An Easy Way To Pray and Love Others

tomstephen4
Sep 1, 2014
2 min read

I used to have a hard time knowing how to pray for people.

All I could really think of was "Lord please bless..."

Then, I discovered this cool little prayer written

by a pastor in the first century. It has been so helpful to know how to pray God's will for my kids. I also have been completely blessed praying this prayer for anyone and everyone.

Somtimes, when I have a one or two hour drive (and I'm on my own), I'll literally pray these four prayer steps over whoever pops into my mind. The prayer helps my time to be both powerful and productive. I break the prayer into four parts - 1) I begin with giving thanks for the person, 2) I then pray that they might know God better, 3) I follow that by asking that they would experience hope in their lives and if I know specific circumstancces about their life, I give those over to God. 4) Finally, I pray that they would know God's power (same power that raised Jesus from dead). By the time I'm done with this prayer my love for that person has grown - a little focused prayer can bring a lot of love. Hard to pray for someone and know feel the love. I am also very awar that my prayer has aligned itself with God's will and not just my own thoughts or desires for the person. Here's the prayer as Paul wrote it back in the first century.... "For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all God’s people, I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit[ of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, and his incomparably great power for us who believe." Ephesians 1