Pray for others

Since the day we heard these things about you, we have continued praying for you. This is what we pray: that God will make you completely sure of what he wants by giving you all the wisdom and spiritual understanding you need; that this will help you live in a way that brings honor to the Lord and pleases him in every way; that your life will produce good works of every kind and that you will grow in your knowledge of God; that God will strengthen you with his own great power, so that you will be patient and not give up when troubles come. (Colossians 1:9-11)

It is good to hear that someone is praying for us, isn't it? If we are struggling with even the simplest of things, we want that support behind us. We also want someone to be lifting us before the throne of God when it comes to our spiritual growth. We want to know that no matter how much the trials and temptations come against us, we have an advocate lifting us up over and over again, don't we? God listens for those prayers with an intense desire to answer each of them!

How should we be praying for each other? 

• With continual focus - never giving up on lifting that individual up in prayer, even when we don't see change.
• Seeking God for them to have spiritual confidence - in other words, that their faith would become certain, well-grounded, and not easily swayed
• Asking him to give them wisdom and spiritual understanding that is beyond their present understanding, opening the scriptures to them where it has been hard for them to understand them before, and to build upon past learning until one precept is laid upon another
• With a hope that God will create a desire deep within their hearts for more of his grace, power that is beyond their own abilities to overcome even the hardest of life's habits, and that life change would occur that brings about a living life testimony that honors God in every way
• Continually lifting them when we see troubles surrounding them, and even when we don't see those troubles plainly, so they will be covered with a hedge of protection much like a hedge of thorns kept out the wolves from the shepherd's flock at night

We may not realize how much our prayers on behalf of another can help them not only get out of troubles but avoid them entirely. We might find it easy to pray these things for ourselves, but never forget that God wants us to pray them for each other, as well! Just sayin!