Pray Dearer When Nearer

ICS Daily Devotions
Pray Dearer When Nearer

1 Timothy 2:1-6 Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.

Prayer walking helps us to pray dearer when we are nearer to the site, as we sense the compassion and the love of the Holy Spirit who wants us to pray and intercede for the people.

What do you see, hear and feel when you are outside a clinic or hospital? Perhaps you will see the sick accompanied by their loved ones, looking worried. God may move you to pray for their salvation, for the family members to find hope, love and peace in Jesus, for the sick to be healed and restored, for doctors and nurses to have wisdom in helping each patient, and for blessings upon the children to not fear losing their parents to sickness.

The entire world has been humbled by the outbreak of a COVID-19 as it revealed to mankind the frailty of humanity. It is no respecter of gender, colour, race, or social status. In fact, one can see times like this is a visitation from the Lord to the individual, city or nation, as people are forced to confront the issue of death. Because the hearts of men are more open to the Gospel during such times, the church must pray and act concurrently to share the Gospel.

We have an urgency to share the Gospel with our loved ones and those God has placed in our paths—friends, relatives, colleagues. Our mission field is the very place where God has placed us to be a witness for Him. Scripture clearly says that God desires all men to be saved, so nobody should perish without the opportunity to hear the Gospel. God wants them to know the truth so they can be set free. Men will only live once, and thereafter comes judgment. Their denial of God doesn’t change the existence of God, and Jesus Christ is the only mediator between man and God who is righteous, just and holy.

So let’s pray for God to release His Holy Spirit and touch the hearts of the unsaved, for the Lord of harvest to send out labourers and to bring harvest among the people, and for the local churches to discern and overcome barriers that prevent the people from hearing the Gospel. The Holy Spirit will soften the hearts of the people and convict them to receive the Gospel.

Sermon Series: A Quiet and Peaceable Life