A Christian Epistle on Prayer

Thus, God commanded Abimelech, the King of the Philistines, to let Abraham pray for him so that he might live and not die (Genesis 20). In this biblical story, Abimelech had unknowingly taken Abraham's wife, Sarah, into his harem. God warned him in a dream that he would die unless the prophet Abraham interceded for him. And to the prophet Jeremiah, the Lord God says: "Seek the welfare of the city where I have caused you to be carried away, and pray to the Lord for it; for in its welfare you will find your welfare" (Jeremiah 29). Following this, St. Paul, in the aforementioned passage regarding the different types of prayer, exhorted that Christians should pray for all people, and also for kings and for all authorities, etc., even though they were being persecuted by them at that time, as many are still persecuted today.

Likewise, the man of God prayed for Jeroboam, who had stretched out his hand against him so that it withered, until it was restored as it was before. 1 Kings 13 original: "3. Reg. 13." In older Bibles, the books of Samuel and Kings were often numbered as 1-4 Kings. And the Lord Christ prayed for his crucifiers as an example for us, that we should pray for our enemies. St. Stephen did the same. Stephen was the first Christian martyr; as he was being stoned, he prayed for God to forgive his attackers.

We find much about intercession in the Psalms, such as Psalm 102: "Lord, may you arise and have mercy on Zion; for it is time that you be gracious to her, and the hour has come." In the same way today, all Christians should pray for the Christian church. Also, Psalm 80: "O God, let your hand protect the people of your right hand, and the people whom you have made strong for yourself; then we will not turn back from you; let us live, and we will call upon your name." And Psalm 85, where the prophet similarly pleads for God's wrath to be turned away and seeks grace. In Acts 12, prayer was made without ceasing by the community to God for the imprisoned Peter, until God rescued him from the hand of Herod.