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In the first post of this series, we looked at scriptures that answered the question of who should pray and who we should pray for. In this post, I will share with you 7 specific areas to remember when praying.
What should we be praying for?
The simple answer is we need to be praying for everything just as the Apostle Paul instructed the Philippians: Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need and thank him for all he has done. – Philippians 4:6 NLT
EVERYTHING? Oh my goodness, when I think about praying for everything, I quickly become overwhelmed. You may not, but I sure do. How do you do that?
Feeling a Bit Overwhelmed?
I can become overwhelmed with too many choices especially if it’s unorganized choices. I will walk away from boxes of clothes, books, even thrift shops if things are not sorted in some fashion. Therefore, I am a person that organizes, categorizes, sorts, and looks for ways to make life flow with as little chaos as possible.
I drove a friend of mine crazy helping her in a clothing closet ministry to fine tune the sorting and hanging of the donated items. Yes, she still is a close friend, a miracle from God to be sure! I even found myself organizing the book section in my local Dollar store one day…
Not So Fast, Kemosabe
Not so fast, Kemosabe. Don’t panic! Of the 60+ english versions of the Holy Bible on Bible Gateway.com the majority of the translations indicate ‘in everything‘. The Amplified Bible expands the meaning of ‘in everything’ to ‘every circumstance and situation‘: “Do not be anxious or worried about anything, but in everything [every circumstance and situation] by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, continue to make your [specific] requests known to God.”
Although we are to pray about every circumstance and situation the scriptures do list 7 specific areas to remember when praying. Let’s take a look together.
7 Specific Areas to Remember when Praying
#1 – Pray for Israel:
- The salvation of Israel –
- Dear brothers and sisters, the longing of my heart and my prayer to God is for the people of Israel to be saved. – Romans 10:1
- Peace in Jerusalem –
- Pray for peace in Jerusalem. May all who love this city prosper. – Psalm 122:6
#2 – Pray for the Gospel Message
- Opportunities to share Christ – Pray for us, too, that God will give us many opportunities to speak about his mysterious plan concerning Christ. – Colossians 4:3
- Proclaim clearly Christ’s message – Pray that I will proclaim this message as clearly as I should. – Colossians 4:4
- More workers – So pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask him to send more workers into his fields.” – Matthew 9:38
- Lord’s message will spread rapidly and be honored – … Pray that the Lord’s message will spread rapidly and be honored wherever it goes… – 2 Thessalonians 3:1
- What to do / where to go – Pray that the Lord your God will show us what to do and where to go.” – Jeremiah 42:3
- Boldness – And pray for me, too. Ask God to give me the right words so I can boldly explain God’s mysterious plan that the Good News is for Jews and Gentiles alike. – Ephesians 6:19
- I am in chains now, still preaching this message as God’s ambassador. So pray that I will keep on speaking boldly for him, as I should. – Ephesians 6:20
#3 – Pray for God’s Will
- “My Father! If it is possible, let this cup of suffering be taken away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.” – Matthew 26:39
- Epaphras… always prays earnestly for you, asking God to make you strong and perfect, fully confident that you are following the whole will of God. – Colossians 4:12
#4 – Pray for Wisdom, Strength, and Understanding
- I pray that your love will overflow more and more, and that you will keep on growing in knowledge and understanding. – Philippians 1:9
- …We ask God to give you complete knowledge of his will and to give you spiritual wisdom and understanding. – Colossians 1:9
- I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. – Ephesians 3:16
#5 – Pray for our daily lives
- Peace and prosperity – And work for the peace and prosperity of the city where I sent you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, for its welfare will determine your welfare.” – Jeremiah 29:7
- Joy and peace – I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit. – Romans 15:13
- Live honorably – Pray for us, for our conscience is clear and we want to live honorably in everything we do. – Hebrews 13:18
- Mercy & Healing – “O Lord,” I prayed, “have mercy on me. Heal me, for I have sinned against you. – Psalm 41:4
- Strength – We also pray that you will be strengthened with all his glorious power so you will have all the endurance and patience you need. May you be filled with joy, – Colossians 1:11
#6 – Pray for the coming troubles
- Our troubles – I took my troubles to the Lord; I cried out to him, and he answered my prayer. – Psalm 120:1
- Strength to escape coming horrors – Keep alert at all times. And pray that you might be strong enough to escape these coming horrors and stand before the Son of Man.” – Luke 21:36
- Rescue from wicked people – Pray, too, that we will be rescued from wicked and evil people, for not everyone is a believer. – 2 Thessalonians 3:2
- Pray that I will be rescued from those in Judea who refuse to obey God. –Romans 15:31
- Your people be spared – Let them pray, “Spare your people, Lord! Don’t let your special possession become an object of mockery. Don’t let them become a joke for unbelieving foreigners who say, ‘Has the God of Israel left them?’” – Joel 2:17
#7 – Pray for Understanding:
- We will understand the confident hope Christ has given – I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the confident hope he has given to those he called—his holy people who are his rich and glorious inheritance. – Ephesians 1:18
- We will understand the incredible greatness of God’s power – I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for us who believe him. This is the same mighty power – Ephesians 1:19
Just to Recap
These are the 7 specific areas to remember when praying. Be sure to list other areas you find in scripture in the comment section below. In my next post, I will be looking at scriptures that speak regarding when and where a person should pray. Perhaps in the spirit of organization, a person could focus on one area each day of the week. Here are links to more ways to organize your prayer life.
I have included a link to a table I assembled for your encouragement of people in the Old Testament that prayed to God along with the results of prayers prayed. You can see it HERE.
Featured Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay
Thank you for these insights. I find it helpful to also include a time of silence in my prayer into which the Holy spirit may give further words to pray.
Thank you for the links and ideas included. I get discouraged with prayer bc for me personally I struggle with articulating my thoughts, feelings and intentions. If someone is sick I say heal them amen, if someone is facing trials I say touch them etc. So therefore I get very bored with my prayer life and find myself trying to avoid it! I will try to implement some of these suggestions and hopefully I can turn my prayer life around! Thank you
Darlene, thank you for your comments. I also struggle at times when it comes to prayer. It helps me to remember that prayer is nothing more than a conversation between friends.
Thank you for emphasizing the importance of prayer.
I love Jesus’ prayer in John 17!
Thanks! If we would only remember to pray first instead of last… if I WOULD ONLY REMEMBER to pray first instead of last!