Pray in your families unto the Father, always in my name, that your wives and your children may be blessed.
Praying for others is an essential element of Christian discipleship. It is more than a suggestion or a good idea, it is a commandment. If our daily prayers do not include the seeking of blessings for others, our petitions for ourselves are in vain. Prayer is like ripples in a pool. They tend to start in the center with ourselves and then spread out in concentric circles to take in first those who are closest to us, then our extended family, neighbors and friends, our acquaintances, the broader community, our leaders (both secular and religious), the nation, and eventually even our enemies. Jesus teaches us here to begin with our immediate family and then work our way out. We pray in his name because we always try to pray his prayer -- the kind of prayer he would offer in our circumstance. When we learn that kind of prayer, nothing will be withheld from us.
No comments:
Post a Comment