3 Reasons for Prayer

“I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone—for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.” (1 Timothy 2:1-4 NIV)

I read this passage in my quiet time and three things stood out to me.

Reason 1: Peace and Quiet

Paul specifically said to pray for those in authority. His reason?

“That we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.”

Anyone prefer a little more chaos to peace and quiet? Yeah, me neither.

Reason 2: God’s Smile

Paul says, “This is good and pleases God, our Savior.” I love it when my kids come and talk to me, even when they want something. Sounds like God feels the same way.

Reason Three: Salvation—of Others

Paul connects prayer with men being saved and coming to the knowledge of truth. Now, that’s powerful. It’s also challenging because we don’t always see the heart change. We just have to be obedient.

How-To’s

So, how do we pray?

I don’t think God is looking for a blanket prayer to cover the world and its leaders. I think He prefers specifics and will lead us accordingly.

But you know what that means. We have to be still and listen. Deep sigh.

So, who is in our corner of the world, and who is God calling us to cover?

Our child, our spouse, our mother-in-law? The slow checker at the store? The politician leading our state? The kid your kid clashes with at school?

I use a spiral with a page for each family member with other pages for friends and extended family. (Kids can start with a smaller version.) Don’t feel like you have to pray it through all at once. Find what works best for you. Five minutes here and there. Morning, Evening. During your workout. Experiment.

What happens when we pray? And what happens when we don’t? Much is a mystery. God’s responses range from clear answers to “in progress,” and some of the “in progress” prayers are years in the making. Yet things happen from God’s point of view that we can’t see. What if our prayer is the tipping point for change?

Join me and be faithful in the work of intercession. For the answers we see, for the answers we don’t, and for the answers we wait for.

Each request has a face behind it.

Questions:

How has your life been touched by another’s prayer?

Have you seen change in answer to your prayers?

For whom is God calling you to pray?

Do your kids know your prayers for them? Share and ask how they pray for you? Share your needs.

Tweetables:

Paul’s reason for prayer? Peace and quiet. Anyone prefer a little more chaos? Yeah, me neither. Click To Tweet
I love it when my kids come and talk to me. Sounds like God feels the same way. Click To Tweet
Paul connects prayer with men being saved and coming to the knowledge of truth. Powerful. Click To Tweet
Who is in our corner of the world, and who is God calling us to cover? Click To Tweet
Each request has a face behind it. Click To Tweet

2 Comments

  1. Jeanette on November 5, 2014 at 9:51 am

    Very nice Gayle. I enjoy your writing.

  2. Gayle Veitenheimer on November 5, 2014 at 5:34 pm

    Thanks, Jeanette. Thanks for reading!

Leave a Comment





Join Gayle

Subscribe to get my latest content by email.

We respect your privacy. Unsubscribe at any time.

Something went wrong. Please check your entries and try again.

Recent Posts