| Good morning everyone, Our theme for this month: “Personal Responsibility” Our Bible verse for today: “As for me, I vow that I will not sin against the Lord by ceasing to pray for you. I will teach you the good and right way.” 1 Samuel 12:23 (CSB) Our thought for today: “Pray for others” I have always admired Samuel, the leader in ancient Israel in the days before and during the reign of King Saul. Over the course of his long life, Samuel served in every major leadership role that was available to a Jewish man of his day including seer, priest, judge, prophet, and military leader. But it was his commitment as the spiritual leader of the nation that to me is the most impressive and inspiring. As we read in 1 Samuel 12:23 (above), he felt a personal responsibility before the Lord to pray for the people and to teach them God’s ways. That’s an example that every pastor, preacher, teacher, and Christian leader should strive to emulate. In yesterday’s devotional we thought about the personal responsibility God has given us to pray for ourselves. There are too many examples in the Bible of people praying for themselves for us to ignore. God obviously wants us to do that. But there are also many verses which call us to pray for others (intercessory prayer). 1 Samuel 12:23 is just one example of a leader who was committed to regularly praying for the people God had entrusted to him. The Apostle Paul felt that way too: “For this reason, since the day we heard this, we haven’t stopped praying for you.” (Colossians 1:9) But this call to pray for others pertains to all of us, it’s not just for leaders. In James 5:16 we read, “Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is very powerful in its effect.” In 1 Timothy 2:1 Paul wrote, “First of all, then, I urge that petitions, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgiving be made for everyone …” In Matthew 5:44 Jesus even told us to pray for our enemies, “But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” And in Romans 8:26 Paul told us that the Holy Spirit even helps us to pray, “In the same way the Spirit also helps us in our weakness, because we do not know what to pray for as we should, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with unspoken groanings” Does your church have regularly scheduled group prayer meetings? I hope it does. And if so, do you attend them? I hope you do. At Oak Hill Baptist we meet for prayer at 8:30 on Sunday mornings and at 6:00 on Wednesday evenings. We would love to have you join us. God calls us to pray for others. He has made it a matter of personal responsibility. God bless, Pastor Jim |
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