Topic: Serve Others Through Prayer – Joyce Meyer Devotional 6 May 2023
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Topic: Serve Others Through Prayer – Joyce Meyer Devotional 6 May 2023
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.— Ephesians 6:18 (ESV)
One of the great temptations we often face when we have been wounded is to think too much about ourselves. We may focus excessively on our pain, on what happened to us, or on what will happen in the future. One of the best things we can do for ourselves is to get our minds off ourselves and think about what we can do for others. We may not have extra resources to bless them in physical ways, but we can always pray for them, and that’s called interceding. It doesn’t take any money; it doesn’t require us to travel to get to them; it doesn’t demand anything of us except a willing heart and some time.
When we are hurting, we often see everything in life through a lens of pain. When that happens, we may find ourselves being hard on people instead of being gracious and showing kindness. But judging or criticizing others only holds us in bondage. If we pray for people instead of judging them, interceding for them as frequently and fervently as we pray for our own needs, we will not only be a blessing in their lives, we will also experience the joy of serving others.
In the days of the prophet Ezekiel, God was looking for people who would stand in the gap for others (Ezekiel 22:30 NKJV). I believe He is still looking for that kind of intercessor today. If there is a gap, or distance, in people’s relationship with God for some reason, we have the privilege of praying that their relationship with Him will be restored. If people have needs, we can intercede for them and expect to see them comforted and encouraged while they wait for God to provide for them.
A life focused only on self is a sad, lonely, narrow existence. When we reach out to others and include them in our lives, even in such a simple way as praying for them, we enrich ourselves and reach beyond our own little world. We begin to care about them in new ways; we begin to share their concerns and burdens—and somehow our concerns and burdens seem lighter. We rejoice when God answers our prayers for them. We grow in our faith as we trust God to move in their lives—and soon we realize we have more faith for Him to move in our lives, too.
There are many benefits to serving others through prayer, both for the ones we intercede for and for us. Praying for people strengthens our relationship with God and our relationships with them, which is good and healthy for everyone.
Prayer of the Day: Thank You, Father, for showing me that during painful times, I can shift my focus from myself and onto others. Help me to intercede, help and to find joy in serving and praying for others, amen
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