For the past year, I have been routinely asked the same two questions followed by the same statement. Because I went “off grid” as they say in spy world, people ask me, “How are you doing?” and quickly follow it up with “What are you doing?” After a few minutes of conversation around those questions, they almost inevitably say, “I am praying for you.” The good news for me is that they mean it and I have spent the last difficult year being carried on the wings of prayers of hundreds of friends. I am fortunate to have that many friends who care deeply enough to pray for me. It set me to thinking. Who is praying for me? For that matter, who is really praying for any one of us?
In addition to friends and family, we are also prayed for by the “great cloud of witnesses” spoken of in Hebrews 12:1. What do you think those witnesses are doing? They are cheering you on and I believe they are interceding for you. We know from Revelation 8 that the prayers of all saints (which I assume means all, both the saints on earth and the saints in heaven) waft upward into the presence of God. So if the saints that have gone on pray and they are surrounding us, it only makes sense that they are interceding for us.
Secondly, it appears that there are specifically assigned angels who according to Matthew 18:10, “continually behold the face of my father” in heaven. The recipients of this prayer are the same little ones whom Jesus used to illustrate the proper posture for a believer, but I think you can make a case that each of us have an angel assigned to us who draws near to God on our behalf. For what other reason would that angel make eye contact with the Father than to pray for the saint to whom the angel is assigned?
As important as the prayers of the cloud of witnesses and the angels are, they pale in comparison to the rest of your prayer team. Did you know that our Savior, Jesus Christ, who Scripture says is sitting at the right hand of the Father as ruling, reigning Monarch of the Universe, has the specific assignment of praying for you? According to Hebrews 7:25, he ever lives to intercede for you. His primary job for now is to ask the Father for all your needs to be met. Since He and the Father are one and share the same will, how sweet is it to know that He is asking on your behalf for all that you need?
And if that were not enough, according to Romans 8:26, the Holy Spirit is praying for us. It tells us that even when we are so beaten, discouraged, and confused that we don’t know how or what to pray, the Holy Spirit intercedes on our behalf. This is in the same writing that tells us the Holy Spirit knows the mind of the Father and knows your mind. I can only assume that if the Spirit knows everything the Father knows and everything I know, He can adequately intercede for just what I need.
There you have it. Besides the friends and family that lift your needs into the heavenly places, you have quite a team praying for you. The great cloud of witnesses, angels, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit join together to cry out to God the Father on your behalf. Take comfort in that today!
Have you ever sensed the heavenly prayers on your behalf at a critical time? I am sure others would be encouraged to hear about it in a comment.
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PeteTackett.com 
Wow, what beautiful thoughts with such comfort. Sometimes it's so easy to feel "all alone" when faced with challenges or problems and there is such (admitedly often self-inflicted) pressure to stay strong and just "deal with it". But, you're right, with such a prayer team on our side w're never are alone. Thanks for sharing this perspective Pete.