prayers of the martyrs

We hear from St Eusebius today in A Year with the Church Fathers. He talks about what the martyrs went through in their lifetimes, and how statues don't commemorate their lives, but the church remembers what they did.

But he mentions in passing that it's a good idea to ask for their prayers. And we read in the book of Revelation how the prayers of the saints are a very important, powerful aspect of eternity. We can request their prayers when we are battling sin. St Eusebius tells us that one of the reasons that the martyrs were able to accept their deaths and hold their lives so lightly was because they battled sin in their lifetimes, and won.

So the martyrs know what it's like to face sin. And they know what it takes to win out over sin. So the next time we face temptation, asking for the intercession of the martyrs might just give us the strength and perspective we need to overcome.

God, thank You for giving us the resource of the prayers of the martyrs to help us become more like them.