I want to take the next few posts to share some very powerful and effective Scriptural prayers. After praying in other tongues (my heavenly prayer language that I received when I received the infilling of the Holy Spirit--see earlier blog posts for the teaching on this subject) I have found these prayers to be invaluable in praying for other people. These are some of the prayers of the Apostle Paul. The first one is found in Ephesians chapter 1:
Eph 1:16-23 (KJV)
16 Cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers;17 That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him:18 The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,19 And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power,20 Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places,21 Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come:22 And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church,23 Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all.
The first verse here says that I "cease not", meaning that I will not stop, "giving thanks for you", meaning that I am grateful and thankful to the Father for this person I am praying for and what they mean in my life. Then we see "making mention of you in my prayers", meaning that when I spend time in prayer, I am bringing that person before the Father and making requests of the Father for them. The next 3 verses detail what I am requesting of the Father for this person: that they may receive the spirit of wisdom (how to use knowledge) and revelation (enlightenment and understanding) in the knowledge (Greek "epignosis" that we talked about in a recent post, progressive knowledge, layer upon layer) of Him (our Lord Jesus Christ)! Then verse 18 goes on in more detail to specifically ask that their understanding be enlightened (illuminated) so that they may know what is the hope (joyful and confident expectation) of his calling (the invitation to salvation) and be made aware of the riches (wealth, abundant provision, and valuable bestowment) of the inheritance we have received as saints ( those who are born again have been made saints!). The verse 19 goes on to ask that they be made aware of the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe. That power that is so great that it was able to raise Jesus from the dead and elevate Him to that place that is so far above any other place of power and authority and any other name that is named, in any and every realm of authority and also gave Jesus that Name that is above every name! Not only that, but He was also made the head of the body (that's US!) and put all things under His feet. If all things are under His feet as the head of the body, then they are also under OUR feet as parts of that Body! And His presence FILLS that Body, all in all, which means individually and collectively! What a powerful, Godly prayer to pray for anyone!
I like to pray this prayer from the Amplified Bible, because it uses and brings to mind all of the above explanations and shades of meaning of the Greek words. Here is that translation:
Eph. 1:16-23 (Amplified)
16I do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers.
17[For I always pray to] the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, that He may grant you a spirit of wisdom and revelation [of insight into mysteries and secrets] in the [deep and intimate] knowledge of Him,
18By having the eyes of your heart flooded with light, so that you can know and understand the hope to which He has called you, and how rich is His glorious inheritance in the saints (His set-apart ones),
19And [so that you can know and understand] what is the immeasurable and unlimited and surpassing greatness of His power in and for us who believe, as demonstrated in the working of His mighty strength,
20Which He exerted in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His [own] right hand in the heavenly [places],
21Far above all rule and authority and power and dominion and every name that is named [above every title that can be conferred], not only in this age and in this world, but also in the age and the world which are to come.
22And He has put all things under His feet and has appointed Him the universal and supreme Head of the church [a headship exercised throughout the church],
23Which is His body, the fullness of Him Who fills all in all [for in that body lives the full measure of Him Who makes everything complete, and Who fills everything everywhere with Himself].
Now pray whichever version of that prayer that YOU are comfortable with, replacing the "you" in all of these places with the person's name that you are praying for. I pray for every member of my family, my church, and our ministry partners this way. 1 John 5 tells us how to know that we have the answers to our prayers:
I Jn 5:14-15 (KJV)
14 And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us:15 And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.
The Amplified Bible says this:
1 John 5:14-15 (Amplified)
14And this is the confidence (the assurance, the privilege of boldness) which we have in Him: [we are sure] that if we ask anything (make any request) according to His will (in agreement with His own plan), He listens to and hears us.
15And if (since) we [positively] know that He listens to us in whatever we ask, we also know [with settled and absolute knowledge] that we have [granted us as our present possessions] the requests made of Him
If we ask for anything that is according to His will, He hears us and IF He hears us, we have what we have asked for. Praying God's Word back to Him is the surest way to pray according to His will! Then we KNOW that we have the answer! Now we can just continue to praise Him for what He is doing that we can't see yet, knowing that it is accomplishing exactly what we have asked Him for! Now continue to pray in the Spirit for these people and watch God work HIS work! Hallelujah!
Shalom in Him!
