MUTUAL PRAYER

MUTUAL PRAYER by Elder Joe Holder

"You pray for me, I’ll pray for you." There’s some responsibility that goes with mutual prayer. It’s quite often the case that when we feel great need, we’re faced with a challenging circumstance or situation that we will say to those we love and respect in the faith, "pray for me."

Very seldom when I am called on to preach at a meeting do I not respond to the person who tells me "you’re going to be expected to preach," then, "pray for me." I doubt that many of us who are called to preach do otherwise. You feel the burden of the occasion and you feel the need for people to pray for you. There is according to scripture, if I ask you to pray for me I should commit to pray for you. I owe you as much the obligation of prayer as you owe to me and if I ask you to pray for me I should care enough for you to pray for you as well. I think we preachers need to understand that when we are called on to preach and we ask the people to pray for us, we ought to be praying for the people as well. The more we have mutual prayer going on in the worship service the more we will ensure a blessing from God as the outcome, the product of the effort. When people start praying for each other it’s not like punctually, cut the period, it’s all done- but prayer that goes in both directions from me for you, from you for me involves and requires certain obligations. If I care enough about you to pray for you, I care enough to be involved in your life and want to help you in your life do better.