Daily Prayer Guide ~ May 6 – Praying for others

Read:

John 17:15-21

My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. ¹⁶ They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. ¹⁷ Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. ¹⁸ As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. ¹⁹ For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified. ²⁰ “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, ²¹ that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.

Ephesians 3:14-19

¹⁴ For this reason I kneel before the Father, ¹⁵ from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. ¹⁶ I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, ¹⁷ so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, ¹⁸ may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, ¹⁹ and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

Consider:

The early church father,  Augustine, said prayer is “the soul’s articulation of its longing for God.” He went on , “In prayer, God increases our capacity for God’s gift of himself.” Prayer and spiritual transformation are deeply integrated. In fact, there can be little or no inner renewal apart from prayer.  It is in prayer, before God, where lasting sanctification of our lives occur. 

When Jesus prayed for his followers, including us, he asked that our lives would be changed more than the circumstances of our lives.  That our lives would be set apart from the rest of the world, purified and made sacred because of God’s truth.

Paul prayed many prayers for the believers in his first century ministry.  He was always thanking God for them, holding them up, asking God to strengthen them in their souls so they could live lives that would bless God and others.  He would bless them for their faith of Christ’s growing presence in them and their fellowship of love for one another and others around them. 

He would remind them that he was constantly praying for them, (Eph 1:16, Col 1:9, 2 Tim 1:3, 2 Thess 1:11) asking God to give them wisdom and knowledge of his will so they could live lives that would please God.  

He would pray that grace and holiness would grow in their hearts and minds; that they would live blameless lives worthy of the Lord and please him in every way.  Paul longed for his friends to grow in demonstrating love and knowledge of God’s truth, that they would have full understanding of every good thing that they have in Christ. (1 Thess 3:13; 1 Cor 1:8; Col 1:10; Phil 1:9; Eph 1:18-19; Philemon 6)

He prayed that his friends would be filled with Christ himself, bearing the fruit of righteousness and have a full measure of the fullness of God.  He longed for them to demonstrate the strength and power of God through their lives.  Paul prayed that their love would lead them to greater depths of knowledge of God and bring him glory and praise.  (Phil 1:9-11)

Praying this way for others changes everything for the lives of those we love.  Yes we are aware and concerned for the circumstances of their lives, but their souls hold the presence of God, who can use their circumstances to demonstrate his love, goodness, strength and joy in ways that bring peace and hope into their lives. 

As you and I pray for those we know, and know of, who are facing the challenges of Coronavirus and its effects, let us pray that they would be filled with all of who God is and what he can do in and through their lives.  May they experience his nearness and peace as they allow God to shape their lives to look like Jesus in their circumstances. 

Prayer: Father, We pray for our brothers and sisters who are facing the challenges that this virus has placed on their lives.  Some are ill, some have lost jobs and businesses.  For some, this ‘stay at home order’ has put new strains on their marriages, and families.  The anxiety some have experienced is creating fear and stress in their lives that is overwhelming their hearts. 

Father, we pray for our brothers and sisters that you would make yourself known to them in the midst of their circumstances.  May they experience your extraordinary presence that brings them strength in their souls to face their days.  May you bring understanding and clarity to their minds according to your truth that produces righteousness and hope. 

Father, may their love for you and Christ grow in their hearts and may that love be demonstrated in the ways they love their family and others in their lives and days.   May their lives, and our own,  bring you glory today as you set us apart for your purposes.  Amen.