Whose responsibility is prayer, mine or others?

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Prayer for some reason is not a popular topic today, however the lack of it is the root cause of many of our problems.  There is nothing wrong in asking others to pray  for us, however we all have a responsibility to develop our own prayer lives. 
 
We are instructed in scriptures in so many places to pray:

 Luke 18:  1 
  And he spake a parable  unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint;
 
James 5; 13
 Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms.
 
 These are a few scriptures that require us all to  pray.  As Christians we MUST develop our prayer lives, not to do so can
be very costly.

In scripture, when Jesus was praying just before the crowd came to arrest Him He took, Peter, James and John along with Him.
 
Matthew 26: 37 -  45
 37 And he took with him Peter and the two sons of  Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful and very heavy.
 38 Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding  sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me.
 39 And he went a little farther, and fell on his face,  and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me:
nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.
 40 And he cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them asleep,and saith unto Peter, What, could ye not watch with me one hour?
 41 Watch  and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.
 42 He went away again the second time, and prayed,  saying, O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it,
thy will be done.
 43 And he came and found them asleep again: for their eyes were heavy.
 44 And he left them, and went away again, and prayed  the third time, saying the same words.
 45 Then cometh he to his disciples, and saith unto  them, Sleep on now, and take your rest: behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son
of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners.
 
From this account, the Lord wanted Peter, James and John to watch with Him. But what did they do? Sleep.  Have you ever been through a time where you thought others will pray along with you, but all they did was take it lightly or sleep figuratively!.  This is why we all  need to develop our own prayer lives. But you say, l am getting tired, as l have  been through so much!. Ask the Lord for strength, and He will strengthen you!.

Another lesson from this is can be found  in verse 40/ 41 Jesus finding Peter  asleep said, Watch and pray that ye enter not into temptation.  
  
The account of Luke  addressees this statement to all of them 

Luke 22:  40
 And when he was at the place, he said  unto them, Pray that ye enter not into temptation.

 
This makes is clear that they had to take responsibility for themselves to pray so they do not enter into temptation. It is their responsibility to pray. In the account in Matthew, the Lord addressed the question to Peter in particular. I think it is safe to say that this was because  of the temptation that lied ahead for Peter. He ended up denying the Lord!. What  would have happened if Peter had prayed!
 
From this account, sometimes things do happen  because we do not pray.  Yes others  can pray for us, just as Jesus had prayed for
Peter:

 Luke 22: 31-  33
  31 And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat:
 32 But I  have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted,  strengthen thy brethren.
 33 And he said unto him, Lord, I am ready to go with thee, both into prison, and to death.

 In summary, its wise that we all develop our  prayer lives. That way the Lord can call on us to intercede and pray for others.
We will also deliver ourselves from so many mis- happenings when we begin to pray.
 
The honest truth is we cannot always rely on others to take the responsibility of our prayer life. Sometimes there is only so
much other peoples prayers can do for you, you have to pray yourself!



Bisi  Oladipupo

  * Recommended books on prayer:
 Praying with  power and purpose by Dutch Sheets.
 Getting in God  face by Dutch Sheets