Praying for others
Growing in Prayer • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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1. The Place and Purpose of Prayer
Prayer is a sincere, sensible, affectionate
pouring out of the heart or soul to God,
through Christ,
in the strength and assistance of the Spirit,
for such things as God has promised, or according to his Word,
for the good of the church,
with submission in faith to the will of God.
John Bunyan, Praying in the Spirit
2. Our Father - children of God through Christ and the Spirit… gift and privilege to pray
3. Depending on God - confession, antidote to worry
4. Delighting in God - finding our joy in him, worshipping him for who he is, what he has done...
Today, praying for others
Why pray?
Why pray?
In light of our context, we pray…
10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people. 19 Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.
“What does it mean to “pray in the Spirit”? In fact, it is exactly the same as praying in Jesus’ name! If you pray in the name of Jesus, you are praying in the Spirit. The reason is that the Spirit is the one who unites us to Jesus, who is God’s beloved eternal Son. The Father always listens to Jesus (John 11:42), and we have been given the Spirit of Jesus himself! Remember again what Paul says in Galatians 4: Because you are his sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father.” (Gal 4:6) To pray in the Spirit is simply to pray as a Christian, as a child of God in Christ. And because of that, all of our prayers are “in the Spirit” (Eph 6:18a).”
Praying for all the Lord’s people
Praying for all the Lord’s people
Philippians 2:3–4 “3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, 4 not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.”
Others!
Believers
Galatians 6:2 “2 Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.”
Galatians 6:10 “10 Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.”
2 Corinthians 1:4 “4 who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.”
Not-yet Believers
1 I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people—2 for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. 3 This is good, and pleases God our Savior, 4 who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. 5 For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus, 6 who gave himself as a ransom for all people. This has now been witnessed to at the proper time.
27 “But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.
Matthew 5:44–45 “44 But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.”
What to pray for others
What to pray for others
Thanksgiving
3 I thank my God every time I remember you. 4 In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy 5 because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, 6 being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
Thanks for them
Thanks for their partnership in the gospel
Thanks, with confidence, that God will complete his good work in you
Being ruly thankful to God for others, means we will need to stop to: see what God is doing in, and through and for our brothers and sisters in Christ.
Even when in conflict, thank God for your brothers and sisters in Christ… it shapes our response, tempers our emotions and anxiety, and helps us to view them not as enemies but family.
Remember JI Packer
“I am a child of God. God is my Father; heaven is my home; every day is one day nearer. My Saviour is my brother; every Christian is my brother too.”
J. I. Packer
What if we prayed this for those we were struggling to get along with… “Heavenly Father, thank you for Salamander who is your child and my brother in Christ. Thank you that you are their Father; heaven is their home. The Lord Jesus is their brother; they are my brother too.”
9 And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, 10 so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, 11 filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God.
Glory of God
1 Corinthians 10:31 “31 So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.”
Love may abound in knowledge and depth of insight
Mind…
Philippians 2:2 “2 then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind.”
Philippians 2:5 “5 In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:”
Not naive, shallow or selfish love
Informed love…
16 I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18 may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
So that you can discern what is best and may be pure and blameless
Work of Christ shaping our desire for his people… Colossians 1:22 “22 But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation—”
Aspire to be, not settling for good enough… Colossians 1:28 “28 He is the one we proclaim, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone fully mature in Christ.”
For the day of Christ (goal - like marathon)… Colossians 3:4 “4 When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.”
24 Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. 25 Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. 26 Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air. 27 No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.
This looks like…
being filled with the fruit of righteousness
Justified… Philippians 3:8–9 “8 What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith.”
… Jesus is our righteousness, but his righteousness bears fruit in us…
Galatians 5:22–23 “22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.”
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9 And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, 10 so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, 11 filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God.
When we pray for others, so often we pray for the context or the circumstance, and that is not bad, but God’s goals for us are far greater than our circumstance, far greater that a given moment in time.
It is good to pray for healing, exams, finding work, rain, restored relationships...
But it is great to pray:
for the eternal salvation of those around us
that through the circumstances that individuals face Philippians 1:9–11 “9 And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, 10 so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, 11 filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God.” OR Ephesians 3:16–18 “16 I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18 may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ,”
for the glory of God in every situation