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Prayer for our Times

I don’t know if anyone else is experiencing what I am, but lately I find myself waking up at night praying “Lord, have mercy on us.” This happens particularly when I have been listening to news and weather reports. These days seem momentous, as each day brings disturbing news of political unrest or natural disasters.

How do we cope in this kind of world? Do we continue with business as usual, focusing on our own affairs and letting the rest of the world go by? Sometimes that seems like all we can do, and what we must do to maintain our sanity. But I want to emphasize again the importance and power of prayer for the needs of our world.

In the letter to Colossians Paul wrote out his prayer. A study of this prayer can give us guidelines for our own prayer for the needs around us. Walk with me through the passage found in Colossians 1:9–12. For clarity, the Scripture will be in bold italics; my comments will follow.

For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you…

The time to pray is when you hear about a need—at the end of a phone call, or when someone shares a personal need, as you are driving through a blighted area, or see someone who seems forlorn. Include a prayer in an e-mail or at the bottom of a personal note. Make prayer a part of the fabric of your life and interaction with people.

Follow the spontaneous prayer with more intense prayer for that need in your private times of prayer. Prayer does not have to be on your knees; you can pray while driving or cleaning house or some other manual activity. Remember Paul’s example and do not stop praying for the need brought to your attention until you sense the answer has come.

…and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding.

Praying for God’s will is always an appropriate prayer. We do not know how to pray in many circumstances, but the Spirit helps us to bring our will in alignment with God’s will. Prayer for wisdom and understanding is appropriate also, particularly when praying for leadership and those in authority. God’s Word promises to give wisdom to those who seek it, but it comes as we first seek God in prayer.

And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might…

The end result of our praying is that our lives please the Lord. Paul mentions three evidences of this kind of life: fruitfulness, increased knowledge of God, and spiritual strength. Anything that affects our lives is an appropriate matter for prayer—from the smallest need to looming catastrophes, God cares about our daily lives and wants to partner with us in all our endeavors.

…so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light.

When you think you can’t make it another step, remember this prayer for endurance. Prayer gives us, and those we pray for, the ability to patiently hang tough when we need to, and to do it with joy and thanksgiving.

What is the focus of your prayers this week, your family, your church, your nation? To apply prayer principles from this prayer for the Colossians to your area of need, insert the name of the person or persons you are praying for each time Paul says “you.” Personalize the prayer after that, if you need to. Remember “prayer… is powerful and effective” (James 5:16).

PEGGY MUSGROVE is a licensed Assemblies of God minister. She is also a speaker, freelance writer, author and prayer group leader. Her latest book, Musings of a Maraschino Cherry was released in 2004.. You can visit her at www.musgroveville.com.

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