Praying for Others

Good afternoon from the Panhandle. Sorry it has been so long since I posted last. We were finishing up school and then off on vacation. I don't know about other pastors, but my summer is always busy, busy. Now back to our study in Colossians. Sidlow Baxter (pastor, theologian, and author) wrote: "...Men may spurn our appeals, reject our message, oppose our arguments, despise our persons -- but they are helpless against our prayers."

In my last post on Colossians 4, I told you that Paul was somebody who understood prayer and its power. Prayer was a part of Paul's life, and he took it for granted that it would be a part of the life of every Christian. Prayer is the pipeline of communication between God and His people, between God and those who love Him.

Two weeks ago we saw that we are to be praying with persistence, praying with passion, praying with thankfulness. This morning we will look at a fourth way to pray.

By intercessory prayer we can hold off Satan from other lives and give the Holy Ghost a chance with them. No wonder Jesus put such tremendous emphasis on prayer. - Sermoncentral

Colossians 4:2-4

2 Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. 3 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. 4 Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should.

1. Pray, Making Intercession

Intercessory prayer is basically praying for others, it is praying for God's will to be done in the lives of other people. Intercessory prayers characterized the prayer life of Christ Jesus.

• In Isaiah 53:12 the Bible says, “He Himself bore the sins of many and, interceded for the transgressors."
  
  
• In Luke 22:23 Christ Jesus tells Peter, "I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail;"
  
  
• In Luke 23:34 on the cross, Christ Jesus was praying for others when He said, "Father forgive them for they do not know what they are doing."
  
  
• In John 17:19 Christ Jesus prayed for us, the church, in His High Priestly prayer. Listen to the intercessory nature of this prayer, "I ask on their behalf; I do not ask on behalf of the world, but of those whom Thou has given Me . . . "
  
  
• Romans 8:34 tells us that Christ Jesus is seated at the right hand of the Father, making intercession for us. “who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us.” 
   
• And Hebrews 7:25 says, "Hence, also, He is able to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them."

Christ Jesus prayed intercessory prayers, He was always praying for others. Understanding the power of Prayer, Paul wanted to be sure the Colossian Christians understood what it was they were to pray for. He wanted them to pray with a specific purpose. He wanted them to pray for him, asking God to open a door so that they could speak the gospel. 

It was the God's Word that Paul lived for, it was the preaching of the gospel that had landed Paul in prison, it was the preaching of the gospel that was always in the front of Paul's mind. Paul wanted God's kingdom to expand. Like Christ Jesus, he was concerned about others, about their souls, their salvation and their life as a Christian. It should be noted that Paul is not asking them to pray for his legal situation or that he would be released from prison. Paul is asking the Christians at Colossi to pray that he will have the opportunity to lead someone to Christ.

Pray with a purpose!

2. In Accordance With God's Will

Paul wanted the Colossians' prayers to be in accordance with God's will. Paul was not simply after the greedy desires like someone living for this world. Paul was always concerned with doing the will of God. 

How many of our prayers are directed at the expansion of God's eternal kingdom rather than the expansion of our petty kingdoms? If you were able to chronicle your prayers, knowing how much time you spent praying for different things, how much of your time would be spent praying for your family, for their health, for the health and well being of your loved ones, compared to how much time you were praying for the lost who are headed to hell?

Intercessory prayer changes things!

Howard Hendricks, who for years taught at the Dallas Theological Seminary and pastored in the area shared this story. He said: Years ago in a church in Dallas we were having trouble finding a teacher for a junior high boys class. The list of prospects had only one name -- and when they told me who it was I said, "You've got to be kidding." But I couldn't have been more wrong about that young man. He took the class and revolutionized it. I was so impressed I invited him to my home for lunch and asked him the secret of his success. He pulled out a little black book. On each page he had a small picture of one of the boys, and under the boy's name were comments like "having trouble in arithmetic," or "comes to church against parents' wishes," or "would like to be a missionary some day, but doesn't think he has what it takes." "I pray over those pages every day," he said, "and I can hardly wait to come to church each Sunday to see what God has been doing in their lives."

When you pray for others, when you pray for God's work to be done, for His will to be accomplished, He will begin to use you and grow you in ways that will astonish those around you. 

When we take the focus off ourselves and focus on others we have a better chance of becoming what God wants us to become. It is when we pray for others that we will become more like Christ Jesus, and as we become more like Him, God will grow us more, show us more, and use us more. 

We must pray for others!

3. Five Things That Happen When You Pray:

1. Prayer internalizes the burden. It deepens your ownership of the burden and your partnership with God. As you pray you begin to become aware of how God might you to answer the prayer, how He might involve you in ways you could never imagine. 
   
   
2. Prayer forces you to wait. Part of prayer is always waiting for God. God has three answers to prayers: Yes, no and wait. Yes and no are no-brainers. But wait, that's a tough one. John MacArthur says: "There is a tension between boldness and waiting on God's will. That tension is resolved by being persistent, yet accepting God's answer when it finally comes." Instead of getting frustrated that God is not on your schedule, prayer forces you to be on God's timetable. 
   
   
3. Prayer opens your spiritual eyes. It enables you to get in touch with what God is doing and how He is doing it. In 2 Kings 6 you may recall the story of when the city of Dothan was surrounded by their enemies and Elijah's servant got nervous. Verses 15-17 say Now when the attendant of the man of God had risen early and gone out, behold, an army with horses and chariots was circling the city. And his servant said to him, "Alas, my master! What shall we do?" So he answered, "Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them." Then Elisha prayed and said, "O LORD, I pray, open his eyes that he may see." And the LORD opened the servant's eyes and he saw; and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. 
    
   Prayer opens your eyes, enabling you to see what God is doing, to see things you are blinded to without prayer. That is because prayer is communication. You speak to God, God answers you - speaking to you, showing you.
   1. It aligns your heart with God's heart. Adjustment, alignment, setting your thoughts, emotions, actions in line with God's.
      
      
   2. Prayer enables you to move forward. Prayer engages God, enables God's people, and enlarges His kingdom. Christ Jesus said, "without Me, you can do nothing." (John 15:5). Once you have prayed you are ready to do anything, but until you have prayed you can do nothing.

When you pray you can accomplish anything.

Conclusion: What does your prayer life look like? Are you persistent in prayer? Are your prayers passionate or are they careless? Are they filled with intensity and fervor or are they weak, timid and lacking faith? What about gratitude? How much time have you spent thanking God for all He has done for you? And who are you praying for? Is there anyone in your life that you are praying will get saved? Is there a burden on your heart to see God's kingdom expand, to see His will done?