March 12, 2008
"And they sang a new song 'You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation. You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth.'" Revelation 5:9-10
As Christians, we have been given forgiveness for our sins. God sent his Son to earth to die for our sins, a sacrifice only He could make. His sacrifice provided redemption for all believers of any nation or race, and those who love and believe in the Lord are entitled to approach the throne of God in praise and prayer.
Prayer is an integral part of all Christian lives. We pray for our family, our friends, our country, and we pray about our own lives. When we pray by ourselves, we have a personal connection with God that cannot be rivaled. Yet there are times when we come together in prayer with others in the same quest for God's grace.
In 2006, I planned to take the summer off from working before starting law school. Content with my decision to be stress free and without money, I was given the opportunity to baby-sit for a family in town who was beginning what would be the hardest journey of their lives. The youngest of their three children had been diagnosed with a brain tumor at just two and half years old. In the close to nine months I spent with them, I have never seen so many people come together and form a support network through prayer. It made no difference what race or nation, what part of the Christian church, or what personal situation each person was experiencing, they came together to pray. Any doubt I had in humanity was put to rest, and I think for the first time in my life, I realized truly what prayer can do. Little Tyler passed away in January, but throughout their journey I have never seen a little boy and his family so strong, so dignified and so continuously vested in their faith while facing such a dire situation.
As believers, we are given the right to approach God in prayer. Not only do we make a difference praying on our own, we can come together and pray with others. Prayer sparks an unexplainable amount of faith and strength, not only in you and in those you pray for, but in the Christian church as a whole.
Dear Jesus thank You for the witness of Christians who support one another with prayer. Increase Your work of drawing us together from every race and nation, tradition and heritage that we may be like holy priests to one another, praying and caring for one another, even as You have done for us. Amen.
Lindsay Baker