One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.” (Luke 11:1)
We should all find comfort that the disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray. They likely felt the same struggles in their prayers that we do: superficial prayers, mechanical, thoughtless prayers, prayers stuck in a narrow scope of concerns, or even prayers that are misaligned with the priorities of what God is doing in the world.
I feel this in all kinds of ways, but certainly in how I pray for others.
How easy is it for our prayers for others to focus on physical safety, healing, and success in their endeavors? I often fall into the simple, generic prayer to “bless” so and so. I tell people I’ll pray for them, but never do. It’s not that many of these are wrong to pray for, but are these the most important and intentional ways we can pray for others?
We would all benefit from sitting in the school of prayer and allowing Jesus to teach us to pray, particularly how we pray for others. And what if we can?
The Bible gives us a rich resource to train us how to pray by giving us model prayers, telling us the bigger story, revealing what God is doing in the world, and much more.
No one blog post could exhaust all that the Bible has to say on the topic, but here are three things to consider as you pray for others:
1. Keep the bigger story in mind.
We should pray that God would heal, protect, and bring success, but we also know in God’s bigger story that he sometimes leads us into sickness, suffering, and failure in order to do more important work in our lives. The Bible tells us to expect hardships and suffering in this life until comfort arrives in the life to come. And it tells us that the suffering allowed in this life is used for our good. If we know this is true, then when we’re praying for others, we don’t merely pray for the suffering to stop, but for it to do its work in someone’s life to wake them up or to shape them to be more like Jesus.
It’s not wrong to pray for deliverance from suffering, but you can add Jesus’s words, “Not my will, but yours be done” and pray for faithfulness through whatever suffering he allows.
2. Use these tools to stretch what and who you’re praying for.
One way to learn how to pray is by letting the prayers of the Bible stretch how you pray for others. Here’s a list of several models:
- The Lord’s Prayer (Matthew 6:9-13)
- The High Priestly Prayer (John 17)
- Paul’s Prayers for the Ephesians (Ephesians 1:15-23, 3:14-21)
- Paul’s Prayer for the Philippians (Philippians 1:3-8)
Another way you can stretch in what you pray for others and who you think to pray for is to use one of the many wonderful prayer resources out there.
Here are a few I’ve benefitted from:
- 5 Things to Pray series
- Canyon Road by Kari Reeves
- Handbook to Prayer by Kenneth Boa
- Lectio 365 prayer app
3. Pray shorter prayers more frequently.
It’s easy to say, “I’ll be praying for you” and then forget about it without ever praying. One discipline I’ve tried to implement in my life is instead of texting someone "I will be praying for you," I’ll stop to say a prayer for that person at that moment, then text them that I did pray for them.
If I have a lunch appointment or coffee with someone, the car ride back to the office or back home is a good time to pray for them. The car can be a great place to pray for people. Before turning on the podcast, Spotify, or the radio, say a quick prayer for whoever comes to mind. Saying quicker prayers throughout your day can increase the time you spend praying for others more than merely having a longer prayer time when you have a devotional.
Prayer doesn’t always come naturally. Paul’s description of the way his friend Epaphras prays for the Christians in Colossae is helpful: “He (Epaphras) is always wrestling in prayer for you, that you may stand firm in all the will of God, mature and fully assured.” (Colossians 4:12)
Praying for others can feel like wrestling… a labor that takes discipline, habits, and intentionality which can be tiring. But it’s worth the effort if we really believe that God works through our prayers in people’s lives. It might be the most important thing we can do for someone. Isn’t that worth learning to do more effectively?
Want more helpful tips on how to integrate prayer into your life? Get the step-by-step on how to hold a prayer meeting and why it can be beneficial to your community!
