How to Pray for Others – An Example

The apostle Paul shows how to pray for others: that they may abound in love for all and that God may strengthen them to live a life devoted to God’s purposes (1 Thess. 3:12-13). Could you pray that prayer for someone?

Image by pine watt, provided by Unsplash via Wix.

Do you ever feel like you don’t know how to pray for other people or what to pray?

Maybe you want to pray for a loved one or for a friend.  Maybe you want to pray for an elected official or for your pastor.  Maybe you want to pray for your boss or for a project you hope to complete.

You think you know what they need.  But is it enough to ask God to do what you think needs to happen?

The apostle Paul prayed regularly for the churches he established and the people he worked with.  How did he pray for them?  We have an example in his very first letter – 1 Thessalonians – and his prayer goes far deeper than asking God to meet immediate needs.

Paul prayed that the Thessalonians would abound in love and be blameless in holiness in the eyes of God

 

In 1 Thessalonians 3:12-13, Paul prays, “may the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all, just as we have for you, so as to strengthen your hearts, to be blameless in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus” (NABRE).

There are two parts to Paul’s prayer.  It might be worth asking how often we pray the way Paul prays, for our loved ones, our challenges, and the people who vex us.

First, Paul prays that they may increase and abound in love for each other and for all people.

What does it mean to increase and abound in love for all people?

• Paul wants their love to increase and more.  In the Bible, to “abound” is to be filled to overflowing.  Paul is praying that they will be overflowing with love for each other and for all people.  We are “abounding” in love for all when we are a channel for God’s love to flow through us to every person we meet.

Second, Paul prays that the Lord may strengthen their hearts to be blameless in holiness before God.

What does it mean to be blameless?

• To be blameless is to be morally upright and innocent of any charge that might be made against us.  In the context of Paul’s letter, where he prays that they will be found blameless before God when Jesus returns, it means always living an upright life, without sin.

What does it mean to be blameless in holiness?

• In the Bible, to be holy means to be devoted to the purposes for which God made us, allowing God to work his image and character ever more deeply into us.  It doesn’t mean we always have our hands folded in piousness.  We could be outgoing and even quirky, but always within the bounds of what God intends for us.

• To be blameless in holiness means to be living a life that fully reflects God’s character and is focused on doing what God has called us to do as people made in his image.

There are two details in Paul’s prayer that are important:

• Notice that we are called to be blameless before God.  That’s what matters.  The world may accuse us of things based on values that are not God’s values.  We are called to be blameless in God’s eyes.

• Notice also that Paul prays that God will strengthen their hearts so that they will be blameless in holiness.  Holiness is not something we are called to achieve on our own.  We are called to work in partnership with God and allow him to help us be fully devoted to our calling and the character he is working into us.

We can pray this prayer for anyone: that they overflow with love and receive strength from God to live a holy life reflecting God’s character and purposes

Paul’s prayer can be a model for us.  He asks God to strengthen the Thessalonians so that they are overflowing with God’s love and are living a life that fully reflects God’s holiness and therefore God’s character in all things.  This is a good model for prayer because God wants these things for everyone.

This doesn’t mean we shouldn’t pray for the job, the healing, the relationship, the project.  Those things are important too.  In the same prayer quoted above, Paul also prayed that God would provide a way for Paul to be able to visit the Thessalonians.  These more immediate concerns matter to God, too.

But Paul sees a bigger picture and prays with a wider lens.

Paul prays for deeper concerns, and we can too

Paul looks at what people are called to be at their deepest level and prays for God’s movement in their lives to help them fulfill their calling.

God wants everyone to abound in love for all because that is the nature of God: He is overflowing with love for all people.  And with the help of God, all people can fulfill their purposes and thus live a holy life, becoming like God in all things and fulfilling the unique purposes for which he made them.

This is a powerful prayer that we can pray for everyone.

Come to think of it, we can pray this prayer for ourselves, too.

May each of us abound in love for all people, and may God strengthen our hearts so that we live a holy life totally devoted to all that God wants to do in and through us!

NOTE: There is much more in Chapter 3 of Paul’s First Letter to the Thessalonians and in the rest of the letter.  Check out our full set of Bible Studies on 1 Thessalonians here: 1 Thessalonians, which can help you find additional ways to apply God’s Word to your life.