A Powerful Prayer Guide

Prayer can be both difficult and easy. It’s easy because we don’t have to follow any strict guidelines as Jesus has made a way to approach the throne of grace with confidence (Hebrews 4:16). But it can be difficult when this privilege becomes routine or we lose focus. That’s why I’m thankful Paul recorded some of his prayers in the Bible; they can give us new things to pray about or new ways to pray for similar things. Consider this prayer in Colossians 1:

And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy; giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. (Colossians 1:9-12)

Paul is praying this for a church; but we can use it as a model to pray for individuals, groups, or our own church. There are a few ways to do this. 

One is to simply substitute the name of the person or group as the subject of prayer through the entire passage. If you wanted to pray for Immanuel, you could begin praying verse 9 in the way: I pray Immanuel will be filled with the knowledge of God’s will…  As you pray that part of the verse, you can pray specifically for the leadership or anyone you know personally. Paul prays for a lot of things, so you can work through the passage and continue to pray for whoever God has placed on your heart. 

Another way to do this would be to break the passage into smaller parts and pray through each section in a sitting. You could break it up into at least five sections and pray for your children in each section each day. That would make for a strong week of prayer. 

Take a few moments and use Paul’s prayer in Colossians as a guide to pray for a person or group God brings to mind. 

By Philip Jones

Philip and his wife, Stacy, have been attending Immanuel since 2015. They are blessed to be raising four kids. His passion in ministry is to help others follow Jesus through teaching, preaching, and personal discipleship.