Pray for Others by Rick Warren

"In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy." Philippians 1:4 (NIV)

(God himself prays for all of us. He prays for us that we may find our way to Him.)

The quickest way to change a relationship from bad to good is to start thanking God for people you are having difficulty getting along with. (Loving someone is actually loving what you do not like or hate about that person, it is hard to love your enemies but it's what's pleasing to God, i tell you i learned it the hard way J )

 

Praying for them will do two things -- change your attitude and change them. Positive praying is much more powerful than positive thinking. People may resist our help, spurn our appeals, and reject our suggestions, but they are powerless against our prayers. (Many plots were made against Paul in the last years of his life, especially by Jews who would stir the crowd and excite them when Paul was preaching. He was beaten more than once, and put in prison. He was persecuted in every one of his missionary journeys. He was persecuted because of a "lack of understanding, preconceptions, irritations and provocation."The message of a risen Christ and Saviour was aggravating for Jews as well as many pagan believers. During his first missionary journey, Paul was stoned in the city of Lystra for healing a crippled man. Some Jews dragged him out of the city thinking he was dead but when his disciples came around him, he miraculously got up and went into the city. Paul was also put in prison while he was in Philippi and also in Jerusalem. He was saved because He prayed for God to protect Him)

 

What do you pray? The more specific you are in prayer, the more specific the answer will be. 

In Philippians 1:9-11, Paul spells out exactly what he's praying for people. "And this is my prayer, that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight so that you may be able to discern what is best and be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ to the glory and praise of God." (NIV)

These verses give you four things you can pray for people today –

"Abound in love …" Pray that they will grow in love.

"Discern what is best …" Pray that they make wise choices.

"Be pure and blameless …" Pray that they will do the right thing.

"Filled with the fruit of righteousness …" Pray that they will live for God's glory.