Who Should I Pray For?

I know many people, who although they are believers, are not really comfortable praying. I know I wasn’t for a long time.

Today, I want to tackle the topic of who to pray for.

“Should I pray for others?” you might wonder.  “I hear people making requests for their friends and families, should I be doing this?”

The answer is yes.  It is important to lift others up to God.  God works through our prayers, though he is not limited by them. Through prayer, we are able to support each other.  Each person praying will bring a unique, God-given perspective to the situation and will be able to pray in different ways.

Besides your friends and family, consider praying for: other countries and people groups, especially if one has caught your eye in the news; your own country and its leaders, even if you don’t agree with them; the people of your city including its leaders, maybe even the peace of the neighborhood you live in; finally, pray for those in your life: your family, friends, and church.

“But…should I pray for myself?” 

Again, the answer is yes.  This is also a very important part of prayer.  I know, many people think it is selfish or that God already knows your thoughts.  Well, let me dispel these reasons for not praying for yourself.

1.  “But, praying for myself seems selfish…”

People think that when there are so many others out there in much greater need, that it doesn’t make sense to pray for their own “little” problems.

This is absolutely false.  God cares deeply and intimately about your problems and what’s going on in your life.  He knows there are other people suffering and he wants you to pray for them, but he also wants a relationship with you. Yes, you.

In order to have a relationship with God, you have to pray to him and make your own requests known.  He wants you to talk to him.  He wants to hear from you.  Remember that even Jesus prayed for his own needs (Matthew 26:39), but he kept them in the context of God’s overall plan.

2.  “And, why pray when God already knows my thoughts?…”

When we think of God as just a mind-reader, it actually hurts him.  God cares deeply about each person created in his image, and that includes you.  The way to strengthen your own relationship with God is to actually make your own requests, needs, desires, frustrations, fears, doubts…everything known to him.  (Read the Psalms, they are full of these types of prayers.)

When we let God in, we are then better able to see him at work in our lives.

Remember again that even Jesus, who was God, still prayed to his Father in heaven, even though the Father would certainly have known his thoughts.

So to answer the question, “Who should I pray for?” The answer is, really, everyone. Sound like too big of a task? Just start where you are and build on it.

The ultimate goal in prayer is to know God better, to be known, and to be a part of what he’s doing in the world.

Do you have trouble believing that you should pray for yourself?  What other thoughts or questions do you have?

If you liked this post, you might also like: How to Pray Through the Lord’s Prayer, Why Prayer is Important, or Powerful New Clothes.