Burdened to Pray

As a new Christian, my spiritual father modeled a life of prayer for me in which he prayed about everything and believed God for the impossible. I began to imitate his prayer life, and years later, thought my prayer life was thriving until I read a classic book on prayer, The Kneeling Christian. After reading it, I was burdened to pray even more for the salvation of others.

Weeks later, I sent The Kneeling Christian book to my friend, Deb. After reading it, she said she felt burdened to pray more for others regarding salvation—my exact takeaway from the book! We agreed then to join together in prayer with salvation being our focus.

A plan formed in my mind for this new prayer commitment, and I suggested we each choose a person to pray for, write down prayer requests for them, and share those requests with each other. We agreed on the plan and decided we would pray for our two names for two weeks. We would then pray about who to pray for next and repeat the process.

It has been over a year since Deb and I first joined together in prayer. On the journey, we have experienced joy and sensed the Lord equipping us to persevere in prayer. We have also been encouraged through answers to our prayers. For example, my brother came to know Jesus as Savior and Lord! And another friend called one day to tell me she is on fire for Christ, joined a Bible Study, and a Christian Cambodian church!

Some of the people on our list are people we know well, while others are strangers to us. For example, one of the people we prayed for was a saleswoman I overheard telling a shopper about her problems, and the shopper was telling her about some New Age practices she should try.

I was so grieved at the lies being spoken into this struggling woman’s life, that eventually I couldn’t take it any longer! So, I approached the two women, looked directly at the saleswoman, and in a loving and gentle way said, “Jesus is all you need.” Later, Deb and I cried out for two weeks for her salvation and more.

Here on earth, Deb and I might not see the answers to our prayers for some people on our salvation prayer list. But Deb and I know God hears and answers prayer. So, we pray in faith, expecting God will answer in His perfect timing … in His perfect way.

How grateful I am that God burdened my heart and Deb’s to pray more regarding salvation. And it all began after we read a classic book on prayer.