Tuesday, June 21, 2011

How Can I Pray For You?

"I keep asking that 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."  Ephesians 1:17

"How can I pray for you?" my friend asked.

Wow - what a great question!  First of all, it means so much to me when I know that someone is praying for me. To know that a friend is taking a little time in their day to ask God to touch my life tells me several things...

One, they care about me
Two, they want to be involved in my life
Three, they know that the very best thing they can do for me is to ask God to meet my needs

To me, the greatest expressions of friendship are lending a helping hand and praying for another. So, when someone asks, how can I pray for you? my first response is to quickly scan my brain for what I need.  Money, healing, wisdom for decisions...all these come to mind, but what I really want, what I truly need, what my heart cries out for most is to know God better.

I want to be filled with the Spirit of wisdom and revelation so that I will be able to sense His presence, know His will, see His hand moving in my life and know the next step that He wants me to take.  I want to know his character, I want to know...really know God.

So, if you want to truly bless your friends, pray for them as Paul prayed for those in Ephesus - pray and keep on praying that God will give them the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that they might know Him better. If that happens, everything else in their life will fall into place.

And now, let me pray for you!

Prayer:
Father, I do ask that you would stir your Spirit within those who have received you, that we might be given wisdom and revelation, so that we might know you better. And I pray for those who do not yet know you, those who have not yet received your Son, Jesus, those who have not yet received your Spirit at the moment of salvation - that you would reveal yourself to them, that they might believe on you. I ask that all who read this might be stirred to know you better. Amen
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(Copyright© 2011 Jan Christiansen. All rights reserved.)

4 comments:

joy said...

You are always stirring, encouraging us to do a better job of taking care of God's kids. Thank you! I'll be praying for you, too.

Anonymous said...

Great advice! We often tell others we are praying for them but how much more encouraging to ask specifically how to pray. Thanks!

Jan Christiansen said...

Thank, Joy - iron sharpens iron!

Tresa - Thanks for dropping by my blog. I hopped over to your and really enjoyed your latest post. Will be back to read more!

Denise said...

What a wonderful post; heartfelt prayer is so meaningful! :) I always feel blessed not only when I am prayed for, but also when I pray for others. You have a lovely blog; glad I stopped by! :)
Denise