March Like Jesus
… Being Persistent in Prayer – Part III
Scripture Reading: Matthew 7:7-11
Key Verse: Ephesians 1:16
I have not stopped thanking God for you. I pray for you constantly.
As our Key Verse shows, the Apostle Paul practiced persistent prayers. He probably said the same words of this prayer over and over; He understood Jesus’s “marching orders” to keep on asking!
This prayer is so powerful that all of us should include it in our daily prayers. Here is the entire prayer:
Ever since I first heard of your strong faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for God’s people everywhere, I have not stopped thanking God for you. I pray for you constantly, asking God, the glorious Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, to give you spiritual wisdom and insight so that you might grow in your knowledge of God. I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the confident hope He has given to those He called—His holy people who are His rich and glorious inheritance.
I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for us who believe Him. (Ephesians 1:15-19)
To adapt it to my praying, I wrote out this verse paraphrasing it and inserting the words that would make it my prayer:
Father, I thank you for all those who have put their faith in Jesus.
I pray persistently, asking you, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, to give them spiritual wisdom and insight so that they might grow in their knowledge of you, God.
I pray that You will flood their hearts with light so that they can understand the confident hope that You, Father, give to those you have called — they are your holy people who have your rich and glorious inheritance.
I also pray that they will understand the incredible greatness of Your power that is available for all of us who believe you. Ephesians 1:16-19a (my paraphrase).
When you pray this prayer, you are asking God to give spiritual wisdom and insight for your family and friends, so they can grow in their knowledge of God. You are asking God to fill them with hope and to help them understand the incredible power of God available to them.
I cannot think of a better prayer to pray for those that we love and care about their spiritual journey with God. Let this prayer help you to persistently pray and never stop!
Father, thank You for hearing my prayers. Forgive me for the times I have given up on praying for someone. In Jesus’s Name, amen.