Ever Wondered What to Pray for Healthy Christians?

Sometimes knowing what specifically to pray for a healthy Christian can be a challenge. Asking God to bless them is a nice blanket statement, but what if you really do want to be more specific? What then?

Have you ever drawn a blank? We can surely ask for protection. We can ask for open doors for any ministry efforts they have going. What else?

If you are like me, sick folks can easily dominate the list. We are also usually pretty familiar with their needs. Following that group in number, you may be praying for specific short-term needs that you know that others have. This may include medical appointments or surgeries. After that, you may have a smaller group of folks that stay on your list all the time. That may include the unsaved and those with long-term needs, terminal illnesses for example, as well as those that you ask God to bless because they are family or friends that you want to lift up in prayer.

We don’t always know what family and friends really need day by day. It would be easy to ask God to bless them and protect them and then move on. Paul gives us a perfect example of some other things that we can pray.

For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God; Strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness;
Colossians 1:9-11

You may have prayed those same things for yourself. We want to be full of wisdom and spiritual understanding. We want to walk pleasing to the Lord and be fruitful in our good works. We want to know more about God and have His power on us. What better thing than that to pray for our Christian brothers and sisters? I’m sure they’d love to have the same thing.

Paul continues with thanksgiving and acknowledgment of what God has done for us.

Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:
Colossians 1:12-14

The next time you get ready to pray for a Christian – even if it is yourself, but you don’t know what to pray, take a look at Colossians 1.

LIFE APPLICATION

Today’s challenge is to update your prayer list. If you aren’t keeping a prayer journal, I encourage you to start one. It’s a great way to make sure that you don’t forget to pray for someone, but it’s also a great way to keep track of answered prayer. Remember to thank God for those answers.

You may also want to consider starting a section in it just for your requests. You can keep track of any promises that God gives you personally. List any scripture that you have found comforting or that provided you with the answers you need.