Quick Backdrop
It happens to all of us—that occasion when you know you need to have personal quiet time or prayer time, but you don’t know what to do. Without a plan, it’s more likely that you will skip the quiet time. Then before you know it, days have gone by, perhaps weeks, without prayer or a devotional moment. This devo will give you a plan so you’ll never find yourself caught short again.
The apostle Paul was one of the Christian church’s first missionaries and was probably most responsible for the spread of the gospel message shortly after Jesus left His earthly ministry. Paul’s primary mode of communication was to write letters explaining what Jesus had done and why He did it. In many of these letters, Paul wrote what he was praying for on behalf of his readers. With Paul’s letters forming most of the New Testament, these prayers are now in Scripture. Because God saw to it that they are in the Bible, there’s a good chance they are the kind of prayers God likes to hear.
The What
Two of these prayers are noted below. Rather than simply read these verses, pray them as a prayer to God for yourself. In fact, each time you see the word you, substitute it with first-person words such as I, my and me. The prayers below are formatted to emphasize the points of the prayer and to encourage you to linger a bit on each phrase.
“For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all God’s people, I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. 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. I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which He has called you, the riches of His glorious inheritance in His holy people, and His incomparably great power for us who believe” (Eph. 1:15-19).
“For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of His will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please Him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to His glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience…” (Col. 1:9-11).
The So What
How would things change if these prayers were answered in your life? Spend some time meditating on the points of these prayers. Ask yourself questions such as:
How would my relationship with God improve if God gave me the Spirit of wisdom and revelation that enabled me to know Him better? (Eph. 1:17)
How would my life change if it was filled with the knowledge of God’s will? (Col. 1:9)
What would it look like to be strengthened with all power according to God’s glorious might so I may have great endurance and patience? (Col. 1:11)
Seal the Deal
Now take it a step further. After you’ve prayed these prayers for yourself, pray them on behalf of your friends. Send them a message that you’re praying for them. Better yet, copy a phrase from one of the verses into a message and substitute your friend’s name for the pronoun you when appropriate (for example: “I pray the eyes of John’s heart may be enlightened in order that he may know the hope to which [God] has called him.”)
You now have a go-to quiet time for life (and a prayer ministry for your friends!). By the way, now that you know they’re there, you’ll see countless other prayers in Scripture. In fact, if you’d like a few more, check these out:
Philippians 1:9-11
Ephesians 3:16-20
Philemon 1:4-6
