It is often missed, but should be underscored: Paul needed the prayers of others (II Cor. 1:8-11). He was “despairing even of life.” At another low moment, he greatly benefited from the encouragement of Titus (II Cor. 7:6).
I have often shared the following to Christians who are so deeply troubled they can’t even muster the motivation to pray: Don’t worry. Simply ask others to pray for you. Give us the privilege of holding you up. You may need to return the favor someday!
Ah, I remember it well. I was fairly new in the faith (4 years) when my husband lost his job. I recall a friend saying, “I won’t even say that I will pray for you because your faith is so strong.” I didn’t even know what to say not knowing if it was a compliment or not.
On the other hand, more recently we moved to a new town; and, although I have no friends here, I do regularly attend a Bible study. When I needed prayer for a situation, without hesitating, I immediately called a leader in the group to pray.
In the middle of these two timeframes, years ago following the death of my mother (and soon thereafter the death of my father), I was in serious distress and couldn’t shake the sadness. (I was the first one in all of my friends who experienced the death of a loved one.) I ended up leaving the church body because it was so painful to sit in a service Sunday after Sunday in tears with no outreach. Subsequently I received a note from the pastor apologizing for missing the opportunity to minister to me especially because I had given so much to others in the congregation.
We certainly need to have our eyes and hearts open to others each and every day to meet needs because God tells us in several passages of Scripture to do just that. I share these experiences because I knew God was always with me, and I never doubted that; but, my days would have been a bit easier if I experienced the prayers of friends on my behalf.