eInspire 4: Gospel-inspired prayer for people
The people for whom we pray are at different stages in their spiritual journey.
- For people who do not yet know the Lord, we can pray that God would reveal Himself to them and that they might find faith in Christ. 1 Timothy 2:1-4 “Therefore I exhort first of all that you make supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings for everyone, for kings and for all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceful life in all godliness and honesty, for this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.”
- For believers in Christ, we can pray that they might boldly and wisely proclaim Christ. Ephesians 6:18-20 “Pray in the Spirit always with all kinds of prayer and supplication. To that end be alert with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints. Pray for me, that the power to speak may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may speak boldly as I ought to speak.”
- For believers who want to encourage and motivate other believers, we can pray that they would be used of God to inspire others to share their faith and make disciples of our Lord Jesus Christ. Luke 10:12 “He said to them, ‘The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Pray therefore the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.’”
Among many other prayer possibilities, God invites us to pray for people in the ways outlined above. “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks, it will be opened.” Matthew 7:7-8
For whom you are praying? Consider praying the scripture passages quoted above into their lives.
Unless otherwise noted all scripture is taken from the New International Version, ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.