Praying For People Who Have Everything

How do you pray for people who seem to have it all together? Well, the first thing we need to acknowledge is that no one really has it all together. But if you get my drift here, we are not always focusing our prayers on traumas and trials. What are some guidelines for praying for those in our lives who have no glaring needs? The apostle Paul may shed some light on this in the opening of his letter to the church at Colossae.

The city of Colossae was the center of trade and commerce in its hay-day. Paul had never actually visited the church at Colossae, in fact it was founded by Paul's companion Epaphras. Yet Paul harbored a strong affection for this church and its members. Paul notes that they had faith in Jesus Christ and because of their faith they had hope for the future. They were strong in their love for all the other believers and they seemed to be doing things right. So what was there to pray for? For the apostle, the very fact that things were looking good at the time was a reason to pray.

"For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy; giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light." Colossians 1:9-12

It is human nature to focus on the "squeaky wheel", you know, those who have glaring needs, obvious issues or annoying flaws; and we tend to take for granted the seemingly "less needy." In this passage Paul shows us that prayers don't stop because someone seems to have their act together. So how do we pray for people who seem to have their act together? Let's look at Paul's formula from Colossians 1:9-12.

Pray Without Ceasing
On the day I publicly surrendered to the ministry one of the elderly ladies in my church, a dear saint, came to me and committed herself to praying for me, "everyday." She would come to me with her note pad weekly to update her prayer list with my needs and those of my family. I wasn't the only person on her list, but I was comforted by the fact that she brought my name before Jesus every day until the day she went home. In my 20 plus years of ministry some of my greatest comforts came from knowing that a handful of faithful saints had committed themselves to praying for their pastors and leaders.

Paul said, I "do not cease to pray for you." Make a prayer list and commit yourself to continuous prayer for those on your list. Send them notes of encouragement and reminders that you are praying for them. Make a habit of maintaining a continuous conversation with God.

Pray For Fullness
Fullness of the Holy Spirit? No, that happened when you received Christ. The fullness Paul asked for was, "...that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding." The word "filled" here means to be complete. Paul is praying that they are complete in the knowledge of God's will. Now that's a filling we can all use. How many times have you found yourself praying, "God show me what you want me to...do,be or say?" Knowledge of God's will and the spiritual understanding to navigate life is a pursuit of all followers of Jesus and a safe prayer for the best of us. Even the apostle Paul admitted that he's not yet arrived where he needed to be but that he presses on towards that goal (Philippians 3:12-14).

It's All About The Walk
The Apostle now says that the reason we need a better knowledge of God's will is, "that you may walk worthy of the Lord..." Our "walk" is our behavior or our life. It is the way we carry ourselves. He prayed that their behavior would be "worthy" of the Lord.

I remember as a child that my parents would require a standard of behavior for my siblings and me that reflected our home and our standards. When we were at the home of other kids who were raised with say, "more relaxed" standards or as my parents would say, "they're allowed to get away with murder!" We knew our boundaries. We were to maintain a walk worthy of the Myers' standards...or else. Walking in that manner was definitely pleasing to my mother and father. Life was good when mother and father were pleased. Likewise, Paul notes that this walk will be, "fully pleasing" to the Lord.

As if that alone is not enough, another benefit of this God pleasing walk in that it will bear fruit in, "every good work." The idea of good work here is the work of pleasing God, which is in and of itself, a very good endeavor. This walk also allows us to increase "in the knowledge of God" and strengthens us with, "all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy." In a nutshell, the good work of a God honoring lifestyle allows us to better know God and in knowing Him we find our strength to endure this life. This, as Paul says, leads us to an attitude of thanksgiving and an acute appreciation for our being counted as a partaker of the inheritance with the others who have everything!