Pray for B

 

God, please have mercy; please show us your mercy. Please do not let my cousin die! Please protect my friend and exchange men on her behalf. Angel of death and destruction, see the blood and pass over us. Pass over my loved ones. That was me, interceding and praying for my cousin and my friend who coincidentally share the same name.

For two nights in a row, I had very scary dreams in which both my cousin and my friend died, leaving their children behind and a big hole in my heart. The first night, it was my cousin then the second night, my friend. I was so distressed over the matter; I could barely sleep so I would wake up praying profusely for them.

I had been praying for about a week when one day, I heard God tell me to calm down. He said ‘nothing will happen to your cousin or your friend, Serah so calm down!” I couldn’t help but ask and wonder why he had then given me such horrid dreams about them? Why did He have to give me such a scare? Those dreams were super vivid!

God, then told me, I let you see that so I could get your attention, so I could get you to pray. He told me that for a while now, you seem to have stopped praying for people the way you used to. You have begun to allow your challenges and numerous wants to consume your thoughts and time to the extent that you seldom pray for others as much as you used to.

I felt a bit sad and ashamed of what God had revealed to me about my character. I knew all He had said was true because prior to getting married, I would spend a lot of time praying for my family, friends, and some people I had never even met. So I knew exactly what God was saying and it hurt so much because it was true.

I asked Him to forgive me and help me resume my intercessory prayers like I used to. My challenge however was the fact that I knew so many people and had so many friends. I would never be able to have enough time to exhaust my prayer list.

I related my challenge to God and He told me not to worry, He would show me and let me know whoever He wanted me to pray for. He said “I will show you their faces when you sleep or let their thought cross your mind randomly. Whenever I do that, know it is my signal for you to pray for them.” I agreed and so far, that is exactly what I have been doing for a few years now.

Life can get so busy and we all seem to be facing one challenge or the other with some taking more hits than others. Despite all this, God wants us to learn to be selfless and take time to turn our eyes away from ourselves, our issues, and our worries and make out time to pray and intercede for others. Yes, there are some people we get tired of praying for (I have them in my life as well) especially when it seems like there is no change, but Isaiah 62:1 reminds us why we should keep praying and being relentless in our efforts. Because we love these people, we should focus on our love for them and keep praying. That’s why Prophet Isaiah says “because I love Zion, I will not keep still. Because my heart yearns for Jerusalem, I cannot remain silent. I will not stop praying for her until her righteousness shines like the dawn and her salvation blazes like a burning torch.”(Isaiah 62:1)

It is often said that “God can do nothing unless men pray!” So let us start taking time to pray for one another as often as we can, for this truly pleases God. The bible in Ezekiel 22:30 says, “I peeped from heaven and looked to see if I would find any man interceding, but found none!” May that never be said about us in Jesus’ name.

My youngest brother is alive today simply because God chose to show him mercy, leveraging on the fact that people who loved him refused to stop praying and believing God to spare his life.  You can catch up on that story here. 

God bless you.