What Do You Pray For

I was lead to ask this question - how often do I reflect on what I pray for?

Honestly, I often find my prayers centering on my personal needs, desires, ambitions, and dreams. These are prayers that prioritize what I want from God over what He desires from me and for me. It seems I tend to lay before His throne petitions revolving more around my interests rather than asking Him to show me how to be more in His will.

Scripture cautions us against prayers offered in a spirit of pride or selfishness that testify to our own perceived goodness rather than to His grace. I immediately think of Jesus’ words in Luke 18:9-14 that teach the humility of the tax collector over the arrogance of the Pharisee.

Thinking through how and what I pray for leads to a simple and profound conclusion: prayer is not merely an act for my own benefit. It is not even primarily for my benefit. Prayer is an act of worship and communion with God. My focus in prayer should not be exclusively on myself then, but on God and what’s important to Him. Ideally, my heart and mind should align with God’s will, so that my prayers reflect His desires. Yet, somewhere along the line I have adopted a selfish approach that places myself at the center of my prayers. Instead of focusing on God and His will, I have often centered my prayers on my own needs and desires, leading to prayers that seldom extend beyond myself.

Pastor John Piper’s describes how he prays using the idea of concentric circles, starting with himself, then moving to his family, his church, and gradually expanding to encompass community, nations, and the world. This seems like a sound method, but I think it might be easy to spend a disproportionate amount of time in the innermost circle – me! If I begin with myself, I fear my prayers might dwindle, to where I spend far more time praying for myself than for the rest of the world combined.

For me (you must decide what’s best for you) starting with my needs could lead me to self-centeredness and a form of selfish prayer, denying others the intercession they deserve. By neglecting to pray for my community, I would deprive them of prayers that could have blessed them. Who will pray for these people if I do not? Who knows what opportunities may have been lost because of my failure to pray faithfully? By neglecting to pray for my friends and loved ones, I would have withheld prayers that expressed my love for them. I see how selfish my prayers could be if I focus primarily on myself and my immediate concerns.

It seems then, that the most selfish prayer of all is the prayer that remains unspoken and never extends to others who are in desperate need of God’s grace. Prayer should connect us to God and to each other, as we join in lifting up the needs of the world and aligning our hearts with His divine will.

Author Corrie ten Boom said it this way:
When a Christian shuns fellowship with other Christians, the devil smiles. When he stops studying the Bible, the devil laughs. When he stops praying, the devil shouts for joy.

Lord, help me overcome my tendency to pray just for my needs and lead me to intercede for those who may not have anyone else to pray for them. Forgive me of my selfishness and remind me of the miraculous power in prayer and for Your will to be done in my heart and the world. Amen


Credit: Ron Kelley