What Do You Pray For?

"I know of no better thermometer to your spiritual temperature than this, the measure of the intensity of your prayer."  - Charles Spurgeon

The simple fact is this: God truly wants us to pray. In fact, He asks us to (Matthew 7:7). If one takes the time to search through the Bible they can find plenty of supporting evidence of this. For example, the Lord's Prayer is exclusively petition, or prayer (Matthew 6:9–13). Knowing this, we can feel confident and motivated to pray.

I feel at times that people shy away from, or avoid prayer because, unfortunately, prayer gets misused. Prayer should never be used as a ticket to receive favor in material things, to exact revenge, or go against God's will in any way. These things only serve to mess up our intentions, and throw our prayer life into total disarray.

But, what do we pray to (petition) God for? It's not as difficult as it may seem. I'd like to share some suggestions which I hope you might decide to incorporate in your prayer time. Perhaps the most obvious petition to make to God is that of the forgiveness of your sins. We should "...approach God's throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need" (Hebrews 4:16).

Pray to be delivered (saved) from temptation and Satan's power (Matthew 6:13; 1 Corinthians 10:13). This is not a one-time only event. Our battle with sin and temptation rages everyday of our lives. Believe me, we need all the help we can get. Life can get pretty crazy, and it's easy to get lost. Therefore, pray for God to show you the right way (Psalm 143:10; Colossians 1:9-10).

As with any type of battle or fight, our fight against sin, temptation, and Satan can leave us pretty beaten up and exhausted. That's why we need to pray to God for strength (Ephesians 3:16; 2 Corinthians 12:9). Our world is hurting right now. Acts of violence, war, and political unrest have definitely taken their toll.

We should pray that God will help us love one another (1 Thessalonians 3:11-12); pray for the Lord's help in our sickness (James 5:16); pray for anything that is God's will (1 John 5:14-15); and pray for the leadership of the Holy Spirit in our lives (Acts 8:14-15).

It's also perfectly fine to pray for anything we need (Philippians 4:6, 19). However, it's not okay to approach God as a wishing well and prayer as just a coin to toss in it. God will provide what we need because He knows just what we need (Matthew 6:25-34). Whether our prayers are answered is up to Him. Even so, our petitions should always be sincere and purposeful. God will take care of the rest.

Scripture: Psalm 34:17; 1 Timothy 2:8; Hebrews 11:6; John 15:7; Jeremiah 33:3;

Prayer: Holy Father, in prayer I approach You in humility, faith, and trust that You will guide and protect me, and that I will treat others as You have taught me. Amen

May God bless you always!

Brandi