Ephesians 6:18. Praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints.
One of the greatest privileges we have as children of God is the privilege of making supplication for others on their behalf. This means that we are invited to stand in the gap for those who may not yet know God, who are struggling, or who are in need of grace and mercy. As intercessors, we are not merely asking for blessings for ourselves, but we are aligning our hearts with God’s compassionate purposes and pleading for His will to be done in the lives of others.
This sacred role allows us to partner with God in His redemptive work, just as Abraham pleaded for Lot, Moses prayed for Israel, and Jesus Himself intercedes for us at the right hand of the Father. To pray for others is to join in the ministry of reconciliation that brings hope, healing, and transformation.
When Abraham learned about God’s plan to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah, where Lot and his family lived, he earnestly interceded on their behalf. “Then Abraham approached him and said: ‘Will you sweep away the righteous with the wicked?’” (Genesis 18:16–33). Tragically, Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed because not even ten righteous people could be found. Yet, Lot and his family were spared.
Scripture testifies to this: “So when God destroyed the cities of the plain, he remembered Abraham, and he brought Lot out of the catastrophe that overthrew the cities where Lot had lived” (Genesis 19:29). That is the power of intercessory prayer.
We are surrounded by unbelieving friends and family members. Like Naaman, the commander of the army of the king of Aram, they may appear successful, yet struggle with hidden wounds. “Now Naaman was commander of the army of the king of Aram. He was a great man in the sight of his master and highly regarded… but he had leprosy” (2 Kings 5:1–14). Many hide their spiritual sickness beneath outward success, just as Naaman concealed his leprosy under armor.
People are also wandering, “harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd” (Matthew 9:36). As a result, they are weary and burdened. “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). Though they may possess much, they live under the oppression of the devil. “God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and… he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him” (Acts 10:38).
Spiritually dead and enslaved to sin, they are, by nature, objects of wrath. “As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins… gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath” (Ephesians 2:1–3).
God calls us to lift them up in prayer. Will we intercede for them as Moses did when the Israelites sinned in the wilderness? “Oh, what a great sin these people have committed! They have made themselves gods of gold. But now, please forgive their sin—but if not, then blot me out of the book you have written” (Exodus 32:32). Moses repented on behalf of the people, pleading with God to show mercy. He regarded the salvation of the Israelites as more important than his own, even to the point of offering to be blotted out of God’s book for their sake.
Never give up when you pray for others. Your prayer is powerful and effective. “The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. Elijah was a human being, even as we are. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops” (James 5:16–18). Elijah’s prayer changed the course of nature and the destiny of a nation.
God will remember your intercession. He will remember you when disaster strikes the lives of those for whom you pray. He will use you to bring salvation through the power of the gospel.
Prayer. Father, I lift my unbelieving friends, family members, community, and nation to You. May Your grace be upon them so they may see the light of the gospel. In Jesus’ name, Amen.