Be a Jeremy

Sharon and I have shared many examples about maneuvering through the life-bumps we all face from time to time. I thought I’d take this opportunity to build on my last post, ‘Write it Down’, and share with you another way in which we can support others as they travel their own bumpy roads.

https://www.bumpsareokay.com/post/write-it-down)

I encourage you to pray for them.

You may ask, how do we pray specifically for friends and loved ones as they go through difficult circumstances?

Don’t we often find ourselves asking God to ‘be with so and so’? Just what does ‘be with’ even mean? Or, you may want to ask God to remove the circumstance from their life altogether. That’s not necessarily a ‘bad’ way to pray, but I would like to share an example from the New Testament book of Ephesians that will bring peace to him or her as they walk through this difficult journey.

My husband, Greg Christopher, has preached several sermons and taught many lessons on various prayers the Apostle Paul prayed concerning new believers as they faced persecution and other trials in the first century.

One prayer in particular has become one of my husband’s favorites to share with others. The prayer is found in Ephesians 3:16-19. https://bible.com/bible/72/eph.3.16-19.HCSB) He simply calls it the Ephesians 3 Prayer.

This is a perfect prayer to pray for friends and loved ones who are going through a difficult circumstance. Below is a simple outline for you to consider as part of your prayer for him or her---or even yourself!

As you spend time in fervent prayer regarding a particularly heart-wrenching or head-scratching journey, consider the following. Pray that he or she:

~ will be strengthened in the inner ‘man’, or have inner strength. Pray he or she will remain strong in heart through this trial. ~ will have a strong faith. In other words, that he or she will fully trust the faithfulness of our Savior. ~ will rest in the thought that Jesus loves and cares for him or her immensely.

The first time my husband preached from this passage, a young man at our church was especially impacted. From then on, whenever someone requested prayer regarding a heart-wrenching, difficult circumstance, this young man, Jeremy, always volunteered to pray for this person. His prayer always contained the above concepts. It wasn’t long until my husband began to use Jeremy as his example whenever he preached or taught on this passage in other venues.

So, if a friend or loved one asks you to pray for them as they travel a difficult journey, I encourage you to be like Jeremy and include the Ephesians 3 Prayer as you ask our Heavenly Father to ‘be with so and so’ or, plead that the circumstance will ease. I pray it will provide peace that will allow him or her ‘to breathe’.

Be a Jeremy~ Debbie