“Father, please bless his life, I ask you. ” Did you pray like this for someone?I have, and it still seems unsatisfactory and insufficient. “Is this the best prayer I can say for him?”Sometimes I wonder, “I shouldn’t be more specific. “
When I say such a general prayer, I often tremble at the resemblance he has to the champion of all generalized prayers: “Please bless all missionaries everywhere. “
- Honestly.
- Without any teaching on the subject.
- I doubt that a disciple of Jesus will pray well for other Christians.
- But I believe that intercession for others is something every Christian should want to improve.
Christian responsibility
Believers receive an order in James 5:16: “Pray for one another. “In the immediate context of the passage, mutual intercessions include “being healed. “It is a paragraph about praying in faith for the sick.
But the rest of the New Testament makes it clear that Christians’ responsibility to pray for one another is not limited to praying for the sick. On several occasions, the Apostle Paul asks, “Brothers, do you pray for us?(See, for example, 1 Thessalonians 5. 25; 2 Thessalonians 3. 1). His letters to the churches bear witness to their prayers for them (see Ephesians 1:15-23; Colossses 1: 9-14). Even Jesus Himself asked for the prayers of Peter, James, and John in the garden of Gethsemane (Matthew 26. 38, 40-41).
One of the four main features of the church in Jerusalem after Pentecost was that it “persevered [?] In prayers?(Acts 2. 42). Could anyone doubt that these community prayers included much prayer among them?”
While intercession for others became more common among believers after Pentecost, it was not uncommon in the Old Testament period. For example, the prophet Samuel assured his Israelite brethren: “Far from me the idea that I sin against the Lord for lack of prayer for you?(1 Samuel 12. 23).
Since carrying the burden of others in prayer is particularly Christian, how should we pray for one another?Although each situation has its own specificities, here are three ways to pray correctly for other believers.
Pray Paul’s Prayers
Whenever you want to intercede for a brother or sister in Christ, you will never do anything wrong by praying the words the Apostle Paul inspired himself to use when he prayed for other Christians.
It’s always good to pray, for example, that people have
the eyes of your heart are enlightened, to know what is the hope of his vocation, what is the richness of the glory of his inheritance in the saints and what is the supreme greatness of his power to those of us who believe, according to the effectiveness of the power of his power; who exercised in Christ, resurrecting him from the dead and making him sit to his right in the heavenly places (Ephesians 1:18-20).
In Ephesians 1:15-23 a wide variety of prayers can be found for others who glorify God and focus on Christ; 3,14-21; Philippians 1. 9-11; Colossses 1. 9-14; 1 Thessaloniki 3. 9-13 and 2 Thessaloniki 1. 13-14.
Pray for other bible passages
Not only can you pray the prayers of Ephesians, you can pray the whole letter. So can you ask the Lord to help your brethren walk, worthy of the vocation to which you have been called?(4,1). After insisting for a moment on this thought, you can continue to pray for your “humility and meekness, with patience,” and then to support each other in love (4. 2).
Keep praying in this way through the rest of Ephesians 4 until you reach the end of the chapter or your time is up. It is possible to pray the entire Bible in this way, but the New Testament letters are particularly well suited for this. In addition to them, I particularly recommend turning the psalms into prayers.
Pray that God may be glorified
Have you ever had a strange time when a Christian friend asks you to pray for him and you’re not sure what he wants to ask for is a good idea?Here is something that is never inappropriate to ask in such situations: may God be glorified in this matter.
In John 14:13, Jesus promised, “Everything that you ask in my name, I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. “In all circumstances, is it appropriate to pray that the Father may be glorified?Them.
Let us pray for each other and pray biblically
By: Donald Whitney. © 2016 Ligonier. Original: Pray for each other
This article is part of the March 2016 edition of Tabletalk magazine.
Translation: Joel Paulo Aragono da Guia Oliveira. Critic: Yago Martins. © 2016 Faithful Ministérium. All rights reserved. Website: MinisterioFiel. com. br. Original: Let’s pray for each other.
Authorizations: You are authorized and encouraged to reproduce and distribute this material in any format, provided that the author, his ministry and translator are no longer no longer modified and not used for commercial purposes.