Recently something made me consider that my prayers could outlast me, that my prayers may have an impact long after God takes me into His eternal heavenly kingdom.

Consider this verse regarding the prayers of Christ’s followers:

“And when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.” Revelation 5:8

I don’t know what I ever thought about what God did with my prayers once He heard and addressed them. Then I came across the thought that my prayers may outlast me, and my current study in Revelation brought the above verse into my thinking.

Revelation 8:3-4 also addresses the prayers of God’s people being brought before Him: “And another angel came and stood at the altar with a golden censer, and he was given much incense to offer with the prayers of all the saints on the golden altar before the throne, and the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, rose before God from the hand of the angel.”

Psalm 141:2 helps to connect the prayers of God’s people, aka Saints [Every true Christ follower is a Saint.]: “Let my prayer be counted as incense before you, and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice!”

I think that the two verses from Revelation might cast some light on the thought that our prayers are effective longer than we are in these earthly bodies.

For example, might it be that my prayer for the salvation of someone gets answered after I go to Jesus. If that is the case, then my earthly life prayer outlasted my earthly existence. 

I find this rather exciting and invigorating in my prayer life. This motivates me to be more attentive to the content of my prayers. I want my prayers to outlast me. I want my prayers to have such meaning that their answers have eternal significance in people’s lives. 

This doesn’t mean that I don’t talk with God about matters concerning this life. Of course, those are important, because they might have an impact on eternal matters. What I’m learning from all of this is the significance of increasingly praying by the leading of the Holy Spirit, because He knows what I should be asking the Lord about.

The Revelation verses remind me that my prayers are being brought into the majestic and awesome throne room of our great Creator God. 

God wants to hear our prayers.

God wants to answer our prayers.

Prayer requires concentration.

Prayer requires commitment to the things that matter to God.

Prayer requires the Holy Spirit to lead and guide us. 

Prayer requires knowledge of the truth of the word of God.

Consider this verse: “God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” John 4:24.

What do you learn from John 4:24? 

How do you think this connects with prayer?

In John 4, Jesus was addressing the woman at the well. A woman who needed His personal touch [As we all need.]. Jesus was helping her transition into a lifestyle of worship that was superior to what she had previously learned. He wanted her [and us] to understand that worship of our great God is a matter of the heart. It was not something only contained to inside of a temple [church building], and is for all people [Jew and Gentile].

Our hearts must belong to Christ, for true worship to take place. 

According to Jesus, as His followers, our worship of Him takes all of our being: “And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’’ Mark 12:30.

Prayer is one aspect of worship.

How do your prayers reveal your heart, your love for God? For people?

There are hundreds of prayers in the Bible. John 17 is my favorite on prayer, because it is Jesus praying for people, including us. 

Below is a list of prayers that you might study to discern ways to pray that will outlast your life:

Genesis 18               Abraham’s plea for Sodom.  

Exodus 15                Moses’ song to the Lord.

Exodus 33                Moses meets with God.

2 Samuel 7               David’s response to God’s promises.

1 Kings 8                  Solomon’s dedication of the temple.

2 Chronicles 20       Jehoshaphat prays for victory.

Ezra 9                       Ezra’s prayer for the people’s sins.  

Psalm 22                  A cry to God for help.  

Psalm 104                A prayer of praise.

Daniel 9                   Daniel’s prayer for the salvation of Jerusalem.

Habakkuk 3             A prophet’s prayer of acceptance.  

Matthew 6              The Lord’s prayer.

Colossians 1            Paul’s prayer of thanksgiving.

Please contact me if you want to talk about praying that outlasts our lifetime:  ButGodCares@gmail.com.

Living for Jesus, Donna

P.S. If this has helped you, please feel free to share it with others!

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Copyright 2024 Donna Shappy   All rights reserved.  No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means – electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any other – without the prior permission of the author.