Loving Others Through Prayer - All Our Daily Bread Daily Devotionals for 2026

Bible in a Year : Job 20-21, Acts 10:24-48

Far be it from me that I should sin . . . by failing to pray for you.
1 Samuel 12:23

Today's Scripture & Insight : 1 Samuel 12:19-25

“I don’t know where I’d be today if my mum hadn’t prayed for me. I don’t think I’d even be alive,” my friend Rahim related. He was a former addict who’d spent time in prison for drug distribution. Over coffee one day, he shared the difference his mother’s prayers had made in his life. “Even when I disappointed her so badly, she kept loving me with her prayers. I was in a lot of trouble, but if she hadn’t prayed for me, I know it would have been worse.”

The Old Testament account of Samuel tells another story of someone who showed faithfulness to God and others through prayer. On the day Saul was crowned as king at Gilgal, the prophet Samuel was also disappointed. The people had placed their faith and hope for their future in a monarchy instead of in God.

As the people gathered, God displayed His displeasure through an unseasonable storm that terrified them and made them regret their decision (1 Samuel 12:16-18). When they pleaded with Samuel to intercede for them, he replied, “Far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord by failing to pray for you” (v. 23).

Samuel’s response reminds us that praying for others is a way of keeping God first in our hearts and lives. When we love others by praying for them, we open the door to witness what only He can do. And we never want to miss that.

By: James Banks

Reflect & Pray
How does consistent prayer help you to keep God first? How will you pray for others today?

Strong Saviour, thank You for praying for me. Please help me to follow Samuel’s example and love others with my prayers today.