From our previous studies on different passages on prayer we know that prayer is not only personal, but also communal. It also ought not to be focused on our own will, but on God’s will instead. In the letter to the Colossians you will find the verses quoted above, which teach us even more about praying for our brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus… or in other words – how to pray for one another.

The first important lesson comes from verse 4. Apostle Paul and Timothy do pray for the believers from Colossae, but not because they are best friends or have some other type of a special relationship. As a matter of fact, Paul isn’t even the founder of this church. They two pray for these believers simply because they are their brothers and sisters in Christ.

Today the case seems to be different. In a time when there is more Christians than ever before, and communications are made easier by the hour, it seems that more and more people are in need of something extra in order to pray for their fellow-believers – whether we admit this or not, it is a fact that we can easily do much better. And God’s word teaches us precisely this! Do you pray continually for believers who are not from your vicinity? If not – what is preventing you from doing so, and what can you do to overcome it?

The second lesson from the passage can be summarized in this phrase: have not stopped. In previous devotionals we have seen that continuous prayer is important, but how much more important it is to pray so when it is about brothers and sisters, most of whom live lives far harder than yours and mine! Next time when you pray – remember the Christians who do not have the luxury of worshipping in public because they will be killed if they do so. Or think of the ones who daily face death – their children’s or relatives’ due to malnutrition. Do not forget also your brothers and sisters who are expelled from their families because they have chosen to be part of God’s family, the same you are a part of. Begin to regularly pray for these people, who although far in distance are your closest ones in what matters most – faith.

The next important issue which this passage addresses is the one of “How do I pray for these people that I don’t know?” The easiest to do is to simply follow Paul’s prayer for them. Pray that the Christians will know God’s will and be filled with His wisdom and spiritual understanding. And just as me and you, all other believers need these things in order to live a life worthy of God’s calling. Moreover, knowing God’s will and having spiritual understanding is far more important than any physical healing or material provision.

For the persecuted ones – pray that God’s Holy Spirit will fill them with boldness and courage for sharing their faith. Pray also for God’s protection.

For the Christians who live in misery and poverty and are threatened by all kinds of diseases daily – pray that God will send to them fellow-believers who have the necessary resources to help them and that the latter will serve persistently and in love. Pray also for God’s supernatural provisions – for He is a great and mighty God who doesn’t know what “impossible” means. Pray for protection from natural disasters as well.

For the believers who are young in their faith – pray that God will send helpers who will encourage them and up build them, and will also embrace them with love.

Pray that God will reveal to you through His Holy Spirit for whom and how to pray daily. Pray for His help so that your prayers may be persistent.

Should you need help – send us a message and we will do our best to answer your questions and send you some guidelines for finding more information on the topic in the Bible.

The apostles have recently been instructed by Jesus “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit” (Acts 1:4,5, NIV). And now they have just seen him ascend into the heavens from where He is to return in all glory.

Today, this promise of God in such circumstances would often lead to division rather than Pentecost. In most cases when the leader of a church leaves for one reason or another, the congregation immediately divides into different camps instead of praying with one accord. And yet, such a prayer is by far not the only lesson one ought to learn from this passage.

Before starting to pray, the apostles and the rest of the people with them carefully follow Jesus’ instructions – they simply wait. Lately, however, waiting has been losing its value as a virtue. Most of us own or wish to own a microwave oven, a fast computer, speedy Internet access, fast response to their e-mails… and a fast reaction by others in each and every situation. And all this just because we can’t wait. Sadly, the wasted money and nerves aren’t the only negative consequence of this. The worst is that by learning to require faster speed and shorter waiting time of everything and everyone, we also slowly begin to unlearn how to wait on God’s promise and His answers to our prayers. Sometimes God’s reply comes faster than expected and we’re jumping for joy and singing praises. Yet, other times God’s answers don’t come in accordance with our expectations… Thus, as opposed to microwave ovens and fast Internet prayer does require patience. Those of us who have the patience to wait also do receive God’s answer. Unfortunately, there are also those of us who can’t wait and instead try to fill up their emptiness with whatever little things they can do or provide on their own. Brothers and sisters, let us learn to pray with patience!

Jesus’ disciples did not only pray with patience but also prayed with one accord and constantly. Just as with patience, these two qualities also seem to be not so popular in today’s culture and society. This is the very reason we ought to pay even more attention to them. Today it is fashionable for a person to strive for achieving their individual desires and the less endurance it requires, the better. The proper functioning of Christ’s body – the body of believers cannot be a reality without endurance and harmony. The word endurance itself hasn’t lost all its value yet and this should be to our encouragement. As for harmony – the situation there is very different. In some countries as a result of the still bleeding wounds of communism, and in others – because of a long strive for individualism simply mentioning the word harmony in the context of people living together creates fears and worries. The harmony and oneness mentioned in Acts, however, shouldn’t create fears and worries after one has understood its meaning.

The Greek word ὁμοθυμαδόν (translated “together” in NIV) means “in one mind”, thus expressing what the apostles and the others praying with them had amongst each other. Among all these people there isn’t separation or divisions, there are no personal interests taking over the communal desire for God’s promise… There is no hatred, nor is there mutual or one-sided neglect. All these men and women, perhaps at different ages and certainly of different backgrounds – they all have put their differences behind so that they may turn to God together. And namely such should our prayers be… as well as our lives, if we have the boldness to call ourselves Christians.

May our prayer be: “Lord, help us to wait on your answers. Give us strength to overcome our differences, so that we may bow before your as brothers and sisters in harmony, according to your grace.”

Besides the thanksgiving Paul also writes about how he (and often the others who are with him) is praying for the recipients of the letter. It is namely this part of the letters that we ought to pay special attention should we want to pray for other Christians – from our own church, but also for believers from far and beyond our area.

Philippians 1:6-11 continues: “… being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. It is right for me to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in my heart; for whether I am in chains or defending and confirming the gospel, all of you share in God’s grace with me. God can testify how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus. And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God.” (NIV)

One can learn several important truths about prayer for the other believers – our family in Christ. As you go on, open your heart and mind for God’s Spirit who will help you to apply in your daily living a similar attitude towards all Christians. The Spirit will also help you to pray sincerely for them, so that your prayers will be pleasing to God.

The first truth is simple to recognize – we must pray for other Christians – not only for those from your own country, but also for Christians from throughout the globe. Just as apostle Paul wasn’t satisfied with prayer for the church of one city alone, so should we also have a broader view over God’s body of believers. Daily set aside time for prayer for the believers who are not closely around you – pray for other churches from your town; pray for all churches from your own country; pray for the needs of Christians outside your country.

As you pray for the brothers and sisters in the faith do not pray with some artificial general prayer. Pray sincerely and for specific needs instead. If you do not know what the current needs of those believers are – use Paul’s prayer from Philippians 1:9-11.

Do not forget also to thank God for the Christians that you are praying for. Very often we take the presence of other Christians for granted. This is a serious mistake. My life, as well as yours has been strongly impacted by the lives of those whom we take for granted. Without them our lives would look very different. In addition, one’s faith in God is best expressed among other believers. Praying for these others will encourage you and will open a way for God’s Spirit to plant more and more love for them in you.

Your sincere prayer for the believers will not only lead to unity in God’s body – which is how God wants to see us, but will also fill your life with a daily portion of joy for the fact that God is at work in the lives of so many people… People, that we tend to forget about in the most difficult times. Pray for the saints as you are praying for yourself!