Praying for Others
Praying for others may be an obvious thing to do, but I have often found that remembering to make it a priority can be challenging. If your prayer life is anything like mine, you may relate to the fact that a majority of my time in prayer is focused on “me, myself, and I.” Sometimes I get so lost in my own wants and needs that I forget the importance of lifting others up in prayer. Of course, we should always build up our relationship with God and bring our own needs to Him, but the Bible also teaches us that time spent in prayer for others is not time wasted.
God loves it when we give help to those who are in need. Acts 20:35 says that we must “help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how He Himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’” Is this not true when it comes to prayer as well? We are blessed when we pray for others.
“First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” - 1 Timothy 2:1-4 (ESV)
In just a few verses, we are given a lot of information about prayer, including examples of different types of prayer, who we should pray for, the benefits of praying for others, and how to pray according to God’s will. That’s a lot to pack in, so I think it would be beneficial to take a closer look at these verses. In addition to prayer and thanksgiving, we see the words supplication and intercession. Supplication carries a deeper connotation than prayer, and it is defined as "asking or begging for something earnestly or humbly; a deep plea in humility.” Likewise, intercession is defined as “the action of intervening on behalf of another.” When Paul tells us to make supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgiving for others, he is not saying that we should say a quick prayer for others as an afterthought. We should be earnestly and fervently appealing to God on their behalf! (Check out Acts 12:1-17 for a wonderful example of what can happen when we earnestly intercede for others).
These verses also give us direction on who to pray for - in short, we should pray for everyone! However, Paul also gives us special instruction to pray for our government leaders and for “all who are in high positions.” Despite what we think of our politicians, our bosses, our pastors, our teachers, etc., the best thing we can do is pray for them! Romans 13:1 says “there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God.” The Bible also says that our leaders will one day be held accountable to God for their actions (Hebrews 13:17). Our leaders could use our prayers, and when we pray for them, we benefit with a “peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way” (1 Timothy 2:2).
Finally, 1 Timothy 2:3-4 gives us a great example of how to pray according to God’s will. God desires that “all people be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth.” God is pleased when we pray for the salvation of others, and I can think of no better reason to pray for someone else. Not only should we pray for the salvation of others directly, but we should also pray for those in ministry and those who are spreading the good news of Jesus Christ.
“And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people. Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.” – Ephesians 6:18-20 (NIV)
“At the same time, pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ, on account of which I am in prison - that I may make it clear, which is how I ought to speak.” - Colossians 4:3-4 (ESV)
“Pray for us that the message of the Lord may spread rapidly and be honored…” – 2 Thessalonians 3:1 (NIV)
This article is intended to be more of a reminder than anything else. I realize that praying for others is probably something we can all agree on and that we have all done before, but do we consistently make room for others in our prayer life? How often do we pray for the people that we may not feel like praying for? Jesus said, “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” (Matthew 5:44). I’ve heard that verse many times in my life, but how often do I put it into practice? God often uses our prayers to accomplish His will. Prayer is powerful and effective (James 5:16), and God can use us in mighty ways if are willing to pray for those around us!
On a final note, I feel that I cannot write about praying for others without requesting the same prayers for myself. My goal in writing these articles is that I may proclaim the truth about who Jesus is and what the Word of God teaches us about living for Him. I could certainly use your prayers! I would like to make the same request that Paul did in Colossians 4:3-4, so if you are willing, please pray that God will “open a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ” and “that I may make it clear.” Thank you!