I thought having teens was good for my prayer life, but that was nothing compared to having a child leave for college.
It’s tough on a mama to know there’s not much I can do to help my son now that he’s out of the house. I can’t see if he’s eating well or getting enough sleep. I don’t know from day to day if he’s happy or sad or lonely or stressed. He doesn’t even bring his laundry home!
But I can pray.
This month we’ve been studying 2 Corinthians 1:3-11, and we’ve seen how God is our comfort, our hope, and our deliverer who grows our reliance on Him through times of affliction. Today, Paul closes this section by asking for the Corinthians’ prayers.
“You also must help us by prayer, so that many will give thanks on our behalf for the blessing granted us through the prayers of many.” (2 Corinthians 1:11)
Sometimes we may wonder, if God is in control and already knows what will happen, why pray? This is a complicated question, but here’s one simple answer: in His Word, God commands us to pray. But this isn’t the only reason we pray for others.
We see in today’s verse that our prayers help others. Paul wrote, “You must help us by prayer.” This truth is comforting to me when people I love are suffering from problems I can’t fix. I can’t take their pain away, but I can pray to the God of all comfort.
This verse points out another reason to pray: Prayer leads to praise. When we pray, God gets all the praise and glory and thanks for the outcome. We’re acknowledging that He is at work in our situation. We’re placing our trust in Him, knowing His plans for us are good because He is good.
And let’s remember that God’s sovereignty isn’t a reason not to pray – it’s a reason to pray. If God wasn’t sovereign, why would we bother asking Him to do anything? We have the privilege of praying to the one true God, the Maker and Ruler of all creation. He is the One with the power to answer our heartfelt prayers.
No matter what you face this week, God hears your prayers for yourself and those you care about.
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