It is fantastic that we have the privilege of bringing our requests to the Creator of the universe. It is believable that God would allow us to worship Him and extol His goodness and omnipotence, but to realize that the Almighty God of the universe allows us and even encourages us to bring our needs to him is fantastic. Yet that is precisely what we discover throughout the pages of Scripture.
And He will yet deliver us, you also joining in helping us through your prayers, so that thanks may be given by many persons on our behalf for the favor bestowed on us through the prayers of many.
2 Corinthians 1:11
Several great truths about prayer.
First, notice that we can help and assist others in achieving positive results in their ministry through our partnership in prayer. The Apostle Paul acknowledged the assistance through prayer from the church in Corinth. He identified that God had delivered them from terrible situations, even what he called the “sentence of death” (v. 9). God hears our prayers. He will answer our intercession for the needs of ministers working far from where we are praying. God’s prerogative is to bless them by answering our prayer requests on their behalf. In this process, we become team members of their ministry.
Secondly, the answers to prayer ignite thanksgiving to God. The result of our teamwork is not higher praise of ourselves, but rather a multiplication of the worship given to God. We know the frontline workers for the gospel, and many gifted preachers may be famous within the Christian community. But we will not be mindful of the prayer warriors until we reach heaven–the prayers directly impact the ministry’s success, and God answers the requests. In this pattern of ministry, God will receive the praise and glory for his answers to the prayers, and we will rejoice and worship Him together in heaven.
Thirdly, we note that there are two groups of the “many” in this verse. God is pleased to have groups of “many” people coming to him with requests. When you gather together and pray for a minister’s needs, you represent the first group of many that Paul is referencing. You are the “Interceding Prayer Warriors.” God expressed in Matthew 18:20 that “Where two or three have gathered together in My name, I am there in their midst.” He is present with them, listening to the requests. Paul is anticipating God’s deliverance because many of the believers in Corinth would gather in prayer.
A fundamental goal of White Fields ministry is to encourage “many” of you to gather in prayer for the requests of our pastors. We collect reports from pastors worldwide, translate these prayer requests, edit them for clarity, and then share them with our prayer partners. We believe that God is pleased when “many” people seek His guidance regarding the needs of these pastors. This practice demonstrates our faith in God’s ability to answer these requests, even from a distance. Ultimately, He receives the glory, as the answers come from Him and not from our own efforts.
The second group of the “many” is on the other end of the prayer request. These are the people experiencing the answer to the prayer, which results in them giving thanks to God. To help our humanness, God has placed us in the middle of the prayer process. If God just provided for the needs, but there was no prayer involved, we might not recognize that it was God providing the deliverance and solutions. However, by bringing our requests to God, He receives the glory when the prayer is answered.
Abudu (pictured on the left) was a man Stephen Wheeler met on the first trip to Uganda in 2015. He became a dear friend and eventually came to faith in Jesus Christ, and he rejoiced with me that we would one day spend eternity in heaven together with our Lord. Our team was touring a property led by Pastor Onesimus, our Field Director. We were discussing whether we were prepared to purchase the lot and start a church. At one point, the older gentleman who had been following us asked why I was there. I needed to quickly pray and ask God, “Are we ready to start this church?” The answer came quickly, and I told him we are here to start a Christian Church. That is when he hugged me and expressed, “I’ve been praying for you to come!”
We may be distant from the needed answers to prayers we send out, but God has a way of hearing and answering them. To illustrate this connection, I’d like to share an experience I had. I was in the Philippines just a few hours after sunrise when I called my wife, who was standing on the beach in San Diego, watching the sunset. As we spoke, she mentioned that the sun had just dipped below the horizon. I replied, “I’m looking at the same sun right here, and it is rising in the sky.” It struck me then that prayer is similar to this experience. Someone in another part of the world might be facing tremendous struggles—like the sun setting, making their world feel dark. However, I can pray to our Heavenly Father (who I see as high in the sky), and He will answer those requests. When that answer comes, many people on the receiving end give thanks to God, recognizing that God has provided for their needs.
I refer to this essential aspect of the ministry as Intercessory Teamwork.
I hope you will join us in bringing the prayer requests to our Lord.