Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed.

(James 5:16 NLT)

As followers of Jesus – and believers who are fasting at the start of the year – I think it is safe to say you understand the importance of prayer.

Prayer is our most potent weapon!

With 80-90% of the UK population owning a smartphone, we at CBN UK recognise the urgency of creating prayerful communities in our nation and are developing a new prayer app to empower Christians to pray for the UK and for their personal needs.

This initiative will help foster a stronger, more connected community of believers who are not trying to do life alone but are connected and submitting daily requests for the day-to-day things that are arising in our lives and the life of our nation.

The importance of praying for and with others, especially those in need of encouragement and healing, goes without saying. Prayer ministries and intercessors who uphold people through life’s difficulties have the position to speak life, hope and truth where it is needed most. Through prayer, we can be vessels of comfort and support wherever God invites us to be.

Here is a testimony of where prayer has made all the difference for Ann:

As Sue and I, the CBN Community Chaplains, made our way down the corridor, we usually walked into a room with an open door.  Ann’s door was shut today, with no light escaping from under it.  We gently knocked.  Had Ann passed away since our last visit?

As we turned the handle, we found the curtains drawn, and Ann’s eyes were wide open, staring into space whilst lying in the dark.

We knelt beside her and gently asked if she was alright.

I took her hand and asked if we could pray with her. She immediately began to cry. She poured out her heart, sharing how lonely, abandoned, and profoundly alone she felt. It was a side of Ann we had never seen before. We listened and then reminded her that God had sent us to her that day because He saw her in her loneliness and darkness and wanted her to know she was not alone, not forgotten, and never forsaken.

Her tears flowed freely. Eventually, Ann sat up and stood to her feet, thanking us for simply being there. It was a God moment to hold a hand and ‘be with’ Ann when no one else could visit.

Whilst this was a face-to-face, in-person interaction, the fact remains – prayer made all the difference that day for Ann.

Today, focus on praying for those who are struggling and seeking prayer, that they would feel God’s presence and receive strength. Let’s pray for prayer ministries and intercessors to be empowered, sustained, and sensitive to God’s leading, that they will not become weary in doing good.

Personal Application:

Reach out to someone in need of prayer and offer to pray with them, even if only by sending a message.