Never underestimate the power of your prayers. Think about it like this. It is cold and dark and you have been thrown in a prison cell. You do not know when you will get out or when you will eat your next meal. You bow your head to pray. What do you pray for? Safety, deliverance, a decent meal? Paul was the person in those circumstances. He bows to pray, but he doesn’t pray for himself. He prays for a group of people he hasn’t met and does not know. Listen to what he prays for. He asks God to intercede for their spiritual well-being. He prays that they will be so completely surrendered to Jesus they will not seek their way but God’s way. He prays that they will have spiritual wisdom and understanding. He prays they will be strengthened by God’s power. Do you pray for others like that? Most of the time, when we pray for other people, we are asking God to help them with the troubles they are facing. There is nothing wrong with that. We love people enough to pray for God to deliver them from their circumstances, but do we love people enough to pray for their souls and spiritual well-being? Paul was praying for those he had not met to know the will of God, to have the wisdom to do the will of God, and to have the strength to endure. I want people praying for me like that, don’t you? Who do you need to pray for today?
– Dr. Tim Thompson