What Are We Praying For?

Colossians 4:3 “And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains.”

2 Thessalonians 1:11-12 “With this in mind, we constantly pray for you, that our God may count you worthy of his calling, and that by his power he may fulfill every good purpose of yours and every act prompted by your faith. ¹²We pray this so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.”

“Years later, when Scotland’s Reformed Church issued a plea for missionaries for the South Pacific, John Patton went to his parents for advice. They told him something they had never before disclosed—he had been dedicated to foreign missions before birth.” (Robert J. Morgan, On This Day)

What if God answered all of our prayers we prayed for today? What if all of a sudden God said, “ok” and blam everything we all prayed for was immediately answered?

How would the world be different? I wonder if the world would be different at all. I wonder if the result would be that we we all just get a little more comfortable and healthy.

Paul told the church to pray for him so that the Gospel would go out and that they would be able to fulfill God’s purpose for their lives – that the name of Jesus would be glorified in them.

Is that the focus of our prayers? Do we pray for the Gospel to change our church, our city, our nation, and our world? Or do we focus our prayer on our health, our money, and our relational needs?

What I wonder is, are we praying for God to provide a life for us where we don’t need Him? Are we asking God to give us health and wealth and solid relationships so we can be happy? And if God gave us all of those blessings, would we even want or need God? Do we want the blessings of God or do we want God? Do we truly want God to be our Father, Jesus to be our Friend, and Holy Spirit to be our Faithful Guide?

Our prayers tell us a lot about who we are and what we value. Do we value the Gospel mission God has given us more than we value our own personal comfort and success? Do we desire to see God’s name and glory spread more than anything else?

Back to the first hypothetical question, what if God answered our prayers today? Would more of our children become missionaries like John Patton? Would our lost family members, friends, cities, and the nations of the world experience the radical transformation of Christ?

If we are not praying for those things, what are we praying for? Is what we are praying for what God wants us to pray for? What are we praying for? There is nothing wrong with praying for health, God’s provision, and healthy God-honoring relationships, but have we come to value those more than God Himself and the Great Commission?