English 
繁體中文 
简体中文 
Pray for what you Need, Receive what you Need and Share Everything You have
I was studying abroad and in my fourth year in college. I met a lot of brothers and sisters who were also going to the same school. Over there, the semester is very long: sixteen weeks. Then there were four weeks of final exams. So basically, those four weeks, we would wake up, study; we eat lunch, study; eat dinner, study, and then go to bed. Growing up in California, I was not used to this kind of schedule, because the quarter system is just ten weeks of classes and one week of finals… and you’re done.
So, during that month, a brother went around and asked all the classmates (the brothers and sisters), when their final exams were. On a chart, we filled out when our finals would be. I asked him, “What is this chart for?” He said, “Oh! We pray for each other when we see other people having exams… and when it’s not our exam time, we pray for that brother or sister so that God will be with them. Or, if the next day, someone is having an exam, we will pray for them during the night before.” So, I thought, “Oh! That’s something new! We never do that in the United States!” I don’t think we care about how our brothers and sisters do in their exams. So, I thought, “Oh! They have a lot of love.” Then, I understood, when I went through this, myself.
So, when I kept studying until one point, my brain was so full that I couldn’t study anymore. I was so exhausted. There was so much pressure, and I felt that I had no more strength, and I felt that I just wanted to give up. So, I just lay down and thought to myself, “I’ll just do nothing and give up.” And then, I fell asleep. But, soon after, I suddenly felt this hand; there was a big power pushing me up to a sitting position from my bed. When I woke up, I felt like I had so much power, so much energy, and my brain was so clear. And then, suddenly, there was a power of intercession. Immediately, I thought, “Whoa, someone is praying for me,” because I never felt that kind of power, before, like someone pushing me up from that lying-down position. I was so amazed!
Though I didn’t know exactly, who prayed for me, I learned that intercession was so powerful. I was so appreciative of that person. Even though taking exams may not be a big deal in the eyes of God, because His priority is to save us and to give us eternal life… but because out of love, my brothers and sisters prayed for me, I received so much strength and power from their intercession. From this experience, I learned that if I am too weak to pray for myself if I want to give up and I ask someone to pray for me, and they pray for me out of love and sincerity, then I can actually receive a lot of strength. And, vice versa. If we hear that a brother or sister is so weak that they want to give up, and if out of love and sincerity we pray for them, they will receive so much strength.
God wants us to love one another and praying for each other. And I know that I can stand here today because a lot of brothers and sisters prayed for me.
I moved to the United States when I was thirteen. My sister Lulu told my parents, “Do not bring them to the United States; they will turn bad!” Then, after a few years, when I was maybe at the end of high school or during college, I asked my mom, “Mom, do you pray for us every day? Because, I noticed that I have a lot of freedom here in the United States, but I have no desire to do anything bad. I feel like I am living in, like, a bubble.” She said, “Of course I pray for you every day.” I said, “Oh! That’s why!” So, from learning from my mother, I know now that we should always pray for one another.
“And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain; and it did not rain on the land for three years and six months.”
Here’s my encouragement to you especially for those in a moment of emotional and spiritual drought. The more you have, the more you’ll use it for God, the more you’ll be given. And if you have very little, and you still don’t use it for God, then it will be taken away. Go ahead and testify how God helps us help one another.
Join us on this pursuit of praying for one another to cope and thrive through college, career or any challenge in life by taking the first step in attending our service at our church located as follows:
4N550 Church Road
Bensenville, IL 60106
Google Maps
For online streaming, please click here.
For regular service hours, please click here.
Email us at ilovejesus@tjc-chicago.org