Good morning,
Most of us know that our ministry is a challenging calling that is more than we can do on our own. A great deal of our work is done on a personal level and our challenges are often surrounded by spiritual battles that we can not see but certainly have to deal with day and night. We live in a world that is filled with seductive attacks on us in the physical, mental, and spiritual areas of our lives. Our sin nature longs for us to be the center of our world, only to discover that we feel alone in the center of the conflict. We long to be loved and understood only to discover that all the other self-centered people around us only pay attention to us when they want something from us or are frustrated by us when we get in their way. Who cares for us when we feel all alone and cut off from the support we need to keep pressing on in ministry? Who is on our prayer team and what are they praying about? Our enemy does his best to try to isolate us from the truth that we are always surrounded by a powerful prayer team that never has to guess about what we need or why we are going through any particular day.
The most important part of our prayer team is the heavenly part of our lives. When Jesus was praying on the last night before his cruel crucifixion he prayed a long prayer that included this awesome statement. "I am praying not only for these disciples but also for all who will ever believe in me through their message.(John 17:20) It occurred to me that when Jesus suffered and died for all of the sins for all mankind for all of time, Jesus knew who we were and what we would do already 2000 years ago. David wrote that his Lord saw me before I was born.(Psalm 139:16) Since every day of our life was already written in God’s book of life, Jesus was praying for us then, and is also praying for us now. That same passage also assures us that Jesus is also thinking about us day and night and is there waiting for us when we wake up each morning.When Jesus was praying for us there in the garden, he prayed that we would become examples of the same oneness that Jesus shared with the Father. Not only that, God’s Holy Spirit is also on our prayer team, the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don't know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words.(Romans 8:26) God knows exactly what we need and then his Son and the Holy Spirit pray for exactly those needs. We also have the benefit of our Christian brothers and sisters who know us or know about us and are reminding our Father and Savior of our needs. We are never alone. We are never forgotten. We are always a part of God’s perfect plan. Please Lord, help us not to forget who is on our prayer team.
John 17:20 "I am praying not only for these disciples but also for all who will ever believe in me through their message.
Roy Wisner
