What to Pray For

I recently finished reading Philip Yancey’s book Prayer: Does it make a Difference? It is a big book, but a very good, insightful read. He has a whole section devoted to prayer dilemmas, which is great for anyone who has ever asked the hard questions about prayer. In Chapter 19 (What to Pray For), he writes,

“…Rather than begin with my own requests and demands, I can begin with God, first getting to know who God is and then positioning myself in the stream of
God’s own love and power. When praying for a person who is sick or troubled, I try to begin not by presenting a list of requests, as urgent as they may be, but rather by meditating on how God must already feel about the person I am praying for.” (p. 272)

This is a wonderful exercise in prayer. Consider that God knows the needs of the person you are praying for far better than you do. By spending time meditating on how God sees that person, you may be led to pray differently. Your prayer may be more specific to a need at the moment you are praying.

This is helpful when praying for people you don’t know, as is often the case in prayer ministry. It is also helpful when praying for loved ones. In seeing your friend or family members through God’s eyes, you begin to see that He loves them so much more than you. You may find yourself more easily able to let go or you might find yourself praying more fervently for them because you are really seeing them.