Praying for Your Co-Workers, Family, and Friends
In the work of praying for those in our circle of influence, much has been said about praying from scripture. This being the truth, we must pray in God’s will (1 John 5:14) and in the Spirit (Ephesians 6:18). The best way to do this is by praying from scripture as led by the Holy Spirit. Here are some helps I have found from Paul and John on what to pray for.
First, off we must discern if our CFF (Co-worker, family, or friend) is saved. I changed from saying “judged” to “discern”. You can only judge from the outward evidence of fruit, discernment is the use of spiritual gifts to know the truth of something or someone. When discerning your CFF is indeed unsaved and lost, we may use Ephesians 1:15-18
“For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints,
I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers
and asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation in your knowledge of Him.
I ask that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you may know the hope of His calling, the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints, “(Ephesians 1:15-18 [BSBdraft]) Hear Episode 73
We must pray that they will have a supernatural “spirit of wisdom” and a “revelation” of knowledge of Christ. Their current state is that of being blinded by the god of this world. Pray that the bondage that is hindering them from seeing Christ, as He is, to be broken and that they would be free to decide for themselves to follow He.
“And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing.
The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers so they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. “ (II Corinthians 4:3-4 [BSBdraft]) Hear Episode 71
Next, pray that they would cease from doing wrong and walk as Christ walked.
“Now we pray to God that you will not do anything wrong” (II Corinthians 13:7-9 [BSBdraft]) Hear Episode 75
The next good thing to pray is that they would have a knowledge of God’s will for their lives and have supernatural wisdom (not worldly wisdom) and understanding of it. Which will lead to them walking worthy of Christ and being fruitful in everything they do, spiritually and secular.
“For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding,
so that you may walk in a manner worthy of the Lord and may please Him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God,
being strengthened with all power according to His glorious might so that you may have full endurance and patience, and joyfully
giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the light. He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” (Colossians 1:9-14 [BSBdraft] Hear Episode 76
Praying that the Lord would be glorified in their lives is very important to the life of a believer. This should be the chief aim of believers and would bring great fulfillment to them.
“To this end, we always pray for you, that our God will count you worthy of His calling, and that He will powerfully fulfill your every good desire and work of faith so that the name of our Lord Jesus will be glorified in you, and you in Him, according to the grace of our God and of the Lord Jesus Christ. “(II Thessalonians 1:11-12 [BSBdraft] Hear Episode 77
And finally, pray that they would be successful in their lives. Not necessarily wealth of fruitfulness and success in Kingdom work. The following verse is used a lot in prosperity preaching, but I see that the work is properly interpreted as “success”. Although secular success is good, not over success in the work of the Kingdom of God. Just as we cause our soul, the intellect, emotions, and the eternal part of the whole person, is successful through the renewing of the mind, so we should be successful in our work for the Kingdom. Which includes our jobs, school, and family life.
“Beloved, I pray that in every way you may prosper and enjoy good health, as your soul also prospers.” (III John 1:2 [BSBdraft]) Hear Episode 78
In conclusion, this is by no way the final word on this subject. The Word of God is full of instructions and wisdom for praying for our co-workers, family and friends. Dig deep to find out how the Spirit wishes for you to pray for those He loves and gave His life for.
Posted on the Marketplace Christian Resource Blog by Wayne Brooks June 27, 2021. The audio version coming soon on Podcast.
Bible quotations and versions come from the Xiphos Bible Software (Linux Mint)
