Skip to main content

Prayer Requests

             Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. (Matthew 6:8) 

For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. Matthew 6:32

Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. (James 5:16)

I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people— for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. (I Timothy 2:1-2)

 

I have heard the complaint or accusation that if we believe that God is omnipotent and loving, we should not ask Him for anything more than once. The verses from Matthew 6 are sometimes used to argue this. Even more, we should never ask anyone else to pray for us or for some need. To ask others to pray is to try to strong-arm God into doing what we want by collecting a posse. And I can see where those criticisms can be accurate, but are not necessarily and universally true.

The first reason we should ask others to pray for us is that Scripture commands it in verses like James 5:16 and 1 Timothy 2:1-2. The second reason we should ask others to pray for us is humility. We are not sufficient in ourselves, and confessing that to others is healthy and wise. The third reason we should ask others to pray for us, and that we should pray for others, is because the prayers (whether for us or from us) are acts of love.

For us to ask for prayers is not begging for love. It’s like suggesting ideas for presents you might like. It gives options to the person who loves you and doesn’t require that they play guessing games, for which you will judge them when they err. It is also because praying for someone is loving them that those who scoff at "thoughts and prayers" being lifted up by those who aren't in a position to to something while the scoffers wait for government agencies or charity organizations to do something are not only wrong, but hateful.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A Virgin?

           Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel. (Isaiah 7:14)           This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. (Matthew 1:18)           But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end.”            “How will this be,” Mary asked the...
Post a Comment
Read more

Saved?

  I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.” (John 10:28-30) “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, “I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’ ” (Matthew 7:21-23) Not at all! Let God be true, and every human being a liar. As it is written: “So that you may be proved right when you speak and prevail when you judge.” (Romans 3:4)   What conclusion do you draw when someone who was raised in a Christian family and church, perhaps even playing a significant role in a chur...
Post a Comment
Read more

Meditations of the Heart

  May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer. (Psalm19:14)           As I started writing this post, I noted that the meditations of my heart are all over the mental landscape, from a hub where eight superhighways come together to a lunar or nuclear landscape. Do you see my error? The moment I read the word meditation , I think about thoughts. But what’s described here is the meditations of our hearts ; our wills.           While the meditations of our minds may be all over the place, the meditations of our wills tend to be a little more stable by the time we are adults. We no longer tend to want to pursue the ten separate careers we did in any given day as children. Part of this is humble acceptance of reality. We come to understand that we can’t do it all. I think another part of it is disappointmen...
Post a Comment
Read more