Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil.
For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow.
But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up!
Again, if two lie together, they keep warm, but how can one keep warm alone?
And though a man might prevail against one who is alone,
two will withstand him—a threefold cord is not quickly broken. Ecclesiastes 4:9-12
Dear Cooper - only a few days now until your Baptism. At the Baptism you will hear me ask over and over if people will pray for you; if they will teach you to pray and teach you to pray for others. Let me go after the third part of this request today: why do we want you to pray for others?
One reason is because Jesus did. Did you know He prayed for you? He prayed for His followers - and that, my friend, is you. We hear the prayers of the Apostles and Disciples in the Bible for others; Jesus sent them out to minister and He taught them to pray. Paul often mentions that he prayed for other Christians and the Churches. Peter tells us to pray for all kinds of people including non-Christian authorities and governments. Jesus goes even further.“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbour and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” Matthew 5:43-44
This brings us to another reason to pray for others - sharing concern for others is an act of Love. Notice how Jesus linked love and prayer together in the verse above. God is Love, so praying for others is actually an act of worship because it brings glory to Love - that is God. It is the expressing of Love in Love to Love ... Love is what we are called to be as Christ followers in the world. I really cannot think of anything more glorifying and loving than to pray in Love to the ultimate Love. "Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God." 1 John 4:7
When we pray to God for others we are surrendering our will to God's will. We are confessing we can do nothing apart from God's will. We are asking for help and coming under God's ultimate authority. "God we know you know the beginning and the end - You Love us - let Your will be done." We are surrendering to God's perfect wisdom which is beyond our wisdom; we are releasing to God the power and glory that are His anyway.
When we pray to God for others we are surrendering our will to God's will. We are confessing we can do nothing apart from God's will. We are asking for help and coming under God's ultimate authority. "God we know you know the beginning and the end - You Love us - let Your will be done." We are surrendering to God's perfect wisdom which is beyond our wisdom; we are releasing to God the power and glory that are His anyway.
So today - I was touched by a prayer your God-mother wrote. Every now and then my heart feels a twinge as something catches me off guard ... when I read her prayer for you I caught my eyes watering up a bit. No worries, I quickly got that under control. But she said it could be used on this blog or on Sunday at the Baptism - so why not both ...
Be blessed Cooper as you hear the prayers offered by another for you ...
"Lord, as Coopers God-parents, we lift him up to you. We thank you for blessing Steph and Adam with such a beautiful little boy and for blessing us with their friendship. We pray that deep down in Cooper’s spirit, you speak to him, today and every day, that he will know and recognize Your voice. That no matter what he encounters in life, he knows that You are there with him, the best friend he could ever have. We pray that as his God-parents, you continually put it on our hearts to pray for him, not only for his well-being, but for a strong relationship with you -because as we know and genuinely believe, that is the greatest thing we can ever do for him. We pray this in Jesus’ Name. Amen"
