Who Are You Praying For?

“Will you pray for me?” It’s a common question among Christians. When we’re going through something difficult, or we have something coming up which is uncertain (after all, what isn’t uncertain in life?) we ask our brothers and sisters to pray for us.

When we pray for others, our tendency is to pray for blessing, safety or some kind of breakthrough. Certainly when someone tells us they are going through a difficult time, we bring them before God to ask that He would intervene and bring about a change in their situation. But what if that’s not always God’s will for that person?

Paul begins his letter to the Colossians by telling them that he is regularly praying for them, and he goes on to tell them how he is praying for them.

So we have not stopped praying for you since we first heard about you. We ask God to give you complete knowledge of his will and to give you spiritual wisdom and understanding. Then the way you live will always honor and please the Lord, and your lives will produce every kind of good fruit. All the while, you will grow as you learn to know God better and better. We also pray that you will be strengthened with all his glorious power so you will have all the endurance and patience you need. May you be filled with joy, always thanking the Father.

Colossians 1:9-12a

Notice the things he prays for:

• Knowledge of God’s will
• Wisdom and understanding (leading to a life that honours God)
• Strength, endurance and patience
• Joy

This is a church which exists during a time of great persecution, and yet Paul doesn’t pray for their safety. He doesn’t pray for an end to the persecution. He doesn’t pray that they will be blessed. He prays that they will know the will of God for them, that they will have wisdom to live lives that honour God and produce good fruit, and that they will be able to endure whatever trials they are facing.

We believe in a God who can do the immeasurably more – a God of healing and breakthrough – but we also know both from the Bible and our lived experience that He doesn’t always heal and He doesn’t always bring breakthrough. In fact, the times when God will step in and miraculously shift a difficult situation are not all that common. More often, God wants us to journey through the difficult situation – to endure – knowing that He is right there with us all the way. He is more concerned about the journey than the destination.

Have we become too focused on the destination in our prayers? In our Pentecostal theology of breakthrough have we forgotten that we serve a God who calls us to endure?

It’s really important that we pray for one another. To pray for a brother or sister is one of the greatest acts of love we can offer. What if we prayed for our brothers and sisters the way that Paul prays for the church? Rather than always asking for an instant change to their situation, let’s first ask God for insight into His will for their life. Let’s ask Him to help them endure, to keep walking with Jesus in spite of the pain, to hold tight to Him who is holding tight to them.

We can’t pray for everyone, but every one of us can pray for someone. So who are you praying for, and who is praying for you? I encourage you to connect with someone in the church family and offer to pray for them every day, and ask them to do the same for you. Share your burdens with one another, pray into each other’s situations, and be encouraged as you do this!

Who are you praying for, and who is praying for you?