Does Your Life Have A Ripple Effect?
Does your life have a positive effect on others? Would you like to discuss this with someone?
Imagine you are camping with your family by a big lake. You’ve cooked dinner over the fire and now you are relaxing around the campfire roasting marshmallows and eating s’mores. There is no wind and the lake is perfectly still looking like a mirror reflecting a beautiful sunset. After eating the s’mores, the kids decide to throw rocks into the lake. They are captivated with the ripples they are making in the water, having a great time seeing who can make the biggest ripples.
Dad comments to Mom that the ripples the kids are making when throwing the rocks in the water remind him of the affect our prayers can have on others. Our intercessory prayers for our family members, friends, co-workers and others to enter into a personal relationship with Jesus Christ will have a ripple affect. They will affect their lives and the lives of those with whom they come in contact, even future generations.
In my family archives I found a letter written by my great-grandfather in Poland to my grandfather who had immigrated to America. In the letter, he wrote that he was praying for my grandfather, his children, and grandchildren. It has been a blessing for me to see, in writing, that my great-grandfather living in Poland had prayed for me when I was a small child. My great-grandfather’s prayers had a ripple effect on my grandfather, my father and on me.
We might be surprised how our prayers for our friends, neighbors, co-workers have a ripple effect on their lives and the lives they touch. When we introduce someone to Jesus Christ and he or she invites Him into their life, that person will have an influence on their families and others. We will never know many people they will influence for Jesus Christ in their families, neighborhoods, workplace and beyond.
Another way we can have a ripple effect is how we live our lives. As we seek the Lord ourselves and invest time, energy, and effort in our own walk with the Lord, we will have a ripple affect on our families and relationships.
In Psalms 128:1 and 2 it says, “When we walk with the Lord and follow his ways, we will enjoy the fruit of our labors and our lives will be rich”. Let’s deliberately pray for our loved ones, walk with the Lord and follow his ways then we will see the ripple effect, just as our kids enjoy the ripple effect from the rocks they throw into the water. We will enjoy the fruit of our labors and be richly blessed when we see God at work in the lives of others. We may not see the answers to our prayers during our lifetime but they will be in God’s storehouse and have a ripple effect.
Dear Lord I want to follow your ways so my prayers and the way I live my life will glorify you and have a ripple effect to my loved ones and those with whom I come in contact. Help me to be sensitive to the needs of others so I can pray for them and encourage them in their walk with you. Amen.
Questions: Do you pray intentionally for your families, neighbors, co-workers, friends, pastor, Missionaries etc? Do your prayers or the way you live your life have a ripple effect on others?
About the Author Lillian Penner
yes i pray every day for my family and friends and thank God for all of them too
Cherie, I am so happy to hear that you enjoyed the devotional on the ripple effect.
In January, our pastor did a series called “Who Am I?”. This caused me to question who do people see when they look at me. Do they see me or do they see Jesus? As I prayed and studied, I really began to examine the ripple affects in my life and how I could improve their effectiveness. I have learned that deliberate prayer is effective in the lives of others but it has also improved my life. I am more focused on the words I use not only in prayer but also in everyday situations. This devotional is a great reminder to be very specific in prayer and our “fruits” will glorify God.