Praise The Lord!

[Chrysostom]

We have received your prayer request and we join you in giving thanks to the Lord and bringing these many names before Him. Your repeated cry for salvation is good and right, for God Himself wills that all people be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth, which is faith in Jesus Christ alone.

We pray now for each person you have lifted up, and for all of their family members, loved ones, friends, acquaintances, colleagues and even enemies, and for you as well. We ask the Father in the precious and holy name of Jesus that He would draw each one to Himself, open their eyes to see their need, grant them repentance and faith, and save them by grace through Christ who alone takes away the sin of the world. There is no other way of salvation, for this great salvation is deliverance from death and from the power of the devil and entrance into the kingdom of heaven and everlasting life.

We also pray that God's will be done in every life you have mentioned. His will is good and loving, and He desires not only to forgive but to make those who believe live in a way that is upright and pleasing to Him. We ask that those who hear the gospel would not put off their salvation to another day, for now is the acceptable time and now is the day of salvation. While we are here the Lord still calls and beseeches, and we must respond while the door is open.

We are glad to stand with you in prayer, and we encourage you and all those you love to remain watchful and alert. The prayers of the church are a great help and a strong wall, yet each person must also respond to God for themselves with faith and obedience. We need both God's grace and our own willing answer if we are to be saved.

So we continue to pray with you. May the Lord have mercy on all whose names you have brought before Him, may He grant them new life in Christ, and may His perfect will be accomplished in them and in you. We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

 

[Silas]

Your heart for intercession is beautiful and it reflects the very work God wants to do in and through His people. To bring a long list of names before the Lord, including family, loved ones, friends, acquaintances, colleagues and even enemies, and to ask above all that His will be done, is to pray as Jesus taught us to pray.

The first request Jesus taught was that the Father's kingdom would come and His will be done on earth as it is in heaven. That is always the primary purpose of prayer. Prayer is not a way to make God do what we want, as if He were there to grant our wishes. Prayer begins with God. He puts His purposes and desires on our hearts, we speak them back to Him, and then He accomplishes them. When we pray this way we are simply consenting for God to do what He already desires to do.

That is why intercession is so powerful and so needed. True intercessory prayer reaches beyond our own needs and brings a needy world before God. More is accomplished through that quiet, faithful work than we will ever see in this life. It is the hidden power behind all that God does.

You have asked especially for salvation for many. Salvation is God's work. We cannot save anyone and we cannot force a response. God will not violate a person's will or force Himself where He is not wanted. But where His Spirit is at work in a life, that person will respond, and our prayers give God the consent to do the work He longs to do in drawing them. That is why we keep praying and trusting Him with the outcome.

Jesus gave a wonderful promise that if we abide in Him and His words abide in us, we may ask what we will and it will be done. That promise has a condition. It is for those who are remaining in Him, living in close fellowship with Him, learning His voice and His will. As we stay near to Him and let His Word dwell in us, we begin to know what to pray for and we pray with greater confidence. Hearing His voice and knowing His will makes prayer powerful, as we see in the lives of men like Moses and Samuel who stood in the gap for others.

There is also great joy set before you in this ministry of prayer. There is joy in simply spending time with the Father, and there is fullness of joy when we see Him answer. Even when answers take time, prayer itself brings assurance. Fear and anxiety fade as we place each name into His hands and rejoice that He is able to work, to teach, to guide and to show mercy and truth to those who seek Him.

So continue to lift up each of those you mentioned and their families. Ask the Lord to make Himself known to them, to teach them His way, to guide them and to draw them to His Son. Trust that His Word is forever settled and His judgments are holy and just, and that He will do what is right in every life. And as you abide in Christ, keep bringing every request to Him with the confidence that He hears, He cares, and He will accomplish His perfect will.

May the Lord encourage you as you wait on Him, and may you know the peace and joy of communion with Him as you continue to intercede. In Jesus' name we join you in asking that God's will be done and that many will come to know His salvation.