Praying for others is a very important part of the Christian life.
Intercessory prayer blesses us in very special ways.
Practicing it enriches our spiritual life and brings us closer to the heart of God and those around us.
Today, I would like to contribute to your walk with God by talking a little about this topic.
To do so, I invite you to read with me this short text of the Bible, from which we will reflect below:
I thank my God every time I remember you.
In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy, because you have participated in the gospel from day one until now.
This is what I pray: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and in good judgment, that you may discern what is best, and be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that is produced through Jesus Christ, for the glory and praise of God.
Philippians 1: 3-5; 9-11
On this occasion, the apostle Paul is imprisoned, chained, and suffering deprivation and mistreatment.
From that situation, he writes to the brethren of the Church of Philippi and tells them of the way in which he constantly prays for them.
Pray for others, even if you have problems
The first point I would like to share with you about this text is that our own problems often drown out our prayer life for others.
Just as Paul was going through a difficult situation at the time, we too often go through complex moments in our lives.
However, even in that circumstance in which the apostle’s prayers could focus on himself, his sufferings, shortcomings, and difficulties, he prayed for other people.
Our personal difficulties should not take away our privilege to pray for others.
When we go through difficult circumstances, let us make an effort to take our gaze off ourselves.
An effort to take off the lenses with which we see ourselves as victims, and to put them in the needs of other people to pray for them.
That will make us take perspective and not drown in a pile of negative emotions that cloud our perception of reality.
Ask God for love to pray joyfully for others
The second point I want to make is that we should ask God for love to pray for other people with joy.
The apostle says that he prayed for these brothers with joy, the cause was that they remained faithful to the word of God from the beginning.
In the same way, we too can enjoy intercessory prayer, not only to do it as an obligation or a duty but to do it with gladness and joy.
To achieve this, we need the help of the Holy Spirit, who will give us the love and joy to do so.
We just need to ask for it.
Pray for others intentionally
A third point I want to make is to intentionally pray for others.
Give yourself a chance to make a list of the people you want to pray for and the reasons you want to pray for them.
The apostle prayed systematically for all his churches, and his friends, and brothers in those churches.
He did it intentionally, not just spontaneously from time to time as long as he remembered someone.
We can also do it that way.
Personally, I like to use a notebook where I write my prayer requests and periodically review those who have already received a response.
There, I also write the people and the reasons why I want to pray for them.
Pray for the spiritual life of these people
The fourth and final point I want to make is to pray for people’s spiritual lives.
Often our friends, family, or acquaintances go through difficult times on this earth or face challenges related to everyday life.
It is all very well to pray for them on these issues, but we should not lose sight of praying for eternal things.
This time, Paul’s prayer for the brothers of Philippi is for God to strengthen them in love and faith.
So that their experience of sanctification and proximity to God may be enriched.
In the same way, we too, when praying for others, should put emphasis on their spiritual life.
May God help you draw closer to Him.
May He give you the opportunity to live an experience of deep salvation and sanctification.
I hope these words have been a blessing to your life.
And what do you think? Would you like to pray for other people? Share it in the comments.
A hug, God bless you.
