Full Question
Why do we pray for the speaker or reader? Isn't their success really up to them, how much preparation they put in?
Answer
Conscientious speakers and readers spend a lot of time preparing for their tasks, and much ‘prayer and fasting’ goes into their work. When we pray, we add our prayers to theirs. By our prayers we support their prayers and their labours. The speaker’s individual prayer works together with the collective prayers of others, calling upon God to bless his effort. In many places Paul asks other brethren and sisters to pray for the success of his labours (for example, Ephesians 6:18; Colossians 4:2-4; I Thessalonians 5:25; II Thessalonians 3:1-2), and this is a good pattern for us to follow.
“The Valley of the Shadow”