Unfortunately it’s just a short post today as I’ve been unwell for most of the past week.
Last week we looked at the last verse of the Lord’s prayer. Today we’ll quickly consider the footnote that Jesus added. Matthew 6:14-15: For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.
You may remember me mentioning these verses recently, when we looked at the verse of the Lord’s prayer to do with forgiveness.
I suggested that the underlying principle is: don’t expect God to show his characteristics of love and mercy towards you if you’re not willing to try and show them towards other people.
The main point I’d like you to think about today is this: it’s really easy for prayer to be something entirely personal. A conversation between you and God. You praise him, you honour him, you ask for the Kingdom to come, for daily needs, for forgiveness, and for guidance in life.
That’s the basic framework Jesus gave us and it is, of course, the foundation for many, many wonderful prayers.
What you mustn’t forget, though, is to pray for others.
That’s not something Jesus really focussed on here. He wasn’t trying to give a universal prayer that covered all possible things we might ever need to talk to God about. He was giving us a framework to start with, something that could be adapted or customised as necessary to fit your individual circumstances.
He was also describing the sort of attitude that ought to be in our minds when we speak to God. One which is based on a correct understanding of who God is, what he’s done, what he’s promised to do, the honour he deserves, our own status before him and the commitments we’ve made as his children.
Prayer isn’t, however, just about you and God. We all have a responsibility to pray for one another.
Here are three New Testament passages, one from James and two from Paul, which teach us just that:
James 5:13-18: Are any among you suffering? They should pray. Are any cheerful? They should sing songs of praise. Are any among you sick? They should call for the elders of the church and have them pray over them, anointing them with oil in the name of the Lord. The prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise them up; and anyone who has committed sins will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective. Elijah was a human being like us, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. Then he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain and the earth yielded its harvest.
Ephesians 6:18-20: Pray in the Spirit at all times in every prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert and always persevere in supplication for all the saints. Pray also for me, so that when I speak, a message may be given to me to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it boldly, as I must speak.
1 Timothy 2:1-2: First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for everyone, for kings and all who are in high positions, so that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and dignity.
I’ve marked in bold some of the different examples given of ways we can pray for each other: for healing, for reconciliation with God, for those who need God’s help in a specific situation, for other Christians in general, for other people in general, and for those in positions of political power to govern in a way that leaves us in peace.
These are just examples – I’m sure you can think of more – but one thing we can see is that it’s possible to pray for others both specifically and generally.
If you know of someone who is suffering or in need or far from God, you can pray for them. If you don’t know of any specific situations, you can pray more generally for God to bless all of his children or to help those who aren’t yet his children to come to know him.
Ultimately, the Christian life is about being part of a community – a family – not about having a one-on-one special relationship with God that nobody else can share.
That’s why it’s so important to share our lives, our struggles, our victories and failures, our happiness and our sadness, our needs and our gifts, with each other.
Sometimes that’s not easy. Sometimes we don’t feel close to each other or comfortable sharing.
But we can always pray for each other.
Nihilist to Christian 