The Bible clearly calls us to a life of prayer that includes praying for others. The apostle Paul wrote to Timothy:
Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for
all men, for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and
reverence. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and
to come to the knowledge of the truth.… I desire therefore that the men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands,
without wrath and doubting. (1 Tim. 2:1–4, 8)
This passage of Scripture tells us for whom we should pray.
We should pray for those who have authority over us. This includes political leaders, as well as judicial,
social, and economic leaders. In praying for those who exert leadership in our communities and nation, we should
pray that, first and foremost, they have a strong reverence for God and His commandments. We need leaders who will
openly acknowledge the sovereignty of God. Then, and only then, will our leaders make decisions, pass laws, and
give legal opinions that will allow us as Christians to live in peace and to have an optimum amount of opportunities
for sharing the gospel.
We should pray for those who do not know the Lord or have an understanding of the truth. We have a strong
commission from God throughout the Scriptures to pray for the lost. Jesus said to His disciples, “The harvest truly
is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest”
(Matt. 9:37–38). If we are to see the lost come to Christ, we must pray for the lost and pray for laborers to be
sent to them. A laborer is anyone who is capable of helping a person discover the love of God that is manifested
through Jesus Christ, His only Son.
Can you imagine what a different world we would live in if the vast majority of any community truly had an understanding
of the truth and came to know the Lord? The crime rate would decrease, volunteer programs that benefit the needy
would soar, cooperative efforts for good would abound, drug and alcohol use would diminish, businesses would become
more productive, neighborhoods would be friendlier … the list of benefits is virtually endless!
Elsewhere in the Scriptures we find two more categories of people for whom we should pray.
We should pray for the body of Christ. We need to be praying for believers who are being persecuted,
those who are lukewarm in their faith, those who are cold and who are in rebellion against God and have doubts
about the Scriptures, and those who are in material or physical need. Paul persistently prayed for those in the
churches he helped to establish.
We give thanks to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you, since we heard of your
faith in Christ Jesus and of your love for all the saints.… We also, since the day we heard [the news of your faith],
do not cease to pray for you. (Col. 1:3–4, 9)
In his letter to the Colossians, Paul gives a clear outline of how we are to pray for our fellow believers.
If you have ever wondered how to pray for other Christians—especially those you may not know very well—here is
Paul's list of prayer requests. We should pray that they
• be filled with the knowledge of God's will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding.
• walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him.
• be fruitful in every good work and increase in the knowledge of God.
• be strengthened with all might, according to God's glorious power.
• have all patience and longsuffering, with joy.
• give thanks to the Father who has qualified them to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light.
(See Col. 1:3–12.)
In his letter to the Ephesians, Paul asked the church to pray for him “that utterance may be given to me, that
I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel” (Eph. 6:19). This is the same way we should
pray for our pastors. We are to pray that God will show them what to say, give them boldness to say it, and help
them to speak with clarity so that the gospel is no longer a mystery. We also must pray that our church leaders
will stay faithful to the Lord, keep His commandments, and be given the strength to withstand the temptations and
assaults of the devil.
We are to pray for those who persecute us. Jesus taught that we are to deal with our enemies in a very
specific way: “Love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those
who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven” (Matt. 5:44–45).
As long as we harbor hatred, bitterness, and resentment toward our enemies, we are not trusting the Lord to
deal with them as He wills, but rather, only to deal with them as we will. When we pray for our enemies
with an attitude of forgiveness and love, then God is free to deal with them with His omniscient, omnipotent love.
He can cleanse their hearts. He can heal them and make them whole—that includes, of course, their having a good
relationship with us.
The benefit of all these prayers, the Bible says, is that we may be allowed to live Christian lives that will
flourish, prosper, and be fulfilling. If our persecutors are silenced, our leaders are godly, our churches are
led by Spirit-filled men and women, and the lost are being won to Christ, then the body of Christ will expand and
develop in wonderful ways. We truly will be allowed to live quiet lives in godliness and reverence.
Furthermore, we change even as we pray for change in the lives of others. Often as we pray for others,
God shows us ways in which we need to adjust our attitudes, move toward others with love, or soften our behavior.
We must remain open to God's dealing with us, even as we pray for our enemies.
• How do you feel when you pray for others?
• In what ways are you being challenged in your prayer life?
• What new insights do you have into these Scripture passages about how you should pray for others?
1 Timothy 2:1–3, 8
Matthew 9:37–38
Colossians 1:3–12
Ephesians 6:18–19
Matthew 5:44–45
• Have you had an experience in which you prayed for God to change another person and He required you to
change as part of the process?
