Four Ways to Pray for Your
Fellow Church Members
By Pastor Josh Wamble
Throughout the Bible, we are encouraged to approach God with confidence knowing that He will receive us and that He wants to hear from us. Philippians 4:6-7 say, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
Over the next few weeks, we will be posting specific ways you can be praying for different groups of people inside and outside of the church. This week, we want to think about church members. We hope that you are regularly praying for your fellow church members. Below, we offer six specific ways you can do so.
1. Pray for Their Personal Holiness
God saves His people by grace alone through faith alone. He gives new life to people who are dead in their sins. He transforms His people into new creations in Christ. We do not and cannot earn our salvation before Him. Salvation is wholly His work; yet, He calls His people to be holy even as He is holy. Our obedience comes out of the transformation that He works in us. Philippians 2:12-13 say, “Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.”
Pray that your fellow church members would work out their salvation with fear and trembling. Pray that they would take sin seriously and fight against it by the power of the Holy Spirit working in them. Pray that they would spend time in God’s word and prayer and that God would give them grace to live according to it. Pray that they would resist temptation and sin. Pray that they would be humble before the Lord and go to Him in repentance and confession when they do sin. Pray that their consciences would be soft and sensitive to the leading of the Holy Spirit.
2. Pray for Opportunities to Use Their Spiritual Gifts
The bible says that the Holy Spirit gives spiritual gifts to all of His people and that God gathers them in churches where those spiritual gifts can be used for the building up of the whole body. Pray that God would reveal to your fellow church members the gifts that He has given them. Pray that they would be bold and confident to use those gifts. Pray that God would provide opportunities for those gifts to be used in our church. Pray that our church would be strengthened through each one using his gifts. Pray that we would each be growing in Christ through the relationships that we have with one another in our church.
3. Pray for Unity in the Church
Pray that our church would be unified in Christ. Pray that God would be using His word in the life of our church to sanctify each individual. Pray that no one would be looking out for his own interests or desires or preferences. Pray that everyone would be putting others before themselves. Pray that there would be no rivalries or jealousies among the members of our church. Pray that we would be quick to forgive each other when we have been wronged. Pray that we would be humble and quick to ask forgiveness when we have wronged one another. Pray that gossip and complaining and backbiting would be absent from our church. Pray that we would be growing together as we study together, worship together, sing together, pray together, listen to preaching together, and serve our community and the world together.
4. Pray for the Families in the Church
Pray for the many families in our church.
Pray that God would save the children in our church.
Pray for the parents to be faithful in leading their children to the Lord and pray that God would bless those efforts. Pray that they would teach their children how to read the bible and how to pray.
Pray for the grandparents to be modeling for their adult children and grandchildren what maturity in the faith looks like. Pray that they would leave a legacy of faithfulness for their families to follow in.
Pray for the many young families in our church who are currently pregnant. Pray for mothers’ health and that the babies would be growing and developing. Ask God to be preparing them to be new parents and that Jesus would be at the center of their parenting. Pray that God would save their children.
Pray for those in our church who would like to have children but have not yet been able to. Pray that God would give them children. Pray that he would give them contentment with their current situation. Pray that God would keep them from any envy or jealousy and that He would give them genuine happiness for those around them who do have children.
Pray for the marriages in our church. Pray that husbands would love their wives and wives would love their husbands. Pray for them to be patient with each other and serve one another. Pray that they would prioritize each other and their family time above everything else.
Life can be hard, and all believers face temptations and difficulties. We need each other. Commit to faithfully and regularly pray for your fellow church members and pray that God would strengthen His church.
