How to pray for Christians - part 2

This is a continuation of last week's post about the apostle Paul's two prayers for Christians in his letter to the Ephesians. In the previous post. we considered his first prayer found in Ephesians 1:15-23 and we saw that it was mainly a prayer for Christians to be built up in their knowledge of God.

But Paul does not leave it there. In his second prayer, we now see that he also wants this knowledge of God to be worked out practically in their lives. Let us take a look at what he says in Ephesians 3:14-19:

14 For this reason I bow my knees before the Father,

15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named,

16 that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being,

17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith- that you, being rooted and grounded in love,

18 may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth,

19 and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.


In this second prayer in Ephesians, Paul prays five things for Christians. We, too, can pray these things for other Christians (and also for ourselves!):

1. That God will strengthen them with power (3:16)
   Not just to know God's power as in his previous prayer (1:19) but to actually live in this power. Just as Jesus lived His life on earth and acted in the power of the Holy Spirit, so we as Christians also need to live in the power of the Spirit. We are too weak in our own strength, but God can strengthen us with His power so that we are strong in the faith.
2. That Christ may dwell in their hearts (3:17)
   As we know from other parts of Scripture, the Lord Jesus Christ already lives inside of Christians. But is He really "at home" there? Jesus said, "If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him." (John 14:23)
3. That they may be rooted and grounded in love (3:17)
   Being rooted in love means receiving nourishment from love in order to grow. And the more we are rooted in love, the more we will be grounded in love, i.e. become more stable and secure and able to endure and withstand many storms and trials.
4. That they may know the love of Christ (3:18-19)
   For a proper understanding of what love is, we must look to Christ. We will never be able to understand the immense greatness of His love, but the more we know the love of Christ, the more we will know how to share this love with other people.
5. That they may be filled with all the fullness of God (3:19)
   Finally, Christians are to be as much like God as possible. In some ways, Christians will never be like God, because God is unique - there is nobody who is like Him. He alone is almighty, all-knowing and present everywhere. He is perfect and holy and worthy like nobody else. But as followers of Christ, all Christians are to be like the Son of God. All Christians are to reflect the character of God in their lives: holy, righteous, loving, merciful, gracious, compassionate, faithful and much more. Christians need prayer not only to better know these characteristics of God but also to live them out better in their own lives.

When we pray for other Christians, it is always good and helpful to return to these two prayers of Paul in Ephesians in order to pray for those things that Christians really need more than anything else.

Picture: sxc.hu

How to pray for Christians - part 1

If you are a Christian, then you are a person of prayer. There is no such thing as a prayerless Christian. A.W. Pink says in one of his sermons,

A prayerless Christian is a contradiction in terms. Just as a still-born child is a dead one, so a professing believer who does not pray is devoid of spiritual life. Prayer is the breath of the new nature in the saint, as the Word of God is its food.

As a Christian, you are called to pray for those who are saints, i.e. those who have been set apart with you by God as His people, His children.

In Paul's letter to the Ephesians, we are told to be "praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints." (Eph. 6:18)

But how are Christians supposed to pray for other Christians?

In this same letter to the Ephesian Christians, the apostle Paul includes two prayers. Both prayers are for the Ephesian church. Both prayers are for Christians. Both prayers serve as good examples how we can pray for other Christians.


In this first blog post, we will take a look at the first prayer, found in Ephesians 1:15-23:

15 For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints,
16 I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers,
17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him,
18 having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints,
19 and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might
20 that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places,
21 far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come.
22 And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church,
23 which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.

This prayer clearly is for Christians, those who have "faith in the Lord Jesus" (1:15). So what does Paul pray for them?

Paul prays that

1. God may give them a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him (1:17)
2. God may enlighten the eyes of their heart (1:18), so that they may know three things:
1. God has called them to hope (1:18)
2. God will have a glorious inheritance prepared for them (1:18)
3. God is working his immeasurably great power in them (1:19)

This first prayer is a prayer for knowledge. This is also how we can pray for other Christians, including ourselves. All Christians desperately need to know God more and more.

• Knowing that God has acted for us in the PAST by calling and drawing us to Himself will give us hope and assurance. We can have assurance that we are saved and belong to Him.
• Knowing that God has prepared something wonderful for us in the FUTURE, namely a glorious inheritance of everlasting life without sin, without suffering and with Christ, will give us the right perspective in life and its trouble and pain.
• Knowing that God is working with is immeasurably great power in us at PRESENT will help us do His will and withstand the attacks of the evil one, despite our fears and weaknesses.

So we can pray for ourselves and for other Christians to come to a greater knowledge of God and what He has done for us in the past, what He will have prepared for us in the future, and what He is doing for us in the present.

This knowledge of God is the basis for living the Christian life according to God's will.

Perhaps some of you have prayed or will pray along these lines for my wife and me. If that is the case, thank you very much for your prayers! We, too, certainly need a greater and deeper knowledge of God.

Picture: public domain