{Glory Art} Scripture Challenge #8, Intercessory Prayer

The Study

If you remember our study from two weeks ago, we talked about being anxious. We also talked about how important it is to pray when you are feeling worried or anxious. If you missed that post, please click here to read it. We are going to continue with that same story about my daughter that had the big running test. The test began at 5:15 a.m. so she had to leave school at 4:45 a.m. that Thursday morning. God woke me up at 4:30 a.m., and I began praying for her. Then God whispered to me and prompted me to actually send her the prayer that I was praying silently at home. So I rolled over in bed, grabbed my cell phone, and I texted her a bit of what I was praying for her. I didn't realize just how much she needed to hear it but God knew. She texted me back elated that I not only was awake and praying for her but that I had shared the prayer with her. God knew she needed to read what I was praying for her. Some of the prayer is cut off because it was quite long. I dictate my texts so it's easy to just talk away. Here you can see a bit of what I sent her:

Today we want to talk about intercessory prayer. So what is intercession? Dictionary.com says "a prayer to God on behalf of another." So, what exactly does prayer mean to others? For my daughter that early morning, it was exactly what she needed. I didn't know that but God did! Do you ever let others know that you are praying for them? Do you offer to pray with them at any given moment? You can pray with someone in person, over the phone, via text message as you see I did here, and in so many other ways. How about e-mailing your prayer to the person you have interceded for that day? I never realized how much prayer meant to others until I was a group leader in Bible Study Fellowship (BSF). I would pray with the ladies over the phone as God prompted me. I never liked to pray out loud let alone for someone right there in front of me or on the phone. Well, God has completely changed that. Prayer is not about me or my words; it's all about Him.

So, how do you feel about praying for others? Do you keep it private to yourself or do you let them know specifically what you are praying for them? Has someone done that for you? How did it make you feel? Are you worried about what to say or how you may sound? That is something we need to get over and let God use each of us as He intends to bless the person that needs to hear the words God gives us. Pray just as you would in a conversation with your best friend. We look forward to that time with our friend, and we should look forward to the privileged time we have to pray for others.

Prayer is powerful, and we need to be prayerful at all times no matter the situation good or bad. We should put the concerns of others before ourselves and stand in prayer for them. Prayer causes the believer to live victoriously! Don't you want to live a victorious life and experience the privilege of praying for others? Look at Paul's amazing example here in Acts:

Acts 20:36 "When Paul had finished speaking, he knelt down with all of them and prayed."

Will you kneel down in prayer for those that God puts on your heart this week? Will you share your prayer with them? Prayer is a privilege, and lifting the needs of others up before the Father is not only a blessing but takes our mind off of ourselves and our own situations.

Ephesians 6:18 "And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people."

Philippians 1:4 "In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy."

2 Timothy 1:3 "I thank God, whom I serve, as my ancestors did, with a clear conscience, as night and day I constantly remember you in my prayers."

If you want to learn more about prayer, click here to read a study I wrote in 2010 regarding prayer, and click here for another prayer study I wrote in 2012. I hope you find these helpful.

And to finish today's lesson, I have a video for you to watch if you have 11 extra minutes. This beautiful woman of God shares how she keeps track of her prayers for others, and at the end there is a tremendous blessing as this precious woman prays for you. I cried the first time I watched it. May God bless this beautiful woman of prayer. I know she is an example to me and many others!

The Art

Today I decided to create four more Scripture Art Cards. I used three of the scriptures noted above. I also used the Blue Fern Studios Love Story paper collection for the tags to place the scriptures.

Feel free to join us on the Facebook page where some people will be sharing their creations. We also have some discussions that will be going on there too about the study. If you don't use Facebook and want to share your creation here, do so below by using Inlinkz! To see all of the information regarding this challenge and the previous studies and art tips, please see this post here. May you be blessed this week as you intercede for others in prayer!

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