… and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.
Summary: Sometimes, it can seem like a struggle to know what to pray for. In this passage Paul gives us a prayer assignment that will keep us busy for the rest of our lives.
Do you have to know someone to pray for them? “All the Lord’s people” is a lot of people. Jesus knows each one of us, but how many do you and I know?
Praying for all the Lord’s people is a bit different than praying for people we know personally. Paul tells us to do it so we know it can be done. The question is, “How?”
When Paul writes, “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms” (Ephesians 6:12), he is not talking about just you and me. He is stating a fact about all believers in Christ. We all struggle against spiritual forces of evil, whether we know it or not.
So, what can we pray for here?
We can pray that all believers are victorious in their struggle with the spiritual forces of evil. We can also pray for believers who are not yet aware of the struggle. Awareness of our need for help in this spiritual war heightens our awareness of our need for Jesus.
Paul has talked about believing families (Ephesians 5:21-6:4). There is something else common to all believers. We all have (or had) a human mother and father. We have family relations. Even dysfunctional families are families. We can pray for the families of believers. We can pray for their spiritual protection and well-being. We can ask God to bless them with an awareness of his Spirit and a hunger for his Word.
In Ephesians, chapter four, Paul addresses how our life reflects Jesus and how important it is that we “no longer live as the Gentiles do” (Ephesians 4:17). This applies to all Gentile believers. We all struggle with the battle between the old self and the new. We can pray that all believers are strengthened in their spiritual bonds with Jesus. Pray that they are receptive to the Word and the Holy Spirit and pliable in God’s hands.
If we turn to Ephesians 4:14, we see Paul beginning a prayer for all the Ephesian believers. He acknowledges the Father and prays that the believers will be given strength and power in the Spirit. He prays that Christ will dwell in their hearts. He asks that they might know God’s love.
Finally, we can pray for our Jewish brothers and sisters, both in Christ and out. Pray for Israel, that God’s hand would be with her and his strength will continue to protect her. Pray that more of God’s chosen people will come to know Jesus.
This is not a complete list of things to pray for but rather a sampling of things Paul mentions as prayer topics.
Application: Pray for all the Lord’s people!
Food for Thought: What is on your list of things to pray for when you pray for “all the Lord’s people?”
I like to use the Lord’s Prayer as a guide to pray for other believers. That God would be seen as holy in and through them. That they will seek His kingdom purposes and His will. That the Lord would provide for their daily needs, that they would forgive and seek God’s forgiveness, that God would lead them and deliver them from evil.
I also like the prayer in Ephesians 3: 16 – 19: I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
Brother,
Thank you for sharing your prayer guide! The Lord’s Prayer is indeed a comprehensive outline for what to pray for.
And thank you for pointing us to Paul’s prayer in Ephesians. What great gifts our Lord has for us! Strength and power, God’s own Holy Spirit, love, understanding, and the fullness of God.
Wow!
I like Rich’s comment, I think it really answered the question well.
What is on your list of things to pray for when you pray for “all the Lord’s people?”
That we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way.
That our lives are pleasing in the sight of God our Savior.
That we help all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.
That we keep our focus on Christ.
That we pray earnestly in every place, every circumstance, and that our hearts are pleasing to God when we pray.
1 Timothy 2:1-8 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. For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time. For this I was appointed a preacher and an apostle (I am telling the truth, I am not lying), a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth. I desire then that in every place the men should pray, lifting holy hands without anger or quarreling;
Thank you, Chris.
Of all your excellent words, my eyes were drawn the most to these:
“That we keep our focus on Christ.“
What is on your list of things to pray for when you pray for “all the Lord’s people?” I often pray for the little ones to know Jesus. For protection for them in this fallen world.
Tim,
What a beautiful prayer!! That is so important and so close to the heart of Jesus!
11-17-2023, What is on your list of things to pray for when you pray for “all the Lord’s people?”
I pray the Holy Spirit will be very active in the Bible based churches. Illuminating the truths revealed by God Word, and providing the sight to believers to separate the truth from fiction.
Amen to that, Ron!