Monday Morning Manna: Pray it Forward

I pulled up to the drive-thru window at the burger restaurant with money in hand, only to be greeted by a smiling teenager saying, “Your meal has been paid for, sir.” When I asked for an explanation, I was told the person in line in front of me had paid for my meal and left a message to “Pay it forward!” I have no idea who was in front of me, or why they chose to pay for my meal, but I followed suit and asked how much the bill was for the person behind me in line, hoping they had not ordered double cheese burgers and giant sodas for their entire family. They had not, so I paid it forward and left them a message to do likewise. Interesting cultural practice. I have another idea. I have an e-mail based prayer team of several hundred people. (BTW, if you want to join that team, reply with your name and e-mail address and I will add you to the list.) I’m sure some, if not all, of them have prayed for me recently. So I’m going to PRAY it forward. I’m going to start through that list, praying for everyone listed there. Why not? First Samuel 12:23 indicates it is a sin to refrain from doing so – “Far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord in ceasing to pray for you” and that is just one verse instructing intercessory prayer. My friend and colleague, T.W. Hunt took the time to research, and discovered that 7/9 of the prayers in the Bible, where an answer was given, were intercessory prayers, that is, prayers prayed for someone other than self. Have you been prayed for this week? Surly there is someone who has remembered you in their intercessory prayer – a spouse, parent, grandparent, or friend? In response, you could pray for your family, your minister, your neighbor, or your friends. Why not PRAY it forward?

Dr. Dan Crawford, Senior Professor at Southwestern Baptist Seminary, is the WestCoast Baptist Association’s Spiritual Life & Leadership Mentor. Follow Dan on Twitter @DrDanRC and Facebook www.facebook.com/dan.crawford.