He Wants Us to Pray

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I don’t know how you come to these prayer lists, or to the act of prayer. You may come humbly, excited to offer helpful prayers on behalf of your heavenly family. You may come out of a sense of duty or obligation, knowing that it is good for you and for others that you pray for them. You may pray out of a sense of joy, or need, or reverence, or with many other feelings and purposes.

No matter why you pray or the feelings you have for prayer and during prayer, prayer is good and it is good that you pray.  Prayer is one of the tools God has given us for communicating and communing with Him!  When we pray, we speak directly with the God of the universe, He Who made everything and Who loves us.  And, when we pray, we can more clearly hear from our Heavenly Father.

Prayer is good for us.  It focuses our minds on God and the things above and it gives us an opportunity to be honest with our Heavenly Father.  As well, when we pray, we come from a place of humility and faith, recognizing that God is great and He can do something that we cannot.

And there are many other reasons to pray!  We ought to pray for those we know, like we do with these prayer lists, that they might be blessed in their needs and celebrated in their successes.  We ought to pray for those we know are not saved, that they might come to know Jesus as their Savior.  We ought to pray for peace, for the coming of our Lord, and for many other blessings.

And, as I was reminded recently, our prayers are not to be limited to our particular place and people.  They should instead be offered on behalf of all people as the Apostle Paul wrote:

First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way.  This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.  
1 Timothy 2:1-4

It is so interesting that the Apostle Paul connects praying, interceding, supplicating, and offering thanksgiving for all people and leaders to the desire of God that all people would be saved!  How important for us, then, to pray for the salvation of those we don’t know, to pray that they would feel the love and presence of our Lord, so that they would be saved through faith in Jesus.

So, as you pray through this prayer list and as you pray throughout your day and your week, reflect on why you pray.  Thank God that He listens to our prayers and that He wants us to pray.  And pray blessings on the people you know, and on all people, and on our leaders so that many more would come to know the love of God through faith in Christ.

God’s Peace and Presence be with you all, 
Noah