FROM THE DAWGHOUSE…
How specific should I pray?
Having breakfast with a friend of mine today and talking about prayer he said,
“I pray that God would bless my wife, my children and me every day. Maybe I should pray more specifically.”
He makes a great point, and one that deserves a good answer. And it will be a quick one: YES.
Yes. Our prayers should be more specific.
Look at just one of Paul’s prayers in the New Testament:
Philippians 1:9-11
And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.
Say what?
Paul prayed that the Philippian Christians would love more with a deeper knowledge of what it meant to really be loving and to be able to discern how to be loving in different situations.
Paul prayed that the Philippian Christians would be able to approve all excellent things in life so that they would be increasingly pure and blameless of all sin as we look forward to the Second Coming of Jesus.
Paul prayed that the Philippian Christians would be filled with all kinds of righteous thinking and acting and that we would get that righteous way of life from Jesus so that we would shine to the glory and praise of God.
That’s pretty specific, but still in general categories. So taking these general categories, here’s how we can pray more specifically for example…
“Lord, Bill’s a tough guy to work with. Frankly I don’t like him much. But would you help me today to have insight into his life so that I can love him in practical ways that will build him up, help us to work together more effectively, and maybe even give me an opportunity to introduce him to Jesus.”
“Father, I’ve hit a snag with Jimmy, my son. He’s 13 now and father to son we’re not getting along well. Help me to have insight into what’s coming between us. If it’s me I pray you would help me to grasp what I’m doing that’s harming our relationship. And then help me to figure out a way to move toward him. Help me to give him some slack right now. I know it’s a tough time of life being 13. But I get so ticked off sometimes to what he says and how he says things. Help me to have more control of my own emotions than ever before, especially this afternoon after school. May You enable us to have a good dinner time tonight, and help me be even more aware of what’s going on inside of me so I don’t explode!”
“Lord Jesus, I know I need to have more patience and humility and I ask that your righteousness will be working in and through me more and more. Specifically I need the ability to listen to my wife more rather than always talking. But right now it seems I’m loaded for bear, and always ready to pounce to defend myself. Ah, give me wisdom as to what’s going on inside of me. Help me to have the Holy Spirit’s power to in the moment when we’re talking, to listen more and respond slower. Thank you in advance for helping me today to have more patience and humility with my wife!”
So study the prayers of the New Testament and even the Lord’s Prayer in Matthew 6. Look at the general categories prayed for. Then get specific. And then look for the answers, for they will come!
Catch this:
1 John 5:14-15
And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him.
The more specific you pray, the more specific answers you will receive, and then, the more your faith will grow and the more you will worship the King!
You take it to heart,
Pete Alwinson
