PRAYING FOR EACH OTHER

“I urge you, brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to join me in my struggle by praying to God for me,” (Romans 15:30 NIV).

I am so glad that God gave us friends who will struggle with us in prayer. Paul certainly understood the power of praying for our friends.

He wrote: “I urge you, brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to join me in my struggle by praying to God for me” (Romans 15:30 NIV). “Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should” (Ephesians 6:18-20 NIV).

The New Testament was originally written in Greek and sometimes looking at the original definitions of the words can give us great insight. The Greek word Paul uses for struggle in Romans 15:30 is sunagonizomai, which means “to struggle in the company of; i.e., to be a partner (assistant), strive together with.” The root word means “to endeavor to accomplish something: fight, labor fervently, strive,” for example, to compete for a prize or to contend with an adversary.

Prayer for another person is not simply a nice thing to say or a pat on the back. It is more than a “God bless Suzie.” When we tell someone that we will pray for them we are agreeing to put on the armor of God (Ephesians 6) and head to the front lines of battle on her behalf.

Many ancient shields had brackets attached to the sides. These brackets were a type of latch that soldiers could use to lock shields during battle. When the shields were locked together, the soldiers moved as one force, forming a barricade against the enemy. Alone, the shield was a small defense. Together they formed a human wall. Do you see the significance? When we lock arms in prayer with others, we are locking our shields together and forming a powerfully strong fortress of defense.