Articles
Praying for You
Song number 309 in our hymnal has the following words as the chorus:
For you I am praying,
For you I am praying,
For you I am praying,
I’m praying for you.
We need to pray for one another. When we pray for one another, it helps train us to think outside of ourselves. In this way, we are following Jesus, who did not look out solely for his own interests, but also for the interests of others (Philippians 2:4).
Jesus prayed for His disciples. John 17 shows Jesus’ true concern for His followers. On this occasion, Jesus prays that they would be faithful and unified. This gives us an example of praying for those for whom we have great love and concern.
This is carried forward in the life of Paul, who frequently prays for the churches with which he is involved. More than we might realize, Paul mentions prayer in his letters. At times, he writes about prayer. Other times, he seems to be praying for the church within the letter itself. There seems to be great overlap between Paul’s inspired instruction to the Christians and his prayers for the Christians. There are many examples of this, but for the sake of space, we will only consider one section of Scripture below.
For this reason I too, having heard of the faith in the Lord Jesus which exists among you and your love for all the saints, do not cease giving thanks for you, while making mention of you in my prayers; that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him. I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the boundless greatness of His power toward us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and made Him head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all. (Ephesians 1:15-23)
Jesus prayed for His followers. Paul prayed for the churches. We need to be praying for one another. Everybody needs prayers. This week, let us spend time praying for one another. We may not know what is most needed in the life of another. But that’s ok. God knows.
