2011 March Prayer and Praise
TIPS ON PRAYING FOR CHRISTIANS WE’VE NEVER MET
From a fellow missionary, Epaphras, Paul learns about a group of people who have turned to the gospel. His immediate reaction is to pray for them: “since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints, because of the hope laid up for you in heaven” (Colossians 1:3-4). Wouldn’t it be wonderful if people here in America reacted the same way when they hear of converts in other parts of the world?
In his letter to these people he never met —to these new converts in the town of Colossae— Paul makes a remarkable statement: Since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you (Colossians 1:9-12). He even tells them the specific ways he prayed.
- That “God to fill [them] with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives”;
- That they “live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way”:
- That they “bear fruit in every good work”;
- That they “grow in the knowledge of God”;
- That they be “strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience”;
- That they “give joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified [them]” for heaven.
Could Paul’s prayer serve as a model for us? In fact you could add just one small additional item:
that God enable us at LOGOI to effectively provide the Bible tools and aids so that these six prayer items be realized in the lives of pastors and leaders throughout all of the Spanish world.