Topic: A Prayer Burden [Charles Stanley Daily Devotional 21 December 2021]
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A Prayer Burden
God wants us to share each other’s burdens so we can all be strengthened in the body of Christ.
December 21, 2021
Nehemiah 2:1-8
Christians use the word burden to refer to a spiritual weight placed on their heart, usually because God wants their attention focused on a certain matter. For example, Nehemiah was burdened to intercede for the Jewish people left vulnerable by Jerusalem’s crumbling walls. The Lord already knew the Israelites’ troubles, so He certainly didn’t need the prayers of this one man. Rather, the burden was for Nehemiah’s sake. He made himself available for God to use as a conduit and thereby tapped into a reservoir of compassion. So great was Nehemiah’s love for his countrymen that he set aside his fear and addressed the Persian king about the help they needed.
Also Read: Open Heaven 21 December 2021 –Topic: GLUTTONY IS NOT A CHRISTIAN VIRTUE
Bearing each other’s burdens is one way we can strengthen the church. It’s human nature to feel connected with those we’ve helped. That’s true even of the people who never discover that we have interceded. In this way, God knits believers together to make up a cohesive whole, which He calls the “body of Christ” (Rom. 12:5).
Our heavenly Father is looking for people willing to be burdened for their brothers and sisters in the Lord. I challenge you: Make yourself available to intercede on behalf of someone else. Strengthening the body of Christ is an awesome privilege.