Unseen Prayer Partners

Matthew 6:6 (ESV)

But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

I want you to think about this. There are people praying for you… praying for me, that we don’t know about.  They don’t tell us.  They do what Jesus says here in Matthew 6.  But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret.  For me, that is a very humbling thing to remember.  Before I start patting my back about being a good preacher, or teacher or pastor – I need to remember that these unseen prayer partners are lifting me up in prayer.  If I really am any of those things – its not my doing.  It’s the fact that God in His grace is answering those secret prayers. 

This came to mind today because of something I read in a great book on Prayer by O Hallesby.  For my blog today I would like to share with you a couple of snippets from that book.

“The greater part of the work of intercession is, of course, done in secret; and work of this kind requires the expenditure of greater effort than work that can be seen by others.  It is astonishing to see how much it means to us to have others see what we do.  It is not only that we all have a great weakness for the praise of others, but the fact that our work is appreciated and valued is a remarkable stimulant to us.

Furthermore, we all love to see the results from our labors.  But the work of prayer is of such a nature that it is impossible for us always to know definitely whether what happens is a fruit of our own intercession or that of others.

Both of these facts call for a great deal of self-denial in connection with prayer.

That is why it is difficult for the Lord to get enough people to carry on this work.  It is easy enough to get people to preach.  Many are anxious to preach and offended if not asked to do so.  And we are asked to do so, are so zealous that when we once get into the pulpit it is difficult to get us out again.  But there are not many who are willing to take upon themselves the self-denying work connected with prayer, because it is neither seen nor appreciated by others.

You may perhaps have prayed for some unconverted people in your neighborhood, perhaps for many years.  Then a revival starts in your neighborhood, and the first one to be converted are the very ones for whom you have been praying so faithfully. No one besides yourself, however, knows anything about that.  You have kept it, as is right and proper, a secret between yourself and God.  Consequently, no one talks about what you have been doing.  But the name of the preacher who has spoken at the meetings is, on the other hand, on everybody’s lips.  All are loud in their praises of him and say, ‘My, what a great evangelist!”

My friend, when you begin to grow tired of the quiet, unnoticed work of praying then remember that He who seeth in secret shall reward you openly.  He has heard your prayers, and He knows exactly what you have accomplished by means of them, for the salvation of souls…

Though they lay unseen by others, nevertheless they are centers of spiritual power, and by their simple and persevering prayers they were  the chief supporters of the Christian work which was being done in their neighborhood, their community, their country and even to the ends of the earth. 

Every time I meet one of these unseen intercessors, I am reminded of a great electric power plant. They, too, are often hidden away in some secluded valley.  But they are, nevertheless, exceedingly important, a fact which we become aware of especially when they do not function.  When that happens, our homes are darkened, and our factories come to a standstill.”  P. 163-165

To all of you who are unseen intercessors, especially those of you who pray for me – thank you and thanks be to God.  Your work is important.  I may not know who you are, but you do, and so does the Lord Jesus.