Insight for Today
A Daily Devotional by Pastor Chuck Swindoll

Praying for Others

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IF WE HAD THE unusual opportunity to spend a day talking to the apostles, men like Paul, Peter, James, and John, I think they'd emphasize an oft-spoken discipline—but one that's rarely deployed in our lives: praying for others.

Most things in our lives conspire against such a commitment to prayer. Our busy schedules, our intense desire to give our kids the best education and life experiences, and simply forgetfulness.

Yet praying for God's people was forefront on the minds of the apostles in the early church. They counted on it from those they served.

Dear brothers and sisters, we ask you to pray for us. Pray that the Lord's message will spread rapidly and be honored wherever it goes, just as when it came to you. Pray, too, that we will be rescued from wicked and evil people, for not everyone is a believer.

2 THESSALONIANS 3:1–2

Here's another exhortation from Paul:

Pray for me, too. Ask God to give me the right words so I can boldly explain God's mysterious plan that the Good News is for Jews and Gentiles alike. I am in chains now, still preaching this message as God's ambassador. So pray that I will keep on speaking boldly for him, as I should.

EPHESIANS 6:19–20

Ever wonder how to pray for pastors who have been arrested for their faith? You just read it. Don't delay. Start praying that prayer immediately.

Start with a list . . . actual names of people and, in parentheses, you might write at least one need you are aware of. Be specific. Include in that list your pastors and their families. Missionaries who serve in cross-cultural locations—many in perilous places of the world. Pray for persecuted Christians in the Middle East and Asia. Pray for your neighbors, your kids' friends, and their families. Make praying for others a high priority. You will join the mission of God and participate in unleashing God's mighty power in their lives.