Matthew 25:40 – “And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.”  NASB

I have a certain level of trepidation in putting the thoughts of my heart on paper and presenting them to a broad spectrum of readers.  I realize that, in some ways, what I am going to say may be misunderstood.  I have attempted to thoughtfully examine my heart and prayerfully present these thoughts for the purpose of bringing us all to a greater place of unity and understanding.  Will this do that?  That remains to be seen.

I want to begin by addressing prayer.  Yes, prayer!  I want to discuss specific situations and calls for prayer and how we assess different levels of importance to situations and people.  I have observed something in others and in myself that has been challenged by the Holy Spirit as I pray, study, and meditate on God’s Words and seek to know His heart. 

In the Body of Christ, I have observed intense calls for prayer and even fasting for people we deem important, valuable, and known.  That is good and biblical for us to unite in fervent prayer for the needs of people.  By the same token, if someone is lesser know or deemed to have a lesser ministry or importance, we offer a token prayer or even say, “Your will be done, Lord” and move on with little thought or concern.  That’s where the Holy Spirit arrested me and challenged my heart.

I see this as a condition that is revelatory as to what is happening in the world today.  I will get to that later, but first, let me continue in what my question is about the different weights and values we place on people.  Before you argue that you do not do that, do you feel compelled to join in united prayer for the well-known and not feel so compelled in the needs of someone lesser known?  Is the celebrity or person with the ministry deemed valuable more important to God than the little-known person in need?

When it is DEFCON 1 for some and Ho-Hum or Bless them Lord for others is that the heart of God?  Again, I am not questioning the massive and united prayer for those men and women we know are being used mightily of God.  That is good and I want it to continue.  But my heart is broken for that person who is little known, and a prayer request goes forth and elicits only token prayers.  Is that the heart of God? 

I’ve done it and recently I felt the Holy Spirit calling me to the witness stand and presented that reality to be and asked, “How Do You Plead?”  I wept and said, “Guilty.”  If God is no respecter of persons and desires that no soul be lost, how can we place more value on one than the other?  I realize that shutdown prayers for every need would shut down the church, our lives, and the world, so I am not saying we do that.  I am simply asking, “Are All Lives and All People Important to God?”  Is the life of that little-known person less valuable to them, their family, and God than the one with a measure of celebrity?  We know the answer but often seek to justify our response.

For years I have been troubled by a statement of Jesus in Matthew 10:37 and in this time of challenge, I came to a different understanding of it.  The KJV renders it “He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.”  Wow!  Could Jesus be telling us to hate our family in order to love Him?  NO! Ten thousand times no!

I ask that you consider Matthew 25:40, “And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.”  When I couple that with Matthew 7:21-23 something resonates in my spirit, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. ²² On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ ²³ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.”

We are the Body of Christ and individual members of that body.  We are individual parts like the hand, feet, eyes, ears, noses, mouths, lungs, hearts, etc.  Each part is important although some parts are far more visible.  I will even acknowledge that some parts are more vital for the life and function of that body than others, but all are part of the body and needed to make the body whole. 

I believe that Jesus was saying, “If you love me, truly love me, then you are to resist placing more value on certain people and deem them all part of the family of God and as you minister to and value them, you minister to and value Me.”  You may disagree.

I have sensed the LORD instructing me that the prayer requests that come my way were designed by Him with purpose.  I did not hear them by accident, and I am to value each need, especially when it is a prayer for life or death as equally valuable regardless of the status or celebrity of the individual.  As I value each person and allow each need to grip my heart I am valuing Him and therefore, I have determined to write down every prayer need that I become aware of and as I go through the day, take time to earnestly and urgently pray for that need.  They are part of the Body of Christ and I am part of the Body of Christ, therefore, in a sense, I am praying for Jesus’ Body and myself because I am part of the Body.

I believe that valuing anyone or anything more than another is to improperly discern the Body of the Lord and devalue Him.  That is true in the situations in our world today where we are told that this life or that life matters.  They do!  Every person who is a member of the human family matters and every soul is important to God. 

I have asked God to forgive me for unintentionally placing more value on some than others.  I do not know God’s ultimate purpose of those lives, but I do know His love for all of us.  Therefore, I am asking God to forgive me for being more moved for some whom I deem valuable than others that are lesser-known. 

I will urgently pray for the known and the unknown.  I will join in the DEFCON 1 calls for prayer for men and women who have been used of God powerfully and will make it DEFCON 1 in my heart for those needs God makes me aware of.  That will produce a lifestyle in which I truly begin to “Pray without ceasing.”  I will continue to do what I need to do and should do but will allow those needs to break my heart and in my broken heart cry out to God for their need. 

If this resonates with you, great.  If it does not and you deem me mistaken, then pray for me, I welcome the prayer!  

God bless you and have a fantastic day in Him!