PRAYING FOR ONE ANOTHER

08/10/2023

"Therefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers..." (Ephesians 1:15-16)

Some of the most efficacious prayers you can pray for saints, including yourself, are found in the Pauline epistles. In today's theme scripture, we find that praying for the saints was an integral aspect of Apostle Paul's prayer, and it would benefit you to incorporate the same into yours. 

So what exactly did Paul pray about for the saints, and why? The Bible tells us he prayed "that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him..." (Ephesians 1:17). In essence, he prayed that God would grant the saint skillfulness and insight on how to know the Lord intimately. What this means is that there is a skill and insight required to knowing the Lord intimately, and what separates one believer from another are these two abilities. 

Ephesians 1:18-19 explains why we should pray for saints like this. The Bible says, "the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may 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 exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power..." The reason we pray for saints is so that their hearts or inner beings may be enlightened to know the hope of God's calling on their lives, individually and corporately (corresponding to the congregation of which they are a part); that they may become aware of the vast inheritance set apart for them individually and corporately (corresponding to the congregation of which they are a part); and that they might become acquainted with the exceeding greatness of His dynamic miracle-working ability. 

Now, with the fulfillment of these three reasons in the life of any saint, irrespective of the stage of their development, much of the work to fast-track maturity is dealt with by praying this way. 

So, if you have won any souls in the course of the year or the Lord has brought certain people into your life for you to disciple for Him, pray for them with this prayer. Pray for yourself, too, in this manner.

God bless you.

Faith-Filled Confession

I collaborate with the Lord to pray for the establishment of His saints, including myself, that He would grant us skill and insight in the intimate knowledge of Him and that our hearts would be flooded with light so that we are able to grasp our callings, inheritances and the exceeding greatness of His miracle-working ability earmarked for all who believe in Him. In Jesus' name. Amen.

ONE-YEAR BIBLE READING PLAN: Psalm 88-89; Romans 10

Prayer Point

Pray for the Partners and Residents 

 Eph. 6:18-20, 2 Thess. 3:1, Rev. 3:11*

Declare that they are continually stirred up from the inside to carry out their responsibilities with faith and joy. Pray for their increased zeal and passion for soul-winning and the work of the ministry and that all their efforts are rewarded with excellent results.

Declare that they are focused on what has been entrusted to them and diligently follow instructions given. Pray against every form of distraction and negative influence. Pray that their minds are stayed on the Spirit, and the work of the ministry prospers in their hands.