PC | Day Four: Praying for Others
It's OK to be specific and personal when talking to God
Welcome to Day Four of the 5-Day Prayer Challenge!
We have prayed simple prayers.
We have prayed with God’s words.
These are just to be stepping stones that lead you into deeper prayer about more complex things. I hope that you are getting the idea that not every prayer needs to be a deep, gut-wrenching prayer. Nor does a deep, gut- wrenching prayer need to be a long prayer. We are learning to pray as the moment calls for it.
Today we going to talk about praying for others.
We noted early on in 1 Timothy 2:1 that all types of prayer are to be made for all men. That leaves no one out. We are even to pray for our enemies
(Matthew 5:44).
When we pray for others, it is not gossip. God knows you and them. When you pray for others, pray to their benefit and not to elevate yourself (Luke 18:9-14). But you absolutely can speak truth about others – good or bad – in prayer; David did in Psalm 4 and Psalm 28.
The difference is praying for them and not ABOUT them and always being humble yourself.
Paul prayed to God about other people often. Yesterday we looked at Ephesians 1:15-23. In this scripture, we see Paul telling the Ephesians the things He expressed about them to God in prayer. His gratitude for their good hearts and his hope for their growing in wisdom. Jesus prayed for the disciples in John 17:1-26. Jesus offers praise to the Father and recognizes the promises that have kept through Him. He then moves on and spends a LOT of time praying for the protection and care of these men He is leaving in the world to be His ambassadors. We cannot pray this prayer – we are not God and cannot claim any of the things Jesus can claim. BUT we can imitate His intentional thought and deliberate asking for things on their behalf to provide for them.
Reading Jesus’ prayer always makes me feel so cared for! His care for those disciples carries forward to us as well. He knows what we deal with and what we need. Isn’t that awesome to know?
So, what can we pray to God about about someone else?
It depends upon who they are.
The lost, we should pray for their hearts to seek and find the truth so they may access salvation.
We should pray for evil to stop and Satan’s influence to be less.
We can pray for healing – body and soul.
We can pray for understanding – that we have it towards someone else and that they seek to have understanding about God’s will and those around them.
We can pray for their righteous desires. I can pray for the married couple who desires to have children. I cannot pray for my married friend to find someone better than the husband she has decided she no longer wants to be wife to.
We can pray for the forgiveness of another’s sins – which is really praying that they realize their sin and ask for forgiveness.
We can pray for their protection from evil and temptation.
We can ask that their basic needs be met.
Basically, anything you can pray for yourself, you can also make intercession for another.
There are times when others cannot even pray for themselves. As their friend and one who wants what is best for them, you can offer up a prayer on their behalf.
Then, just like Paul, tell them you are praying for them. Offer to pray with them. If they are struggling to find the words, help them.
OK – your challenge today is to use the forms you received yesterday to write a prayer using Ephesians 1:15-23 as your model.
This will look a little different than writing Psalm 100. After writing out the scriptures, make a list of what Paul indicates that he prayed about and for the Ephesians. That list you will then use to write a prayer.
You can write a prayer about one person using as many of the things Paul used as possible.
You can write a prayer and try to attach each of the statements he makes to one person you know. So, one person you are thankful for their obedience to the gospel. One person you hope will grow in knowledge and truth. One person you hope will come to understand God’s power so they will become a Christian or live the life of a Christian again.
Share in the comments the ways you came up with to pray for others.
Enjoy!
Here are your downloads for this lesson:
Day Four Lesson and Challenge PDF
Basic Prayer Worksheet from Lesson One if you prefer this layout