Prayer-The First Resort

“Wherefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus, and love unto all the saints, Cease not to give thanks for you making mention of you in my prayers.”  Ephesians 1:15-16

The Apostle Paul wrote to the Ephesian church to commend them for their faith in Christ.  He had founded this church and placed Timothy as its pastor.  In his letter to them, he wanted to let them know that he was praying for them.  Does it not help one’s spirit to be told that he or she is being prayed for?  Knowing that someone is praying for me lets me know that someone cares about me.  And isn’t that what most folks seek–someone to care about them?  It is a lonely existence for anyone to think that no one cares about him or her.  We were made for relationships.  We are to care about one another, you know, like Jesus said, “love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:39).

Paul then goes on to tell them specifically what he is praying: 1.) That God would give them wisdom and reveal Himself to them so that they could know Him more intimately (1:17); 2.) that they would have a clear understanding of His purpose for them, and how God has been enriched by them becoming part of His family (1:18); and 3.) that they would realize the strength and enablement of His resurrection power to help and guide them, the same power that raised Christ from the dead (1:19-20).

What did Paul not mention?  He didn’t pray for all their aches and pains to be healed, or to get that new car or job, not that these things aren’t important to folks.  It is always appropriate to pray for health concerns, needs, or even desires that are not selfish.  We are to pray about everything.  Paul tells us in Philippians 4:7 to not be anxious, but to pray and ask God in a spirit of thankfulness for our needs.  When we pray in Jesus’ name, it means, as I read on line in an In Touch Devotional several years ago, that “essentially…we are saying that we believe Jesus Himself would make the same petition, were He in our situation”.  If we would just keep that thought in mind when praying, our prayer life would likely greatly improve, that is, we would skip all the selfish and/or superficial petitions and get serious in talking with the God of all creation.  We should never leave prayer as a last resort.  We somehow think we can handle situations on our own, but then find that what we are trying to do isn’t working out, and thus we then turn to the Lord, when He was ready and willing to help us from the very beginning.  Some of us never seem to learn.

While praying for physical needs is certainly appropriate, it is more important to be spiritually healthy than physically healthy.  These bodies will wear out one day, but the soul and spirit will live forever.