For our prayer to be heard, the thing we ask for must be something that is according to God’s will. When we come to Him on that ground, we come with confidence.
This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. (1 John 5:14)
This is why the apostle Paul kept praying that believers would be filled with the knowledge of God’s will.
For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, (Colossians 1:9)
With that in mind, here are four areas of need for which we can pray.
1. For Ourselves
For our spiritual needs. Pray that God would give us the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that we would “know” — that is, truly understand:
a) who we are in Christ;
b) what we have in Christ;
c) what we can do in Christ.
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, (Ephesians 1:15-18)
For spiritual strengthening and growth.
For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. (Ephesians 3:14-21)
For personal revelation from God upon His Word.
‘Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.’ (Jeremiah 33:3)
For our material needs.
who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. (1 Peter 1:5-7)
Are there examples in the Bible of people who prayed for themselves? Yes — the Psalms are full of them, especially the prayers of King David.
2. For One Another
We are also called to carry one another to God in prayer.
Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. (James 5:16)
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 Lord’s people. (Ephesians 6:18)
And when we do not know how to pray, the Spirit Himself helps us.
In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God. (Romans 8:26-27)
Are there examples in the Bible of people who prayed for others?
— Abraham prayed for Lot (Genesis 18:16-33).
— The centurion prayed to Jesus for his servant (Luke 7:1-10).
— The Syrophoenician woman prayed for her daughter (Matthew 15:21-28).
— The royal official prayed for his son (John 4:46).
3. For the Advance of God’s Work
We pray that God would let us see His work go forward in our own day.
Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us, for as many years as we have seen trouble. May your deeds be shown to your servants, your splendor to their children. May the favor of the Lord our God rest on us; establish the work of our hands for us— yes, establish the work of our hands. (Psalm 90:15-17)
Lord, I have heard of your fame; I stand in awe of your deeds, Lord. Repeat them in our day, in our time make them known; in wrath remember mercy. (Habakkuk 3:2)
For workers in God’s work.
These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon (who is called Peter) and his brother Andrew; James son of Zebedee, and his brother John; (Matthew 10:2)
For an open door for God’s Word.
Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should. (Colossians 4:2-4)
For the gospel to reach every person.
Ask me, and I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession. (Psalm 2:8)
For revival and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.
Ask the Lord for rain in the springtime; it is the Lord who sends the thunderstorms. He gives showers of rain to all people, and plants of the field to everyone. (Zechariah 10:1)
For the manifestation of spiritual gifts.
Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness. Stretch out your hand to heal and perform signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus.” (Acts 4:29-30)
4. For Our Nation
For those who govern and for peace in our land.
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 Lord’s people. (Ephesians 6:18)
For God to lead our nation out of crisis and to heal our land and our people.
“When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command locusts to devour the land or send a plague among my people, if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land. Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayers offered in this place. (2 Chronicles 7:13-15)
Even when the Israelites were in exile in Babylon, God told them to pray for the peace of Babylon.
Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.” (Jeremiah 29:7)
Do we have examples in the Bible of people who prayed for their nation?
— Daniel prayed for his people (Daniel 9:1-27).
— Nehemiah prayed for his people (Nehemiah 1:1-11).