PRAY FOR ALL
TODAY’S SCRIPTURE
I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people. Ask God to help them; intercede on their behalf, and give thanks for them. Pray this way for kings and all who are in authority so that we can live peaceful and quiet lives marked by godliness and dignity. This is good and pleases God our Savior, who wants everyone to be saved and to understand the truth.
1 Timothy 2:1-4 NLT
TODAY’S THOUGHT
Paul opens his letter to his spiritual son with a challenge about praying for “all people” and specifically for “kings and all who are in authority.” Paul says the reason we are to pray for all people is because God “wants everyone to be saved and to understand the truth.”
The best and first thing we can do for our family, friends, and everyone is to pray for them. The priority of our prayers for them is that they will know Jesus as their Lord and Savior and know His will and purpose for their lives.
For a long time, I have maintained a prayer list of individuals in my life who are not yet followers of Christ. Early on I prayed that God would save them and bring transformation to their lives. One day I realized that God has already done His part in their salvation. He sent Jesus to die on the cross to pay the price for our sins.
I changed my prayers to involve three steps. First, I ask the Holy Spirit to put in their hearts a hunger for truth. The Holy Spirit brings conviction to our hearts so that we know when we are wrong. I ask the Holy Spirit to convict them of their sins and show give them the desire to change.
Secondly, I ask the Holy Spirit to bring into their lives individuals who will point them to the light of God’s truth. Jesus told us to pray for workers to go into the harvest field of the lost. I pray for people to go into their world and influence them for God’s truth.
Finally, I take spiritual authority over every spiritual force of darkness that has blinded them and kept them from seeing the truth. I believe God has given us authority in the name of Jesus to bind the powers of darkness through spiritual warfare. Those who are not yet followers of Christ are living under the influence of the spirit of darkness. They need freedom so they can see the light of truth.
I believe God wants EVERYONE to be saved. He loves them even more than I do. He loves them so much He sent His only Son to be betrayed, tortured, and nailed to a tree to purchase their salvation. I do not have to beg God to save them. He has already made that possible. The battle is with Satanic spirits that are deceiving and trapping them in ignorance and blindness.
TODAY’S PRAYER
Holy Spirit teach me how to pray for those in my world who are not followers of Christ. Help me to speak their names before Your throne and pray over them with a hunger for Your truth, freedom from the bondage of darkness, and for people to come into their lives to point them to an intimate relationship with Jesus.
“Scroll down to share what you feel God is saying based on today’s reading.”
I pray for our families en la casa de Dios. I have a list of their family members. God has put this in my heart ever since I lost my father. He would do the same. He would have a list with him. I believe it is the most powerful weapon that we can do for these families.