21 May The Praying Women
In scripture, Jesus says, “if two of you on earth agree about anything they ask for, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven…where two or three gather in my name, there am I also (Matthew 18:19-20).”
I recently read an article about a former drug dealer who had reached kingpin status. Eventually, his actions caught up with him and he fled. While on the run, three women prayed over him. From that point forward, he turned his life around and ultimately became a pastor. His ministry had such an impact on the community that even the police department credited the church with a dramatic decrease in crime in that area.
As impressive as this turnaround was for the man in this story, I want to focus on the three praying women. These women were everyday Christian women who obviously believed in the power of prayer. As a result of their prayers, not only was one life impacted but numerous lives within a whole community. These women distinguished themselves, not by doing anything extraordinary, but because of their faith that God could do something extraordinary in that man’s life. They gathered in prayer and turned it over to God to do the rest.
In our busy lives, our prayer lives can easily become just a simple grace at mealtime and/or a brief prayer of petition right before we fall asleep. We have to remember the tremendous power of prayers of thanksgiving, confession and intercession. Prayer can be a direct line between an individual and God or like these women, it can be two or three gathered in agreement before the throne.
We can have a significant impact on the lives of those in our homes, on our jobs and in our communities with the simple act of prayer. We never know when we may be called to stand in the gap for someone else and to intercede on their behalf. The best part is that when we pray in Jesus’ name, He is right there with us and we know that He sits at the right hand of the Father and intercedes on our behalf (Romans 8:34).
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