Lord’s Library contributor Jared Helms offers commentary on what to pray for and how to do it. What shall we then pray? Check out Jared’s YouTube channel and two blogs: A Light in the Darkness and Blind Faith Examples, or send him a reader response email. Lord’s Library’s Ministry Leaders Series is a collection of contributed articles written by ministry leaders on key Christian topics.
Pray then like this; see Matthew 6:9: “After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.”
The first priority in prayer, and the rest of the Christian life, is that God receives all due glory. See Matthew 6:33: “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.”
Everything else we pray for flows from this central, pressing concern. This single wish might even be made definitional of prayer. God’s glory is firmly established, and cannot be diminished, nor increased, but we and others can become more aware and appreciative of it. That is what we are seeking the fuller ascent to reality by all humanity.
What to Pray For
That is a very countercultural aim, and the next line of the model prayer doubles down on that countercultural element.
See Matthew 6:10: “Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.”
God is glorified as His will is done, and His worship expanded. The requests are laid in the path established by the first request drawing out how God will be glorified. There is a lot of self-denial happening within these two lines. God is getting glory and God is getting His way; so, we are not getting either. That is the crux of the countercultural nature of the model prayer. It totally subverts the spirit of sin. It is surely for that reason the prayer begins with these lines and not some others. In the model prayer, our spirits are oriented to God immediately. No time is wasted in making God first and foremost.
Under this priority, and constrained by the revealed will of God in Scripture, there is nothing about which we might not pray. See Philippians 4:6, 1 Peter 5:7, and 1 John 5:15:
- Philippians 4:6: “Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.”
- 1 Peter 5:7: “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:”
- 1 John 5:15: “And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.”
However, there are some things that should be specifically prayed for.
Matthew 6:10 follows directly the petition of verse 9, the coming of the Kingdom is a Great Commission prayer. The doing of God’s Will on Earth as it is done in Heaven is again a prayer for the Commission to be carried out. Both are part and partial of the hallowing of God’s rightly Hallowed Name.
In C.H. Spurgeon’s Autobiography, C.H. Spurgeon writes: “Methinks every true Christian should be exceedingly earnest in prayer concerning the souls of the ungodly; and when they are so, how abundantly God blesses them and how the church prospers!”
Andrew Murray said: “The man who mobilizes the Christian church to pray will make the greatest contribution to world evangelization in history.”
See 1 Timothy 2:1-8: “I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour; Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time. Whereunto I am ordained a preacher, and an apostle, (I speak the truth in Christ, and lie not;) a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and verity. I will therefore that men pray every where, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting.”
We should pray for our civic leaders and communities to the end that there be no obstruction to the Great Commission and the pursuit of righteousness. This is not a prayer for easier lives, and if it is meant as such, we cannot expect to find it answered. See James 4:3: “Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.”
Given the context of the Pastoral Epistles, it seems to me that this sort of prayer is to form the backbone of the church’s public relations and its political activism.
We must pray that God raises up working for the Gospel mission. See Matthew 9:37-38: “Then saith he unto his disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few; Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest.”
Only God can call men and equip them to the work. The need is great and continual. Each generation will see some called home from the fields, and new workers must take their place till Christ returns. This is a matter of utmost Gospel urgency as relayed in Romans 10:14-15: “How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!”
We must also pray for those workers already in the field that they may have the help they need to do the work required. See Ephesians 6:19-20 and Colossians 4:2-4:
- Ephesians 6:19-20: “And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel, For which I am an ambassador in bonds: that therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.”
- Colossians 4:2-4: “Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving; Withal praying also for us, that God would open unto us a door of utterance, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in bonds: That I may make it manifest, as I ought to speak.”
Our prayers should especially be with those workers whom God has sent to labor among us. See 1 Thessalonians 5:12-13 and Galatians 6:6:
- 1 Thessalonians 5:12-13: “And we beseech you, brethren, to know them which labour among you, and are over you in the Lord, and admonish you; And to esteem them very highly in love for their work’s sake. And be at peace among yourselves.”
- Galatians 6:6: “Let him that is taught in the word communicate unto him that teacheth in all good things.”
In this way we may make the work more joyous, reaping a benefit to the whole faith family, and obeying the commandment of Hebrews 13:17: “Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you.”
Prayer is a wonderful first step when we are dissatisfied with our ministers.
Pastors and ministers ought also to pray for their congregations. See Acts 6:4, Philippians 1:3-5, 1 Thessalonians 1:2-3, and 1 Peter 5:1-4:
- See Acts 6:4: “But we will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word.”
- Philippians 1:3-5: “I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, Always in every prayer of mine for you all making request with joy, For your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now;”
- 1 Thessalonians 1:2-3: “We give thanks to God always for you all, making mention of you in our prayers; Remembering without ceasing your work of faith, and labour of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, in the sight of God and our Father;”
- 1 Peter 5:1-4: “The elders which are among you I exhort, who am also an elder, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed: Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind; Neither as being lords over God’s heritage, but being ensamples to the flock. And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away.”
Their prayers should follow the model of their Lord’s prayer for His Church in John 17. They are also to pray for the sick who call on them See James 5:14-15: “Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.”
Prayer is a priority in ministry equaled only by preaching, and these two go hand-in-hand.
In The Practical Works of the Rev. Richard Baxter, Richard Baxter and William Orme said: “Prayer must carry on our work as much as preaching; he preacheth not heartily to his people that will not pray for them.”
We should also pray for one another and for all the saints. See Ephesians 6:18 and 1 Thessalonians 5:11:
- Ephesians 6:18: “Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;”
- 1 Thessalonians 5:11: “Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye do.”
This is in keeping with our first priority. This is also to the furtherance of the Kingdom. Now if we love as we are commanded, and we understand prayer as it is, the need to pray for those we love will suggest itself to us.
A.W. Pink said: “The measure of our love for others can largely be determined by the frequency and earnestness of our prayers for them.”
See Matthew 5:44: “But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;”
See also Proverbs 25:21-22, Romans 12:14, and 1 Peter 3:9:
- Proverbs 25:21-22: “If thine enemy be hungry, give him bread to eat; and if he be thirsty, give him water to drink: For thou shalt heap coals of fire upon his head, and the LORD shall reward thee.”
- Romans 12:14: “Bless them which persecute you: bless, and curse not.”
- 1 Peter 3:9: “Not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing: but contrariwise blessing; knowing that ye are thereunto called, that ye should inherit a blessing.”
Yes, we should pray for our enemies, even those who are persecuting us, and so for Christ Himself as in Acts 9. The prayers of the righteous avail much, so by prayer you might win over an enemy to friend. If such is not God’s will Proverbs 25:21-22 says such action will heap burning coals on your enemy’s head.
In all of this much is done. To pray about these things, or about anything, is no waste of time. No, prayer is an effective means, else our Lord would not have commended it to us. Let no one doubt this point. Wherever there is a legitimate need or concern there is something to pray about.
And wherever something has been done there is reason to give thanks to God. Thanksgiving should be a portion of every prayer. Gratitude expressed lifts the spirit and encourages our further prayers. Even when nothing appears to have been done, we can give thanks to God for all that He is to us, and all which He has promised, and most profoundly for the Finished Work of Jesus Christ.
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