Principles for Effective Intercession for Others
Each of us has had an experience in which we have prayed for other people and have not seen any results. When
that happens, it's easy to get discouraged. Rather than give up on our intercession, we are wise to review our
lives to see if we need to alter something in our own lives so that our prayers will be more effective. Here are
six key principles for effective intercession:
1. Our prayers must flow from a heart filled with love, compassion, and forgiveness. Our prayers are
not effective if we have hearts filled with bitterness, resentment, or anger. In praying for others, make your
first prayer a prayer for yourself that you might have God's love and compassion for others, and that you truly
might forgive them fully.
2. We must recognize that our prayers are the link between another person's need and God's inexhaustible
resources. As we pray with a pure heart for another person's need, God acts on that person's behalf. The responsibility
to pray is an awesome one. He expects us to see needs and to pray about them. When we do not pray, others remain
in need. The problem may not be their lack of faith or lack of relationship with the Father as much as it is our
lack of prayer.
As you pray, ask the Lord to reveal to you the true needs of a person, not just the superficial or symptomatic
needs. Ask Him also to reveal to you the greatness of His love and power and desire to meet those needs and to
bring the person to wholeness.
3. We must identify with the need of the other person. Compassion is feeling the full depth of another's
need. We must be willing in our compassion to get under and help carry the spiritual burden of the other person.
This is one of the main reasons we must pray that the Lord will reveal the deepest level of need in the person's
life. When we see people as truly hurting, bleeding, and agonizing on the inside—when we see them with the eyes
of Jesus and we recognize that we, too, have those same needs at our deepest spiritual level—our compassion is
released. We pray with a new degree of understanding and depth of emotion.
4. We must always desire the highest good in another person's life. The person's highest good may not
be what the person in need is requesting, or what we at first think to pray. When we say to the Father, “I want
what's best for this person,” we must never add an “if,” “and,” or “but” to our prayer. We must take our hands
off the person and let God put His hands on him or her. This is very difficult to do, especially for parents who
are praying for their children.
God may or may not reveal to us what His highest good is going to be for another person, but we can make it
our prayer nonetheless. We do not need to know the full potential for blessing in another person's life in order
to trust God to bring it to pass. Ultimately, God's highest good is wholeness. Jesus said repeatedly to
those who were brought to Him, “Be made whole.” Wholeness includes vibrancy and life in every domain: spirit, mind,
body, emotions, relationships, and finances.
5. We must be willing to be part of the answer in meeting the other person's need. When you pray for
another person, and you are not willing to be used by God to meet that person's need, God will not hear your prayer.
You are actually voicing your prayer with a desire for isolation and separation—which is self-centeredness—not
with a desire truly to be a part of the greater body of Christ. Jesus touched lepers, the unclean, the desperately
sick, and the dead. He never backed away from people who came to Him in need or passed them on to someone else
for healing and deliverance. We are to follow His example.
6. We must be willing to persevere in prayer. We must keep on praying for others, regardless of whether
we see immediate results. The longer we pray for a person with compassion and a desire to see God make that person
whole, the more tightly our hearts will be knit to him or her. Prayer binds us together with a spiritual glue that
is stronger than anything humankind can ever create. It is a bond that will last into eternity.
• Recall a time in your life in which you experienced great need. How did you feel? How did you want others
to pray for you?
What the Word Says
These things I command you, that you love one another. (John 15:17)
What the Word Says to Me
What the Word Says
The prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be
forgiven. Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. (James 5:15–16)
What the Word Says to Me
What the Word Says
My God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Jesus Christ. (Phil 4:19)
What the Word Says to Me
What the Word Says
Jesus had compassion and touched their eyes. (Matt. 20:34)
What the Word Says to Me
What the Word Says
Love suffers long and is kind … bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. (1
Cor. 13:4, 7)
What the Word Says to Me
• Have you ever had an experience of genuine, compassionate, loving prayer for others? How did you feel?
What were the results?
• What new insights do you have into God's call to pray for others?
• In what ways are you being challenged in your prayer life?
A Challenge to Pray for Others
I challenge you today to ask God to reveal to you three people for whom you should pray. Ask Him to show you
three people who are suffering great pain or heartache. Ask Him to give you His love and compassion for those people
and to show you ways in which you might help carry their spiritual and emotional burdens, as well as ways in which
you might be of assistance to them in practical ways.
Then, begin to pray for them. Ask God to make them whole, beginning with their deepest needs. It is not enough
to know how to pray for others. What is required of us is that we actually do so.
From Talking With God: Discover New Insights to Help Deepen Your Prayer
Life by Charles Stanley. Copyright 1997 by Charles Stanley.
