In Praying for Others
Tuesday’s Verse:
From 1 Thessalonians 1:2 NIV
“We always thank God for all of you and continually mention you in our prayers.”
Saint Paul doesn’t mince words here. He simply says, “For this I thank God…” You’ll notice he doesn’t say that he thanks God when it’s convenient or only when someone is facing a crisis. Paul gives continual thanks for others.
Prayer isn’t Paul’s first option. It isn’t something he does when he’s out of other options. Prayer is the diet by which he lives his daily life, formed by love and confidence in God’s providence.
When we pray for others, we’re taken out of ourselves. It’s easy to get caught up in our own needs, concerns, and agendas. In prayer, God graciously redirects our gaze. We start to see others not as projects to fix or problems to manage, but as lives entrusted to our faithful Creator.
It’s also an exercise in humility. When we pray for others, we admit we are not the ones who will rescue, provide, heal, or change anyone’s heart. God is. Prayer puts our neighbors in their proper place: before the throne of God’s mercy. And it molds our own hearts in the process. Thankfulness increases. Patience increases. Love grows stronger than a feeling we have. It becomes the way we live.
In praying for others, Lutherans pray from the Gospel. We pray for our neighbors not in order to earn God’s favor, but because we already receive God’s favor in Christ. Christ bore our sins and the sins of our neighbors on the cross. Because of that sacrifice, we can pray confidently, knowing that God hears us because of Jesus.
✝️ A Prayer for Today:
Heavenly Father, thank You that You surround us with people. Teach us to remember them in prayer. Not just in times of trouble, but in grateful daily prayers. Help us trust You are working all things for their good, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Apostles’ Creed:
I believe in God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth.
And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried. He descended into hell. The third day He rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. From thence He will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Christian Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.
The Lord’s Prayer:
Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven; give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. Amen.
Luther’s Morning Prayer:
I thank You, my heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ, Your dear Son, that You have kept me this night from all harm and danger; and I pray that You would keep me this day also from sin and every evil, that all my doings and life may please You. For into Your hands, I commend myself, my body and soul, and all things. Let Your holy angel be with me, that the evil foe may have no power over me. Amen.
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