Articles
Prayer Requests
The people of God should be, without a doubt, people of prayer. Jesus once spoke a parable “that men always ought to pray and not lose heart” (Luke 18:1-8), taught the disciples how to pray (Matt. 6:9-15), and He Himself was a man of prayer (Luke 5:16, NKJV). The apostle Paul wrote by divine inspiration that disciples should “pray without ceasing,” (1 Thess. 5:17), and admonished to instruct the disciples wherever he was “that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence” (1 Tim. 2:1, 2). And these prayers are more than just a mental exercise to convince ourselves that someone is out there greater than us; it is a communication with our Creator to take our cares, needs, and requests to Him, and that can give us true peace of mind (Phil. 4:6, 7). After all, this is the God who cannot lie (Titus 1:2) and who has said, “Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us” (1 John 5:14).
In Paul’s instruction to those in Philippi, he admonished them to “let your requests be made known to God” (Phil. 4:6), but when we stop and consider the prayers we offer and the things and people and situations for which we might pray, we might also make these requests for prayers known to our brothers and sisters in Christ so they can join us in our prayers for the things we need and desire! And we do this quite often, do we not? Here, at the close of every assembly, I make it a point to let everyone in the auditorium know that if that they have any requests for prayers, let them be known. We not only pray for our own cares and needs, but also for others.
The apostle Paul, as strong and as courageous as we might think he was, requested that the brethren in Ephesus offer up prayers for him, “that utterance 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 in it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak” (Eph. 6:19, 20). Even the strongest disciples need our prayers! He made a similar request for prayers for him to those in Colossæ, urging them to, as they prayed, pray “also for us, that God would open to us a door for the word, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in chains, that I may make it manifest, as I ought to speak” (Col. 4:2-4). Prayer requests are a good thing!
Surely, there would be a long list of things for which we could and should pray if we stopped to think about it, but let’s consider just a few things today, found in the prayer of the apostle Paul for his fellow disciples in Philippi. The prayer is as follows: “And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment, that you may approve the things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ, being filled with the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God” (Phil. 1:9-11). Now, let us consider Paul’s requests for them in his prayer.
That Their Love Would Abound. Paul made request to God that their love would abound, and that is a good thing, but notice how he qualified that: “in knowledge and all discernment.” This was not a simple or blind request for a greater love with no boundaries or sense of what was right or wrong, but a request that their love be for the righteous things, as would be learned from God’s word, and that they would have the ability to discern between what was proper and fitting for them to love and what should have been despised by those who are God’s people.
That is important even today, especially in this country where we have twenty-one definitions for love! God’s people should “love good” and, at the same time, “hate evil” (Amos 5:15), but if our love has no knowledge of what is good, or if our love is unequipped to discern between good and evil (See Heb. 5:14), then it is likely we will end up loving someone or something we should not! If — and this is a qualified statement that cannot be ignored — their love had this knowledge and discernment, they would then be able to “approve the things that are excellent.” Without the knowledge and discernment, how would they know what was, to God, “excellent”?
That They Might Be Sincere. It is interesting to me to know the Greek word translated as sincere literally means “judged by sunlight” [Strong’s] or “found pure when unfolded and examined by the sun’s light” [Thayer’s]. The meaning is clear [no pun intended]: Paul prayed that they might truly be who they should be, and not just ones putting on a good outward show. He desired that they, being examined by God when held up next to the light of His word, be found genuine to the heart.
That sincerity he desired for them was not just about their faith, but he desired they be sincere in all they did. Peter, for an example, desired that the early disciples “in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart” (1 Pet. 1:22). It is almost certain that if our love for one another is insincere, then we will not love them fervently and it is even more likely that it will not be done with a pure heart. The world has a way of twisting what is good [love] into something that is not good [physical lust], so it is essential that we are sincere in our love for one another. That sincerity must carry over into every aspect of our lives for if the world sees any part of our lives they judge as insincere or even hypocritical, they will consider everything else just as fake, and we will have lost all our potential influence for good. Sincerity is still an important characteristic of disciples.
That They Would Be Found Without Offense. This should be a given for all of God’s people, for we should be seeking for all our brothers and sisters the strength and commitment to a lifelong faith, bringing the reward of eternal life at its end. Each one of us should seek to live faultless lives, but when we fail [and we will, 1 John 1:8-10], make it right as soon as we discovered we have sinned. Nothing else need be said here.
That They Be Filled with the Fruits of Righteousness. I don’t believe it is erroneous or even a stretch to say that Paul desired for them, and prayed, that their lives might produce the “fruit of the Spirit…love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control” (Gal. 5:22, 23), for righteousness is the product of those led by the Spirit. When we are led by the one who “is righteous in all His ways” (Psa. 145:17), it is a lot more likely that the product of our lives will be righteousness! In effect, Paul desires that they follow God’s word faithfully, and that His word will be in their hearts and be reflected, then, in their daily lives, a testament to all who may see and know them, and a reason for others to glorify Him.
There are several other prayers found in the New Testament that are worthy of our consideration, and maybe we will get to some in future studies; take the time to consider them on your own, too. Prayer is an important part of the disciple’s life, and let us not underestimate its power or its benefits for us and for others.
It is most certainly true, “The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much” (Jas. 5:16). Let us pray fervently for one another! — Steven Harper
