And their supplication is for you, longing for you on account of the surpassing grace of God upon you. 2 Corinthians 9:14 BLB

And by their prayer for you, which long after you for the exceeding grace of God in you. 2 Corinthians 9:14 KJV

In 2 Corinthians 9:14, a group of believers are praying for another group. The Greek word translated to ‘longing’ here has the meaning of: to yearn, to dote upon, intensely crave, earnestly desire, greatly long. I have experienced many times in my life where I have been longing for something to change for someone else. At times I have wanted it more than that person. I have spent hours in prayer for this person or situation, earnestly wanting change. This longing, yearning is part of being a believer.

It is part of our duty as a believer to long for better lives for the people around us. One of the ways we should be doing this is prayer. In this scripture one church was praying for another; that is what we should be doing. Often we spend most of our time talking about one another, criticizing one another, gossiping. The world makes it easy to fall into that pattern. We as believers need to step up and begin to pray instead of gab. 

Here are a few additional scriptures about praying for others:

And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people. Ephesians 6:18

For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. Colossians 1:9

Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. James 5:16

In the first devotional this month we spoke about longing for worldly things and not longing for the presence of God. This devotional we take the same word but put it in the context of longing to pray for others, to see other lives changed for the better. I challenge you this month to find someone and ask them what they are praying for. Stand in agreement with them in prayer, long for them, earnestly desire for their prayer request. When believers start standing together in prayer, things change. I am longing for change in this world… earnest prayers are one of the answers.

Posted 02/15/2023