Prayers from the New Testament

INTERCESSORY PRAYER is a powerful weapon God has placed in our hands. Miracles have been wrought by the judicious use of this weapon. This was the weapon Joshua used to stop the sun and moon at their track.  When the early congregation prayed an angel appeared to open the prison doors for St Peter. When St Paul and Silas praised and prayed inside their prison cell, an earthquake erupted, and more miracles were to follow.

Not sure what to say during your intercessory prayers? Do you run out of ideas after a few sentences? The New Testament is replete with instances of how people prayed, what they said, what did they pray for. Let us look at a sample.

     

1Tim 2:1-2 -- for all men,   for kings and all who are in authority...

             A command is given to Christians to pray for all men in general, and particularly for all in authority. We must pray for all men, for mankind in general and for particular persons who need or desire our prayers. Christianity requires men to pray, not only for those of their own way but for all men. Pray for kings; rulers, for the most part, are heathens, enemies to Christianity, and persecutors of Christians, yet we must pray for them because it is for the public good that there should be a civil government.

I    2Co 13:7a  …that you will do no wrong---not in order to show that we are a success, but so that you may do what is right, even though we may seem to be failures.

    

The apostle’s prayer to God on the behalf of the Corinthians, that they might do no evil,. This is the most desirable thing we can ask of God, both for ourselves and for our friends, to be kept from sin, that we and they may not commit evil; and it is most needful that we often pray to God for his grace to keep us, because without this we cannot keep ourselves. We are more concerned to pray that we may not do evil than that we may not suffer evil.

II  Phil. 1:9-11  … that your love may abound yet more and more in full knowledge and in all perception;

That they might be a loving people and those good affections might abound among them – love for God, for one another, for all men. Love is the fulfilling both of the law and of the Gospel. That they might be a knowing and judicious people: that love might abound in knowledge and in all judgment. It is not a blind love that will recommend us to God, but a love grounded upon knowledge and judgment. We must love God because of his infinite excellence and loveliness, and love our brethren because of what we see of the image of God upon them.

III.Col 1:9-11  to desire that you might be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding.

That they might know intelligent Christians who know God’s will for us.  Our knowledge is then a blessing indeed when it is in wisdom when we know how to apply our general knowledge to our particular occasions, and to suit it to all emergencies; not only to know the will of God, but  to increase in the knowledge of God, and to grow in grace --1 Pet 3:15, 2Pe 3:18. Col 1:10

IV. 2Th 1:12 …that our God would count you worthy of the calling and fulfill all the good pleasure of His goodness and the work of faith with power,

We are called with a high and holy calling; we are called to God’s kingdom and glory; we have no worthiness of our own, but what we owe purely to the grace of God, we should pray that he would make us worthy, and then count us worthy.

V 2Th 3:1  pray for us, that the Word of the Lord may have free course and be glorified…

This is one way by which the communion of saints is kept us, not only by their praying together, or with one another, but by their praying for one another when they are absent one from another. It is the duty of people to pray for their ministers; and not only for their own pastors, but also for all good and faithful ministers.

Conclusion

Jas 5:16  Confess your faults to one another, and pray for one another.

1. Where persons have injured one another, acts of injustice must be confessed to those against whom they have been committed.

2. Where persons have tempted one another to sin or have consented in the same evil actions, there they ought mutually to blame themselves and encourage each other to repentance.

3. Where crimes are of a public nature and have done any public mischief, there they ought to be more publicly confessed, so as may best reach to all who are concerned. 

4. And sometimes it may be well to confess our faults to some prudent minister or praying friend that he may help us to plead with God for mercy and pardon.

Rom 8:26, In the same way, the Spirit also comes to help us, weak as we are. For we do not know how we ought to pray; the Spirit himself pleads with God for us in groans that words cannot express.