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| Hearts for Prayers Cast your burden upon the LORD and He will sustain you. Psalm 55:22 Scripture quotation taken from the NASB. |
| We give thanks to God always for all of you, making mention of you in our prayers. I Thessalonians 1:2 Scripture quotations taken from the NASB. |
What is intercessory prayer?
Though the name is long, the concept can be easily understood.
Let's begin with a simple question.
How do we get to know someone better?
 | We spend time together. | |
| We narrate events. | |
| We share concerns. | |
| We relate emotions. | |
| We discuss ideas. |
When we love someone, we gladly invest the time required for such interactions.
In the same manner, because Christians love God,
their hearts desire to spend time interacting and communicating with Him.
Through prayer we communicate with God.
| We praise God for who He is. | |
| We thank Him for the blessings from His hands. | |
| We confess our sins to restore a right relationship with Him. | |
| We tell Him about our needs. | |
| We offer prayers for other people. |
Offering prayers for others is known as intercessory prayer.
And intercessory prayer is the primary work here at Hearts for Prayers.
Intercessory prayer is a vital component of Christianity.
How do we know this?
Because of Jesus.
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Christ Jesus, the only Son of God, spent much time in prayer.
Jesus spent time praying for His disciples whom He dearly loved.
Here is an excerpt from His intercessory prayer for His disciples.
8. They (His disciples) knew with certainty that I came from You, and they believed that You sent Me.
9. I pray for them ... for they are Yours.
11. I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to You.
Holy Father, protect them by the power of Your name - the name You gave Me -
so that they may be one as We are one.
15. My prayer is not that You take them out of the world but that You protect them from the evil one.
17. Sanctify them by the truth; Your word is truth.
18. As You sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world.
John 17 : 8 - 9, 11, 15, 17 - 18 (NIV)
Jesus also offered prayers for all Christian believers - past, present, and future.
Here are four verses from that prayer.
20. My prayer is not for them (disciples) alone.
I pray also for those who will believe in Me through their message,
21. that all of them may be one, Father, just as You are in Me and I am in You.
May they also be in Us so that the world may believe that You have sent Me.
24. Father, I want those You have given Me to be with Me where I am, and to see my glory,
the glory You have given Me because You loved Me before the creation of the world.
25. Righteous Father, though the world does not know You, I know You, and they (believers)
know that You have sent Me.
John 17 : 20 -21, 24 -25 (NIV)
Read the entire text of John 17.
| If our precious Savior Christ Jesus set aside time to pray for other people, then we can know with certainty that intercessory prayer is a vital ministry in the Christian faith. Therefore, the mission of Hearts for Prayers is to serve our God and our Savior through the essential ministry of intercessory prayer. |