Saturday, April 9, 2011

Praying for our Fellow Believers



Every believer has a watchman’s place appointed him in the matter of prayer, and he is bound not to be silent, but to give the Lord no rest till he establish and make Jerusalem a praise in the earth. We are all equally bound to pray for the peace of Jerusalem, and our prosperity is made to hinge upon it. The new commandment which the Lord has given us, in which he bids us “love one another,” necessitates our praying for each other.

How shall a man claim that he loves his brother if he never intercedes with God for him? Can I live continually with my fellow-believers and see their sorrows, and never cry to God on their behalf? Can I observe their poverty, their tribulation, their temptation, their heaviness of heart, and yet forget them in my supplications? Can I see their work of faith and labor of love, and never implore a blessing upon them? Can I wrap up myself within myself, and be indifferent to the case of those who are my brethren in Christ Jesus? Impossible. I must belong to some other family than that of God, for in the family of love, common sympathy leads to constant intercession. God forbid that we should sin against the Lord by ceasing to pray for our brethren.

From a sermon by Charles Haddon Spurgeon entitled "Intercessory Prayer," delivered May 5, 1872. Image by nao.k under Creative Commons License.

1 comment:

16 Elements said...

How shall a man claim that he loves his brother if he never intercedes with God for him?

Beautiful.