Prayer
for Others
A survey run a couple of years ago suggests Christians
spend more time praying about their family and friends than for any other
prayer topic. Yet knowing what to pray and how to pray for them is not
always easy. here are some thoughts that may help.
Firstly, we shouldn't worry about how we phrase our
prayers. It can be easy to feel that our prayers need to be
word-perfect. and phrased in a quaint Olde English found in the King
James Bible and the old Prayer Books. God wants us to talk to him in
ordinary, everyday conversational language, and we can lift our prayers to
him without worrying about our gramar or getting the right phrases.
Our approach to prayer is more important the the words
we use. Initially we may begin praying by bringing a "shopping list"
of requests to God. In one sense, this is helpful - generally it is
good to be as specific as we can be. Although God knows the finest
detail of every situation, we should nevertheless ask God for specific
things. What those things are requires some careful thought. Our
aim should be to pray for what God wants for them, and the things that they
desire for themselves, rather than what we would like them to have, or to
be. This means that it can be quite helpful to give some space to God
during our prayer time, and ask God to place on our mind the particular
needs of the people we are praying for.
The Gospels tell us that when we ask for things in
Jesus' name then the Father will grant us our request. "In
Jesus' name" means things that are in accordance with God's will and
character - we can pray as hard as we like to win the lottery, but I judge
our prayer is unlikely to lead us to riches! Perceiving more and more
of God's character and nature will help us pray the things that are on God's
agenda, and away from the shopping list of requests that we may have started
with.
It is fine to pray for our basic needs, and Jesus
teaches us in the Lord's Prayer to as the Father for our daily bread, or to
satisfy our daily needs. It is probably unhelpful to pray for material
desires to be satisfied. Rather our prayer might focus on the
character of the person that we are praying for, asking God to make them
more like God, that they might grow in the fruit of the spirit: love, joy,
peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, generosity, faithfulness and
self-control.
As we pray it can be helpful to have a picture of the
person we are praying for in our minds. If your imagination finds it
difficult to picture people you pray for, why not build up a photo album of
people you pray for, and use this as a prompt to prayer.
"Most men pray for power, the strength to do
things. Few people pray for love the quali9ty to be someone"
R.D. Foster
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