40 Faces, 40 Places: A Devotional JourneySample

Josh from Coventry

Sometimes whole-life discipleship looks like faithfully praying for friends.

I believe God called me to be present for my friends during the lockdowns by calling or texting to ask them how they were doing and by intentionally interceding for them.

I was inspired by 1 Timothy 2:1-2, where Paul encourages Timothy to pray for everyone. It’s been very difficult to experience ‘peaceful and quiet lives’ during this pandemic, but one thing I know is we can experience God’s peace when we stand for each other in prayer.

Two of my dear friends were blessed with a beautiful baby boy just before Christmas 2020. I celebrated with them when they learned they would be parents and prayed continually with them through their pregnancy during the lockdown. A week before their baby was born, they called me to pray with them because he wasn’t in the proper position for birth.

We asked God to work through the doctors and make sure the baby was in the proper position when the time for birth came. God gave them the peace only He can give, and soon we were able to celebrate the birth of their son. This particular experience built my faith to see how God strengthened and affirmed their faith and how much they trusted Him.

I want to encourage anyone reading this to be that present friend to your friends and pray for them intentionally and intently.

Reflection

We often quote 1 Timothy 2:1-2 in churches to prompt prayers for those in authority – rightly so. The first category listed for our prayers is ‘all people.’ For Josh, this verse has prompted him to pray for his friends.

Sometimes, in the middle of personal uncertainties and worries, as Josh’s friends were experiencing, we lean on the prayers of others. It is almost as though they lend us their faith. When I can’t pray for myself so confidently, I can still often ask God to answer my friend’s prayer for me!

Prayer turns things around – in this case, it literally turned a baby around! The result of the prayer was more an answer for the safe arrival of the baby. Josh’s faith, his friends’ faith, and their friendship grew – a win-win-win! We are in a precious and privileged position if a friend calls or messages to ask for prayer – particularly if they don’t follow Christ themselves.

Prayer

Sometimes it is easier to say, "I’ll pray" than actually pray. Lord, help me pick up Josh’s challenge and pray for my friends, Christian or not, intently and intentionally. I pause to pray for some of my friends today – who are You bringing to my mind, Lord? Please grow my faith, Lord – and work through my prayers to grow the faith of others.