Lifting You Up
Many Christians I am sure have heard the term, “We’re going to lift you up in prayer.” I have to admit that this is one of those expressions that I have never really examined or even thought much about. I just figured the term meant someone was putting a person’s name before the Lord, and that God would hear the prayer and then act upon it.
I recently discovered something very special. My wife, Mickie, was recently diagnosed with cancer and ever since she began her battle to fight this disease so many people have been telling me, “We will lift you up in prayer.” This common phrase in religious circles has taken on a new meaning for me. In those moments when I feel like I simply cannot go any further, just knowing that there are people holding me up before the Lord literally lifts me up out of my seat and sets me back upon my feet. These few, but powerful words offered by others gives me strength to keep on going.
Is there someone in your family going through a difficult time, a friend who appears to be undergoing seemingly endless struggles or a member of your church who is experiencing a particularly rough period in their life? Take the time today to offer up to the Lord someone you know who needs an extra measure of prayer and don’t forget to tell that person, “I lifted you up in prayer.”
Paul reminds us that prayer is not a casual conversation with God that takes place intermittently, but instead, it is a privilege and an obligation of all Christians. The goal in prayer should first be to praise God, but also to bring before Him the cares and concerns of others whom we know are in need. We read in Ephesians 6:18 (Amplified):
“Pray at all times (on every occasion, in every season) in the Spirit, with all [manner of] prayer and entreaty. To that end keep alert and watch with strong purpose and perseverance, interceding in behalf of all the saints (God’s consecrated people).”
