A number of years ago I found myself struggling in my prayer life, especially in the area of intercessory prayer.  I knew that I was supposed to pray for others, after all God’s Word says: “And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests.  With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the other saints.”  (Ephesians 6:18)

My problem was that I didn’t really know what to pray for other people.  Like most of us, I usually remembered to pray for the physical needs of others who were sick or injured, and for the emotional well being of someone who was going through a difficult time.  I still think these are important and valid things to pray for, but there seemed to be something missing.  When I only prayed for these types of requests my prayers felt a little dry and superficial.

About this time I was reading through the Pauline Epistles and I made a prayer-life changing discovery.  In nearly all of Paul’s letters to the various churches he includes a section in which he tells them what he has been praying for them.  It wasn’t in-grown toenails and sick relatives that were the primary focus of his prayers, but rather the spiritual health and growth of the church.  Check it out for yourself: Ephesians 1:17-23; Ephesians 3:16-19; Philippians 1:9-11; Colossians 1:9-11; I Thessalonians 1:3; II Thessalonians 1:11.

Another example is found in II Corinthians 13:9 where Paul tells the Corinthian believers that his prayer is for their “perfection.”  He doesn’t mean by this “sinless perfection,” but the idea of being “made complete” or “wholeness.”  There is also a connotation of being “restored.”
The Corinthian church had struggled greatly with conforming to the pagan culture they existed in and part of their becoming complete or mature meant being restored to a right relationship with God.  The picture is one of mending a broken net so that it is useful again for catching fish.  Here it was their broken lives that needed to be “mended” so they could go on to spiritual maturity.

What a great prayer for us to pray for each other!  I am learning to take Paul’s prayers and turn them into prayers for others.  We need to be interceding for the spiritual advancement of our brothers and sisters in Christ.  We need to pray them from spiritual infancy towards spiritual maturity.

So the next time you hit your knees to pray for others, open your Bible to one of the passages listed above and turn it into your own prayer of intercession.  If it was good enough for Paul then it’s good enough for us.  Plus, I take great comfort in knowing that I am praying Scripture back to God.  This is one way to be sure we are praying for others according to God’s will.