The one another commands

Pray for One Another

A command of Christ for his church · James 5:16

Pray for one another is the call to carry each other constantly to God in prayer, believing that it truly avails. James says, pray one for another, that ye may be healed, and adds that the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. To pray for a brother is one of the greatest gifts we can give, and one of the most neglected.

Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.James 5:16 (KJV)

What this command means

To pray for one another is to bring each other before the throne of God, asking his mercy, help, and healing for our brothers and sisters. James joins it to confession and healing and then makes a bold promise: the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. Our prayers for each other are not empty words but powerful requests God delights to answer.

This is intercession, standing before God on behalf of another. It is love turned Godward, doing for a brother the one thing that reaches where our own hands cannot. When we cannot fix or heal or change a situation, we can pray, and prayer moves the hand that moves everything.

Why it matters for the church

Prayer is the church's lifeline for each other. There are troubles no counsel can touch and needs no help can meet, but nothing lies beyond the reach of prayer. A praying church surrounds its people with a power greater than any human aid. We are never more useful to a struggling brother than when we are on our knees for them.

Mutual prayer also binds hearts together. It is hard to be indifferent to someone you regularly carry to God, or to stay divided from someone you are praying for. Intercession weaves the family of God together in love, and it invites God's own power and healing into the whole body.

Intercession is one of the few things we can do for anyone, anywhere, at any time. When distance, circumstance, or our own limits keep us from helping, prayer still reaches. Epaphras is remembered for labouring fervently in prayers for his brothers, and Paul constantly told his churches he was praying for them. The bond of intercession holds the family of God together across every separation.

How we fail at it

We fail simply by not doing it. We promise to pray and forget, or we treat prayer as a last resort after every other option fails. We are quick to worry, to advise, and to discuss, and slow to actually intercede. Many needs in the church go unlifted before God because we never got around to praying.

We also pray faintly, without faith or fervency, going through motions we do not expect to matter. James speaks of effectual fervent prayer that avails much. When we pray for each other listlessly, doubting it changes anything, we forfeit much that God stands ready to give through believing prayer.

How Christ enables it

Christ himself intercedes for us, and this is the ground of all our praying for each other. He ever liveth to make intercession for us, praying for his own by name as he prayed for Peter that his faith would not fail. The Spirit also helps our weakness and intercedes for us with groanings that cannot be uttered.

Because Christ prays for us, our prayers are heard. We come to God through him, in his name, welcomed at the throne of grace by his blood. Our intercession for one another joins the great intercession he is always making. We pray with confidence not in ourselves but in him who prays for us all.

How to live it

Actually pray, and pray specifically. When you say you will pray for someone, do it then and there, or write it down so you will not forget. Keep a list of the people and needs God has laid on your heart, and carry it faithfully to him.

Pray with faith and fervency, expecting God to work, because he has promised such prayer avails much. Ask others to pray for you, and tell them honestly what you need. Let intercession be a steady rhythm of your life, so that the family of God is constantly held up before the throne of grace.

Actually pray, and pray specifically, rather than merely promising to. When you tell someone you will pray for them, do it then and there, or write it down so the need is not forgotten. Keep a list of the people and burdens God lays on your heart and carry it faithfully to him. Pray with faith and fervency, expecting God to act, because he has promised that such prayer avails much. Ask others to pray for you as well, and tell them honestly what you need rather than hiding behind a brave face. Let intercession become a steady rhythm woven through your days, so that the whole family of God is continually held up before the throne of grace by people who love them enough to keep praying.

Related commands: Confess to one another · Bear one another's burdens · Care for one another · All the one another commands