Editor’s Note: You can read the previous articles in this series below:
The Importance of Being Disciplined in Prayer
Prayer is Vital to Your Relationship with God
Prayer is Vital to Your Spiritual Health
The Importance of Being Disciplined in Prayer
In a recent series of articles, we’ve been examining the importance of being disciplined in prayer.
In our first article, we underlined the criticality of having a right heart in prayer. A disciplined prayer life should be driven by a desire to prioritize something we know is important and not by duty-bound guilt to check the box on a spiritual activity. In our second article, we explored the benefits of a disciplined prayer life in our relationship with God. In our last article, we looked at the impact of a disciplined prayer life on our spiritual health.
In this article, we’ll discuss how prayer is necessary for us to be effective in serving the Lord.
Prayer is Vital to Your Spiritual Effectiveness
If you’re a Christian, do you know that you have a ministry? It’s not just elders, deacons, and church staff members that have ministries. If you’re a believer, you should be involved with serving God and participating in the ministry of the kingdom. That includes evangelizing unbelievers, serving the church body, and ministering to other believers.
Prayer is the secret weapon in your service to the Lord. Jonathan Edwards said this about prayer and ministry:
There is no way that Christians, in a private capacity, can do so much to promote the work of God and advance the kingdom of Christ as by prayer.
The Example of the Apostles
When you look at the example of the apostles in the early church, prayer is a vital part of their ministry:
We will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.
Acts 6:4
You also must help us by prayer, so that many will give thanks on our behalf for the blessing granted us through the prayers of many.
2 Cor 1:11
At the same time, pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ, on account of which I am in prison.
Col 4:3
If the apostles devoted themselves to prayer and coveted the prayers of others to help them in their ministry, how much more should we be praying for our own spiritual effectiveness?
Praying For the Unsaved…Even Our Enemies
We should be praying for the unsaved people we know – our unsaved relatives, co-workers, neighbors, children, etc. God loves granting prayers for salvation.
We’re even told by Jesus to pray for our enemies:
But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you
Matt 5:44
Praying for the lost, both those we like and those we don’t, should be a consistent part of our prayer ministry.
Praying For Fellow Believers
We see many examples throughout scripture of praying for fellow believers. For example, we see Paul praying that the Thessalonians would be walking with the Lord:
To this end we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power, so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.
2 Thess 1:11-12
We see James instructing believers to pray for the sick and suffering:
Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise. Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.
James 5:13-15
Those are just a few of many examples of the types of prayers that we can lift up to the Lord for our fellow believers. Praying for God to meet specific needs or for his hand of blessing to be on those in our church is a way for believers to minister to other saints.
Praying For Those In Full-Time Ministry
Jesus told the disciples to pray for more kingdom workers:
Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.”
Matt 9:37-38
Praying for the effectiveness of pastors, evangelists, and missionaries is a way for us to participate in the ministry of their kingdom work.
Praying For Government Leaders
We’re commanded to pray for the spiritual revival of government leaders and our nation:
First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, or kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.
1 Tim 2:1-4
If we want to see change in our nation, we should be on our knees praying for our leaders more than we’re online railing against them with our keyboards. Prayer is the most effective form of political activism. Prayer is a vital component of ministering to our nation.
As we close out this series in our next article, we’ll look at some practical tips to help us be disciplined in prayer.
