When my friend’s daughter was in the foot-stompin’ twos, an important attitude change took place. That’s when her daughter quit saying “Mommy help?” and declared with a pouty voice, “Do SELF!” That stubborn streak of independence follows us way into adulthood. Rather than ask for prayer, we insist, “Do SELF! Me do it!”
That’s not quite like the Bible says to do it. Life is hard, seek support! Or, as the apostle Paul put it: “Be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints” (Eph. 6:18). “In everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God” (Phil. 4:6). “Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. And pray for us, too….” (Col. 4:2).
In reading through Paul's letters, I'm amazed by how he wasn’t shy about asking people to pray for him. Even though people might hear his letters read aloud months after he wrote them, he sought prayer—holy co-involvement—in his life and ministry. He would have loved the immediacy of E-mail to get the word out!
The other thing I noticed about Paul’s letters is how he prayed BIG for others. His letters to the churches are marked by bold requests for their growth in spiritual character. Check them out: Ephesians 1:16-19. Ephesians 3:16-19, Phil. 1:9-11, Col. 1:9-14, Philemon 4-7, 2 Thess. 1:11-12.
Among contemporary authors, I appreciate how Stormie Omartian has compiled scripture for bold, character prayers for loved ones. I’ve given copies of her “Power of a…” series as gifts.
If you want a simpler approach to praying for the adults in your life (parent, sibling, spouse), here are the character-based petitions that I drew out of one of my favorite prayers of Paul, from the first chapter of Colossians.Incorporate them into your Sunday-through-Saturday sections by writing them on the back side of the tab page for that day’s prayer section.
SUNDAY: To follow God’s will, for spiritual wisdom and understanding. Scripture: “Asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding” (Col. 1:9).
MONDAY: To live worthy of God and to bear spiritual fruit. Scripture: “to live a live worthy of the Lord and…[to]please him in every way, bearing fruit in every good work” (v. 10).
TUESDAY: To continue to grow spiritually and to love the Bible. Scripture: “growing in the knowledge of God” (v. 10b).
WEDNESDAY: To experience God’s strength for spiritual, emotional and physical challenges. Scripture: “being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might” (v. 11a).
THURSDAY: For endurance and patience in life’s hard places. Scripture: “so that you may have great endurance and patience” (v. 11b).
FRIDAY: To have gratitude for God’s gifts. Scripture: “joyfully giving thanks for the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light” (v. 12).
SATURDAY: To love God wholeheartedly. Scripture: “For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins” (vv. 13-14).
Are the adults for whom you pray not walking with God? All the more reason to pray for them. They may have few, if any, believers in their support network. Offer to pray for needs they express to you. And while you also pray for them to know God, pray that they’ll desire the hope and relationships expressed in Paul’s Colossians 1 prayer.
Right now, they may be saying, “Do SELF!” But they’ll find out it doesn’t really work out. We have a Savior who is waiting and watching, and who yearns to help them.
Next blog post: Alphabet praises
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