“Brethren, pray for us.” – 1 Thessalonians 5:25
Sometimes, if we’re honest, “Christianese” creeps into our everyday lives. What is Christianese? Christianese is slang for the certain way Christians tend to talk. There is almost a different language when you spend time in Christian circles. “Pray for me” is one of the phrases that gets thrown around flippantly in the church but is something that we should take very seriously. The reason we should take this phrase seriously is because the Bible takes prayer very seriously. We understand from the Bible that God, in His sovereignty, has chosen to limit His activity to the prayers of His people. So this is a massive privilege we have as believers. When we say, as Paul did here to the Thessalonians, “pray for us” or “pray for me,” we are inviting people to join in on God’s sovereign rule and reign over the universe! What a weighty and glorious responsibility! May we not flippantly throw this phrase around, but may we fervently ask for prayer from and join in prayer for our brothers and sisters!
Do you invite your brothers and sisters in Christ to join in God’s sovereign work by asking for prayer? When you tell people you are praying for them, do you actually do it?