When you pray for others, do you pray about them or  for them? Whether they are friend or foe, do you pray about them or for them?

When praying about someone, we usually focus on praying for ourselves in some way. Whether it is related to something positive or negative about the person for whom we are praying, the focus is usually on ourselves, not them. It is selfish rather than otherish.

The prayer about someone is usually focused on what we want from the other person. Whether it is their love, their appreciation, a change in their behavior or attitude, the prayer is for our benefit, not the other person or the Kingdom of God, though we may try to state the prayer in a way that appears to be focused on something else. These prayers are rooted in the world’s values as the Apostle John stated in 1st John 2:16, “For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.” It is the prayer of a consumer not the prayer of a blesser.

Praying for someone is always praying for their benefit and theirs alone. It is a prayer rooted in love for them and seeks their highest interest. What we get out the deal is irrelevant. It is a prayer rooted in 1Corinthians 13:4-8, “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.”

This is why Jesus said in Luke 11:5-10, “Suppose one of you has a friend, and he goes to him at midnight and says, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread, because a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I have nothing to set before him.’ “Then the one inside answers, ‘Don’t bother me. The door is already locked, and my children are with me in bed. I can’t get up and give you anything.’ I tell you, though he will not get up and give him the bread because he is his friend, yet because of the man’s boldness he will get up and give him as much as he needs. “So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.” This is the essence of a prayer for someone; asking, seeking, and knocking for their benefit.

The Father is anxiously awaiting the prayers for those you would bring before Him. Go and pray your hearts out.

Bless God

John Pearson