And he said unto them, When ye pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth. (Luke 11:2)
When I am asked to pray for others, I do. I add them to my morning prayer list and pray for them everyday until they tell me their prayer has been answered. In many cases, the people I am praying for I don't even know. In all of those prayers that I send up, each prayer is followed by a four word phrase that tells the Lord exactly what it is I am praying for: "Thy will be done!"
There is nothing wrong with praying for what you want or what others want, as long as it's part of the will of God. I don't pray for people to win the lottery or strike it rich. I pray for God's will in their lives, and sometimes that means praying for God to bring them to their knees. In one such prayer, I did not realize that my prayer for a certain individual to be made humble enough to turn to the Lord would drastically affect my life as well! Yet, I still pray! Why? Because it's what God has laid on my heart to do!
Each of us has a responsibility to pray for those who do not know Jesus. When we bring our petitions to the Lord, we bring them not as a demand, but as a request for mercy and grace towards the soul we pray for. We bring them in the hopes that what we pray for is God's will also, but understand that if it is not God's will, we will accept the answer knowing that he knows what is best for all concerned.
We may not always get the words right, or say exactly what we want to say in prayer. The point is that we do pray! It doesn't have to be perfect - just fill it with glory and honor to God and praise and thanksgiving for what he's already done in your life and the lives of those around you! He's listening!!!
[Suggested Scripture reading for January 15, 2011 - Job 28-29]
