I heard a preacher once say, “The average Christian prays about three minutes each day, and the average pastor prays about five minutes a day.” I don’t know how accurate that is, but it does reveal the lack of prayer in the lives of many Christians. Here are a few statistics about prayer I’d like to share with you from pewresearch.org:
- 55% of Americans say they pray everyday
- 21% of Americans claim to pray weekly or monthly
- 23% of Americans say they seldom or never pray
- 64% of American women claim to pray daily
- 46% of American men say they pray daily
- 65% of Americans aged 65 and older claim to pray daily
- 41% of Americans adults under 30 claim to pray daily
Throughout the New Testament we observe many prayers of the early church. In Philippians Paul prays specifically for the believers in Philippi. Prayer will become dynamic when it is specific. I’d like to share with you five prayers we can pray for other believers based upon Paul’s prayer in Philippians 1:3-11.
Pray for believers with thanksgiving in your hearts (Phil. 1:3-8). It is very important to spend time thanking God for fellow believers. Take time to thank God for how He has used other people to encourage your Christian walk.
Pray for believers’ knowledge to be clothed with love (Phil. 1:9a). If somebody contained all the knowledge in the world, but did not demonstrate love then it would be in vain. Nobody likes to listen to Dr. KNOW IT ALL. Let’s pray for our fellow brothers and sisters to have knowledge clothed with love.
Pray for believers’ discernment to be clothed with love (Phil. 1:9b). One of the most discouraging aspects of modern Christianity is its willingness to neglect discernment. Today, Christians are either full of hateful discernment, or full of love without discernment. Christians need to have compassionate discernment. Take time to pray for other believers to have love in their discernment.
Pray for believers to sincerely test truth from error (Phil. 1:10). The Bible is the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. It reveals error and summons every follower of Christ to test all things. Pray that your fellow comrades in the faith will test truth from error by the Holy Scriptures.
Pray for believers to be full of the fruits of righteousness (Phil. 1:11). An unholy Christian is a contradiction. Many people within modern Christianity claim to be saved, but their actions declare otherwise. Righteous living is missing in the lives of many Christians. Pray for other believers to live righteously according to God’s Word.
Philippians 1:9-11 says, “And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment; That ye may approve things that are excellent; that ye may be sincere and without offence till the day of Christ. Being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God.”
Thank you Bryan..I think we all go through times that we feel our prayers hit the ceiling and that’s as far as it gets.
Enjoy your blog …God Bless You🙏 Dot
Thank you for taking time to read my blog, Dot! You are right about that. May God help us to have a consistent prayer life!
Great reading! Praying for you Pastor Bryan.
Brian, thanks so much for your messages. They are inspiring and give much food for thought. In my heart, I feel like I’m in close touch with the Holy Spirit continually and speak with Him though-out the day and night. As friends and family members cross my mind during the day I lift them up with a brief and sometimes a “specific” prayer depending on needs. It’s like an “an all day conversation/praying.” Guess I’m questioning if this is sufficient as my Prayer time or should I set aside (dedicate) a specific amount of time daily to Pray for others? Carol
That’s a great question, Carol! Throughout the Scriptures we observed different examples of prayer. For instance, Daniel prayed seven times each day, Paul and Silas prayed at midnight while in jail, and Christ arose early in the morning to pray. What has worked best for me is doing a combination of your question. As different individuals cross my mind throughout the day, I pray specifically for them at that moment. I’ve also set aside time during the time when I devote to Bible meditation and prayer. The Scriptures do not say we have to pray at 6AM every morning or at 9PM every evening; although, having a consistent time during the day devoted to prayer is a fantastic way to developing a greater walk with Christ. Hope that helps answer your question!
Your response was great!! And has resonated with me! I need to be more disciplined to establish a Prayer time and use my list. However, like you, I will continue to lift friends and family up as they cross my mind throughout the day. As a working housewife and homemaker, it’s easy to allow chores to alter my schedule especially during gardening times that begins at first light. But, I will definitely work more diligently to put Christ first!!! I love my Lord and want to please Him. Thank you my dear Pastor. Carol
Excellent article, Pastor Bryan! It nails us down in actually praying for people and taking control instead of mouthing some superficial prayer which doesn’t cut through the matter.