Wherefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus, and love unto all the saints, cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers. Ephesians 1:15-16
During the broadcast of a recent hockey game, the commentators mentioned that one of their long-time cameramen was not with the broadcast team for that game. They noted that the man’s wife had just died, after a battle with cancer. The commentators expressed their condolences, and one of them noted, ‘Our thoughts and prayers are with him at this time.’ We can be surprised sometimes at who mentions praying for others. Even in the world, mention of praying for others is considered a kindness, even if it is only a mention. As Christians, we deeply appreciate when other Christians tell us that they are praying for us, especially when we are going through a trial or are facing a crisis. Among all that we do for each other, prayer is the most important, and accomplishes far more than we ever realize. But what about praying for an entire Assembly, as Paul notes in our text he is doing daily for the Assembly in Ephesus? Actually, it must be highly important, because this is not the only Epistle where Paul mentions praying for them.
To the Christians in Rome, Paul spoke of ‘without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers’ (Romans 1:9). To the Christians in Corinth, Paul declared, ‘I thank my God always on your behalf’ (1 Corinthians 1:4). He assured the Christians in Colosse, ‘We also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you’ (Colossians 1:9). And, to the Christians in Thessalonika, he assured them, ‘We give thanks to God always for you all, making mention of you in our prayers’ (1 Thessalonians 1:2). Only in his epistle to the Galatians is Paul’s mention of prayer missing. How much the Christians in those localities must have appreciated Paul’s interest in them and in how they as an Assembly of the Lord’s people were doing, and in his deep exercise to take them daily before the Throne of Grace! How much good Paul’s prayers for them accomplished we will never know. Just as we will never know how much good our prayers are for our own company of believers, as well as for other Assemblies.
We can, and should, pray daily for our own Assembly as a whole, just as we do for each of its members. We know the issues that our company faces, the important activities that are coming up, the challenges and difficulties facing our leaders, and so forth. And we need to bring these before the Lord. We won’t have all that information when it comes to other Assemblies. But what we do know, we should pray about.
Like Paul, we will never know how much good our prayers accomplish. But like Paul, we should continue to pray, and continue to let them know that we are praying for them. -Jim MacIntosh