Written in Heaven

A few years ago, I developed a pretty bad lying habit. It wasn’t intentional, but I found myself continually lying about something that is probably one of the worst things you can lie about: prayer. My lying conversations always had good intentions, but they would go like this:

“Hey Matt, I’m going through some hard stuff right now.”

Me: “Thanks for sharing that; I’ll be praying for you.”

The problem was, I seldom did. It wasn’t because I was trying to be a jerk or anything like that. I just forgot. God has helped to show me that this just wasn’t an issue of being forgetful, but having my priorities in the wrong order.

I was reminded of this idea this week as I was reading in 1 Samuel. In chapter 12, Samuel is leaving his people as Saul transitions into kingship. As he leaves he says, “As for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord by failing to pray for you.” (verse 23)

Samuel never even said, “I’ll be praying for you.” Yet, he believed so strongly in the power of prayer and his call to spiritual leadership that he considered it a sin not to pray for those he was leaving.

God’s been growing me in this same way. He’s been showing me what an awesome privilege it is to pray for those who I’ve been called to lead. Today, you may not consider yourself a leader, but indeed you are. You are at least the leader of yourself, so never underestimate the power of prayer not only in your own life, but as you pray for others as well.