not realize the grave implications of not praying continually for their loved ones and their brethren. I believe this is one of the reasons bad things happen to good people today.

In that passage above, the prophet Samuel, as a leader in Israel made it plain that it would amount to committing sin if he didn’t pray for his people.

You also have to take on the responsibility of praying for your loved ones that seriously.

Paul prayed for the people under his apostolic and pastoral care. The words he used are quite instructive. Let’s check some.out.

Ephesians 1:16 KJV
[I] cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers.

Ephesians 3:14 KJV
For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ [in prayer for you]

Colossians 1:9 KJV
[We] do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding.

We see from these passages that he took his prayer for his loved ones as a very serious business, and that he did this spiritual exercise continually.

You cannot claim to love a person and not pray for them. The problem with many Believers is that they love to ask others to pray for them, but they hardly pray for others with any sincerity.

It is through heartfelt prayer for our loved ones and our brethren in the faith that God reveals the plans of the devil to us so that we can avoid them and destroy them. With some Believers, it is so bad that they don’t even care about their brother even when it is quite obvious that things aren’t easy with him. No visit, no call, no care! How then does such a selfish Believer even pray for others?

If it would be sin for Samuel not to pray for his people, it is sin for us not to pray for our brethren and loved ones.

Imagine the power and blessing we could all generate if we all constantly lift our loved ones up to God in prayer? How glorious would that be!

Believer, don’t just ask others to pray for you because you are occupying a certain position or because you are wealthier than others or because you have bigger challenges; you are expected to pray for others, too.

The Spirit of God will keep stirring your heart up. He may wake you up in the middle of the night with a thought or concern about someone, or your pastor, or the church, or whoever. Don’t lazilly flop back to bed and sleep. Get to work and start praying. You may be creating a buffer between someone and a terrible disaster by doing so, or breaking barriers hindering someone’s blessings, or building a protective fence around a weak loved one.

No one is so spiritually strong that they won’t need to be prayed for. Paul asked believers (who were mostly his converts) for prayer repeatedly. (Romans 15:30-32; 2 Corinthians 1:11; 1 Thessalonians 5:25 and so on).

Even our Lord Jesus Christ, in the days of His flesh, asked His disciples to watch with Him in prayer as His crucifixion neared. (Matthew 26:38).

This isn’t about only praying for your husband and wife and children. As good as that is, expect the Spirit of God to bring other people into your heart who aren’t that close to you. God wants to fulfil the glorious ministry of prayer through you.

Believer, let Him do it without any resistance from you.

Have a prayerful day!

Your friend,
Deon.