When you pray, the God of the universe is listening. Wow! Did you catch that? When you pray, the God of the universe is listening. He hears you, and He answers according to His will. What an amazing privilege to pray. And what an honor it is to pray for others.
So when you say to someone, “I am praying for you,” what do you pray? Here’s what one writer in the Bible wrote to some friends that he was praying for:
For this reason also, since the day we heard this, we haven’t stopped praying for you. We are asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding, so that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to Him, bearing fruit in every good work and growing in the knowledge of God. May you be strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for all endurance and patience, with joy giving thanks to the Father, who has enabled you to share in the saints’ inheritance in the light. He has rescued us from the domain of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of the Son He loves. We have redemption, the forgiveness of sins, in Him. (Colossians 1:9-14)
1. I am praying that you will know God’s will. To the Colossian church Paul writes, “We haven’t stopped praying for you. We are asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will.” Paul wanted the Colossian believers to know God’s will. He knew they needed wisdom and spiritual understanding. He prayed for this for them. God’s will is not hidden, and it’s not lost. God’s will is revealed to us in His Word, the Bible. Pray for people, that they will know what God’s will is.
2. I am praying that you walk worthy of the Lord. Paul tells them that he is praying that they “may walk worthy of the Lord.” This means that the things they say and the things they do are pleasing to Jesus. He prays that they bear spiritual fruit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness and self-control. He prays that they grow to know the Lord better, getting to know Him through faith and obedience.
3. I am praying that you will be strong! Paul prays that the Lord will strengthen them with His might and power. He prays that they will have patience and endurance during the trials and temptations of life. He prays they they will be ready to face persecution that may come because of their faith in Christ. He prays that they take time to thank God (more on that HERE) for spiritual blessings, for rescuing them from the domain of spiritual darkness, for offering them salvation (redemption!), and for forgiving their sins.
Hey, if you wonder what you can pray for me, these three things are a great place to start. What a privilege we have to pray for one another. I love it when I hear someone say, “I’m praying for you!”
I will be praying for you to strong as you walk in the will of our Lord.
Praying for you too, Eddie!
What great specifics. That are general! How did you manage that so well? (teach me?) Thanks!
I’ve found that if I can just teach the deep truths of Scripture in a common-sense, every day kind of way (which I tried to do in this post), then it helps me and others too. Thanks for the encouragement, T! Following Christ and relating to Him in prayer is a great adventure.
Thank you for doing these post from Col. on your blog..I’ve been uable to attend the Sunday Night service for the past two weeks…( taking care of my high maintenance child and grands)..with this blog I can still follow the lessons.
You’re welcome. Praise the Lord. We miss you when you’re not here, but glad you can read the posts to stay with the study of Colossians when you have to miss. ALL IN for Christ!