Job 16:21
“O that one might plead for a man with God, as a man pleadeth for his neighbour!”
Job’s longed for someone to plead for him. During the lowest time of his life, his friends condemned him instead of praying for him. He was not as concerned with someone making his poor condition known to others as much as he desired for someone to plead his case before God. All Job wanted was someone who would plead his case in hopes that God would change his situation.
The word “plead” means to argue as in a lawyer defending their client and arguing their case before a judge. It means to reason or convince the one to whom you are pleading that their cause is worthy. Job’s desire was for someone to take his case and argue it in the courts of prayer.
We often hear the importance of having a prayer life. Many times our prayers are petitions that we bring to God about our own personal needs. There is nothing wrong with this, but your prayer life should include pleading the case of others. In other words, be as passionate about praying for others as you are about praying for your own needs. Take someone else’s case and pray for them with the same passion that you would pray for your own prayer. Let me give you some suggestions on how to argue the case of others in the courts of prayer.
First, you must get among people if you are going to learn their case. One of the reasons we don’t know the seriousness of the conditions of others is because we are not among them. It says about Jesus in Mark 9:36, “But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them…” How did Jesus learn the condition of the people? He learned it by being with them. You will never have a passion to pray for others until you see them in their time of need.
Second, set time aside to pray for others. It would be good to have a time when you specifically pray for others. Don’t use that time to pray for yourself, but use that time to pray for others. While you are praying for them, stop and think about their condition as you present it to God. Present it with the same fervor that you would want someone to have if they were praying for you.
Third, pray for others at the moment they ask you to pray for them. Oftentimes I will have people ask me to pray for their needs. Though I take their requests and pray for them later, I stop at that moment and pray with them. There is something about people taking the time to pray for a person at the moment they ask that helps them. Stop what you are doing and ask them if you can pray for them.
Fourth, when God brings someone to mind, take that as God’s reminder to pray for them. I have always thought that God reminds me of people because they need someone to pray for them. It always amazes me how God brings someone to mind at a time when I shouldn’t even be thinking about them, and I find out later that they were going through a tough time at that moment. Let God’s reminder cause you to pray for them. You may not know what their need is, but God certainly knows and can meet that need.
One of the greatest blessings you will experience in the Christian life is getting a prayer answered for others. Let me encourage you to be one who pleads for a man with God. This is what true Christianity is all about.