What do you pray for?

For our Daily Walk Bible reading I started on Romans yesterday morning and Paul's prayer in 1:9-12 stood out to me in a way I had never thought of before.

While I don't know exactly what Paul said during his "day and night" prayers (1:9, NLT). Nor do I exactly know what their "needs" consisted of it does seem clear from this and other prayers Paul wrote (see Eph. 1:15-23 and Phil. 1:3-11 as examples) that his prayers are somewhat different from the things I might say or hear today. 

Specifically, Paul focuses on the spiritual needs that he sees as opposed to only the physical needs.

I wonder ...

What would happen if I spent more time praying for the spiritual growth and wisdom of my fellow believers and the Church rather then just focusing on the never-ending litany of health-related prayer requests?

Now certainly, God cares for our physical bodies as clearly seen by Jesus' words in Matthew 6:25-34 when he tells his disciples, “do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear.” And certainly we see that Jesus had compassion on those who longed for healing as was most obvious in his willing healing of the leper in Mark 1:41. Our God is a God who sovereignly knows and cares about our lives, whatever might be going on, and he wants us to bring those requests to him (see also Mt. 7:7-12; Lk. 11:1-13 and 18:1-17).

With that said though I wonder…

Should we pray for more than just our health issues and the obvious things in the physical realm? Shouldn't we be as concerned with what happens in the spiritual realm?

Paul's prayers challenged me to reconsider how much of a focus I put on the physical needs and to, instead, also consider how I can pray for the spiritual needs. So that, for example, “the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better” (Eph. 1:17, NIV).

How about you? What do you primarily focus on in your prayers? 

Prayers of the People using the book of Acts 1-9

Today’s Prayers of the People are inspired by the first 9 chapters in the book of Acts which was our last three days worth of readings in the DWB.

Let’s us come before our Holy God with a reverent heart. Let’s pray…

ADORATION:

O Sovereign Lord, you are the Creator of heaven and earth. And by your creative genius you made all things that fly in the air, that roam on the land and that swim in the sea (4:24).

You alone are our Father and you alone have the authority to know the days and time (1:7) when you will send us Jesus to restore all things just as You promised long ago through your holy prophets (3:20-21).

CONFESSION:

Until that day, pierce our hearts with your holiness and by your holy word (2:37). Help us to be like those early followers who recognized their sin when they heard the word of God preached.

We ask that you would pierce our hearts with conviction from the Holy Spirit for those things we have done and the things we have left undone. Help us to confess these sins now to you in a time of   SILENCE.

ASSURANCE:

-Gracious God, help us to repent of our sins and turn to you (2:38).

-If we have not been baptized, lay on our hearts a desire to do this publicly (2:38) so that we might recognize that we are dead to sin and alive in Christ.

-Remind us of the assurance we have that “everyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved” (2:21)!!

THANKSGIVING:

-Thank you that “there is salvation in no one else” but Jesus for “God has given no other name under heaven by which we must be saved” (4:12).

-Thank you that you raised Jesus from the dead (2:32).

-Thank you that Jesus is “standing in the place of honor at God’s right hand” (7:55).

-Thank you for the promised Holy Spirit who fills us and gives us power to live and to be a witness for you (1:8).

-Thank you for the wonderful things You, O Lord, have done (2:12).

-Take a moment to reflect and give thanks for the wonderful things God has done.

SUPPLICATION:

-Father I pray for the believers here at CVC, the believers in Crozet and around the world, that we would be like the early church who devoted themselves to the teaching of your Word, to fellowship, to sharing of meals, prayer and living sacrificially for one another (2:42-47; 4:32-37).

-Gracious God, give our leadership and our Pastor here at CVC vision and wisdom as they attend to the needs of the church (6:1-6).

- Just like the lame man healed through Peter (3:1-11) and later through Philip (8:5-8) we ask, O Compassionate Healer, for your healing hand on those we name now.

-Lord we pray for boldness in our witness and especially for the My Hope Billy Graham event that is happening this Wednesday night. May many people come and intently hear the good news of Jesus Christ (8:4).

-Powerful God, we also know that you have the power to change the hardest of hearts who are causing the most harm to the church today. We saw what you did to the Apostle Paul on the Damascus Road (9:1-19) and we pray you would do similar acts on those international leaders and dictators who breathe out hatred on our Brothers and Sisters in Christ around the world. Strengthen the persecuted church and bring to salvation those leaders in: the Maldives, Iran, N. Korea and others.

-Father, hear now our other SILENT requests that we bring to your throne of grace.

CLOSING:

You are the God who calls in visions, who empowers with your Spirit and who sends your people out (9:10-16). May you lead us, your disciples, today out into the world. In Christ’s name we pray. Amen