Seven Powerful Prayers for Those You?Love
Have you ever paused to consider what you pray for when it comes to the people you love most? This question can be surprisingly revealing. It brings to light not only the depth of our care for others but also the priorities that shape our prayers.?
The Importance of Praying for Those We?Love
Prayer is one of the most profound ways to express love and concern for those closest to us. Through prayer, we invite God’s infinite wisdom, power, and love into the lives of our friends, family, and neighbors. Yet, despite knowing this, many of us struggle to remain steadfast in our prayers for others. The distractions and demands of daily life often pull us away, leaving us with a thousand reasons not to pray, even when we have countless compelling reasons to do so. Sometimes, the most important reminder we need is simply to stop and pray for the ones we love.
What Should We Pray?For?
When we do pray for our loved ones, the content of our prayers matters greatly. Too often, we settle for prayers that are less than what God desires for us. We might focus on earthly concerns?—?health, safety, success at work, or the protection of our relationships. These prayers, while important, may not reflect the deeper, spiritual needs that we should be lifting up before God.
If we look to the prayers of the apostle Paul as a model, we find a different approach. Paul’s prayers were less about changing circumstances and more about spiritual growth and transformation. By praying in this way, we align our desires with God’s greater purposes, and in doing so, we may find ourselves more eager to pray for those we love.
Why Do We Pray for?Less?
Tim Keller notes in his book Prayer that it is remarkable how Paul, in all his letters, never prays for a change in circumstances for his friends. Instead, Paul’s prayers are focused on their spiritual well-being. This might make us question why we often default to smaller, circumstantial prayers rather than the larger, deeper, and more enduring spiritual prayers.
One reason is that smaller prayers come more naturally to us. It’s easy to pray for health, safety, or success because these are things we all naturally desire, regardless of our spiritual state. However, the bigger, more spiritual prayers?—?prayers that reflect Paul’s heart?—?require the Holy Spirit to open our eyes to the deeper needs of those we pray for.
Another reason is that answers to our biggest prayers often take time and are less immediately visible. For example, when we pray for someone’s healing, we might see results within days or weeks. But when we pray for someone’s spiritual growth or protection from temptation, the answers may unfold over years, sometimes in ways we cannot easily see.
Big prayers demand more grace, more faith, and more effort because they require us to trust in God’s unseen work in the hearts of those we love. While the answers to these prayers may not always be immediately apparent, they have the power to transform lives in ways that will echo into eternity.
Seven Prayers to Transform Lives
The apostle Paul’s letters offer us a rich treasure of prayers that we can adopt as our own. These prayers are powerful because they focus on the spiritual growth and well-being of others. Here are seven prayers, inspired by Paul, that we can regularly pray for those we love.
1. Open Their Eyes Wider to God’s?Presence
One of the most loving things we can do for others is to pray that they would experience more of God. Paul’s prayer in Ephesians 1:15–18 is a beautiful example of this:
“I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened.”
Paul prays that believers would not just know about God but that they would truly experience and enjoy His presence. This is a prayer we can offer for those we love, asking God to open their eyes to His love and grace in deeper and more profound ways.
2. Fill Their Hearts with Love for?Others
As our loved ones grow in their love for God, we can pray that this love overflows into their relationships with others. Paul’s prayer in Philippians 1:9–11 reflects this desire:
“It is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.”
Paul doesn’t take for granted that believers will naturally love one another well. He prays earnestly for God to cultivate a love that is both discerning and overflowing. This prayer is especially powerful for our family members, friends, and church community.
3. Teach Them the Wisdom of God’s?Will
To walk in a manner worthy of the Lord requires more than just desire?—?it requires divine wisdom and understanding. Paul’s prayer in Colossians 1:9–10 is a request for just that:
领英推荐
“We have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God.”
This prayer is a reminder that we need God’s guidance to navigate life’s challenges and opportunities in a way that pleases Him. We can pray this for our loved ones, asking God to fill them with the wisdom they need to follow His will.
4. Give Them Boldness to Share the?Gospel
Jesus commissioned us to make disciples of all nations, and this mission requires boldness. Paul’s prayers in Colossians 4:2–4 and Ephesians 6:19–20 reveal his deep desire for the courage to proclaim the gospel clearly and boldly:
“Pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ…that I may make it clear, which is how I ought to speak.”
When we pray for our loved ones, we can ask God to give them the words, courage, and opportunities to share their faith. This is a prayer for God to work not only in their hearts but also in the hearts of those they encounter.
5. Provide Them with Faithful?Friends
The Christian life is not meant to be lived in isolation. Paul’s longing to be with other believers, as seen in 1 Thessalonians 3:9–10, highlights the importance of fellowship:
“We pray most earnestly night and day that we may see you face to face and supply what is lacking in your faith.”
For our loved ones, we can pray that God would surround them with faithful friends who will encourage and support them in their walk with Christ. Healthy, godly relationships are vital for spiritual growth and perseverance.
6. Protect Them from Spiritual Attacks
As our loved ones grow in their faith, they will inevitably face spiritual opposition. Paul’s request in 2 Thessalonians 3:1–2 for deliverance from wicked men is a reminder of the spiritual battles we face:
“Pray for us, that the word of the Lord may speed ahead and be honored…and that we may be delivered from wicked and evil men.”
We can pray for God’s protection over our loved ones, asking Him to guard them against the attacks of the enemy and to lead them not into temptation but deliver them from evil.
7. Glorify Jesus Through Their?Lives
Finally, we can pray that God would use our loved ones to bring glory to Jesus in all that they do. Paul’s prayer in 2 Thessalonians 1:11–12 is a powerful way to conclude our prayers:
“To this end we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power, so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him.”
This prayer asks for God’s strength and power to be at work in their lives, so that everything they do brings honor to Jesus.
Thanking God for His?Work
As we pray these prayers, we should also be on the lookout for God’s answers. Paul frequently thanked God for the spiritual growth he saw in others, as in Philippians 1:3–5:
“I thank my God…because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now.”
When we see evidence of God’s work in the lives of those we love, it should inspire us to thank Him and continue praying with even greater faith and hope.
By adopting these seven prayers, we not only deepen our own spiritual life but also invite God’s transformative power into the lives of those we hold dear. These prayers are not just for today but are seeds that can bear fruit for eternity.