Every August, the FMSC Board of Directors sets aside one day to fast and pray together. We invite you to join us in spirit on August 25, as we intentionally refocus our eyes on the source of our strength and purpose: Jesus Christ. As a global body of Christ, we’ll praise God for His power and provision — through all challenges — and lift before Him our mission to feed kids, feed spirits and empower communities.

In preparation for this dedicated day, FMSC Pastor and Organizational Consultant Laurel Bunker shares the following reflection on the power of prayer.

“And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ — to the glory and praise of God.” — Philippians 1:9–11

Several years ago, my family and I, in an effort to serve one another better, took an inventory to determine our “love languages”. The inventory came from a book called The 5 Love Languages by Gary Chapman that essentially reveals to you, and those around you, the way to your heart and affections.

My love language is time, as in time spent together with those that I love. My eldest daughter has the same primary love language as me. For my husband, it is words of affirmation, meaning that he is built up and encouraged when positive things are spoken to him. When it was time for my youngest daughter to share her love language, she smiled and said, “Of course it’s gifts.”

If we’re honest, most of us like to receive gifts. It makes us feel thought of and special. But have you ever thought of prayer — someone actually taking the time to pray earnestly and consistently for you — as a gift?

The Apostle Paul, like our Master, Jesus, was a praying man. He prayed regularly and consistently for the church, the body of Christ, for new converts and for church leaders. Oftentimes his prayers were for endurance under pressure and persecution, which was rampant in many places during the establishment of the church. Other times, as we see in this prayerful passage coming from Philippians, Paul prayed for something else.

“lovers of God and lovers of others, servants of the Most High God”

Here we see that Paul is praying that the church (read all of chapter 1 for context) would grow in knowledge, wisdom and insight. In other words, Paul is asking God to help them see in the natural and in the spiritual who they are called to be and what they are called to be — lovers of God and lovers of others, servants of the Most High God.

Many of us are faced with daily challenges and difficulties that can get us down and wear us out. Like the early church, you may find yourself in perplexing situations in which you need wisdom and understanding that supersedes our own. I want you to know and believe that you are being prayed for, earnestly, by many people around you.

And I want to challenge you to pray for others as we pray for you. It doesn’t have to be hard or scary. Choose a person, perhaps your spouse, a co-worker, a ministry partner, your supervisor or someone else that you may or may not know and pray for them. In fact, pray this portion of scripture for them.

Here’s one way to do it. The blank is where you insert the person’s name:

“Lord, I pray that ______’s love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that _____ may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ — to the glory and praise of God.”

“The Lord will provide”

As you pray that prayer or others that come mind, trust that God who is Jehovah Jireh, meaning “Lord Will Provide” will indeed provide the wisdom, revelation, trust, faithfulness and strength necessary for that person to walk uprightly in all of the affairs of their lives. Pray that God will be their shield, righteousness and foundation today and in every day that is to come. As you lift them in prayer before “Him is able to keep [all of us] from falling and to present us before the throne of God without a single fault” (Jude 1:24) trust that God shall move in, through and by His Holy Spirit.

Great power is made available when you pray!