Prayers

THE LONGEST PRAYER LIST IN THE BIBLE

by GLENN PEASE
03/19/22
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I Tim. 2:1-8k, “I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone— 2for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. 3This is good, and pleases God our Savior, 4who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. 5For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, 6who gave himself as a ransom for all men—the testimony given in its proper time. 7And for this purpose I was appointed a herald and an apostle—I am telling the truth, I am not lying—and a teacher of the true faith to the Gentiles. 8I want men everywhere to lift up holy hands in prayer, without anger or disputing.”

1. Notice the absolutes in this passage. First of all, prayers of all kinds are to be made for everyone, and the main reason all are included is that God wants everyone to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth. Jesus gave himself as a ransom, not for many or most, but for all men, and so it is proper and a duty for Christians everywhere to lift up anyone and everyone in prayer. There is not one unlisted, and no one blackballed from God's prayer list. If they are alive and breathing, they are valid subjects of prayer. This makes Paul's prayer list the longest in the Bible, and the longest in the world, and the longest possible, for it includes everyone.

2. So you can and ought to pray for people even who do not deserve to be prayed for. They are sinful people who rip off the innocent, and even murder people for their own greed. The world is filled with wicked people that we have a right to hate, but they can and ought to also be people that we pray for. Why? Because as bad as they are, they can still be saved and come to Christ. Few Christians will ever pray for a president or governor who is of a different party from their persuasion, but in doing so they are deliberately defying the will of Paul in this passage. The goal you will note is not to pray that they will lose so our candidate can win, but that we can live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. Whoever is in power, regardless of your party choice needs to be prayed for so that they make the best choices for the people. I have a hunch that this is seldom done because of the prejudice of party politics. Paul does not ask for much does he? He ends this passage with verse 8 in which he just wants all men to lift up holy hands in prayer without anger or disputing. I want to say, “You have got to be kidding Paul.” Many believers would be saying, or at least thinking, “Nero is in power persecuting believers and we are to pray for him? This is disgraceful advice.”

3. Of course, Paul does not say what we are to pray, for that would depend on the situation, but the goal is peace, and so each believer will have to discern what direction his or her prayer will take. Some may pray, “Lord, keep Nero so busy in pursuing war outside of the Empire that he leaves believers alone.” Other might say, “Bring him so much pleasure in other areas of his life that he will have no time and interest in being mean to believers.” We have no idea all the ways they may have prayed, but if they obeyed Paul they were praying for this cruel man on the throne. We need to pray for bad men as well as good men is one of the main points of Paul. Don't cross off anyone from your prayer list. We have no idea what happened in the lives of these people and many others because of their obedience to these words of Paul to engage in intercession for all in authority.

4. Hastings in his Doctrine of Prayer wrote, “One circumstance of special interest in such a study is this, that so large a proportion of the great prayers of the Bible are intercessions. Surely this feature in the great Bible prayers is noteworthy. It would seem that while all prayer is welcome in heaven, a special welcome awaits the prayers we offer, not for ourselves, but for others.” Most of us probably spend a far greater amount of prayer time in asking God for ourselves rather than others, and so it is wise to study the intercession prayers of the Bible to motivate us to develop a balance so we lift others up on a regular basis.

5. Abraham's intercession for king Abimelech saved his life. We read in Gen. 20:3-7, “But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night, and said to him, Behold, thou art but a dead man , for the woman which thou hast taken ; for she is a man's wife . 4 But Abimelech had not come near her: and he said , Lord, wilt thou slay also a righteous nation? 5 Said he not unto me, She is my sister? and she, even she herself said , He is my brother: in the integrity of my heart and innocence of my hands have I done this. 6 And God said unto him in a dream, Yea, I know that thou didst this in the integrity of thy heart; for I also withheld thee from sinning against me: therefore suffered I thee not to touch her. 7 Now therefore restore the man his wife; for he is a prophet, and he shall pray for thee, and thou shalt live : and if thou restore her not, know thou that thou shalt surely die , thou, and all that are thine.” Abraham almost got him killed by his lie, but then he got him spared by his prayer. God's decision to spare this man depended on Abraham's willingness to be an intercessor on his behalf. We can play a role in the future of other people by our prayers of intercession.

6. James Hastings in The Doctrine of Prayer wrote, “Intercession is love at prayer. Every true exercise of it deepens our interest in others, and develops in us a sympathy which must have its ultimate effect upon the happiness and well-being of the world. As William Law has said, "Intercession is the best arbitrator of all differences, the best promoter of true friendship, the best cure and preservative against all unkind tempers, all angry and haughty passions ". Besides,the interest in men which lies behind intercessory prayer will, if it be genuine, also be likely to express itself practically. "He who prays to God to make men happy will do what he can to make them happy himself." He will hope, bear, believe, and do all for the man for whom he prays ; and so its influence upon himself in restraining impatient and uncharitable tempers, and its influence, through him upon the world, will be very great. ...as the habit of praise intensifies our love of God, so the habit of intercession intensifies our love of man. The more we pray for our fellowmen, the more inevitably we yearn to help them ; and this yearning quickens our energies and enlarges our capacities for helpfulness in a way and to an extent that we cannot fail to recognize as part of the answer to our prayer.”

7. My purpose in this brief study is to encourage believers to lengthen their prayer list beyond their own family and relatives, and beyond their own friends and church members. You do not need to actually make a list, but just be looking at people with a spirit of prayer. Add those neighbors that make your frustrated, and those service people who seem indifferent to your needs. Add those politicians who you are convinced are either worthless or dangerous in their ideas. Add those people in the news that are victims, but also add the criminals who victimize them. My point is, do not eliminate anyone, but lift up every person who comes into your mind from any stimulus, and lift them up in spontaneous prayer for God's mercy or God's blessing. This will be one of the ways you can obey Paul's command to pray for everyone, and the command to pray without ceasing. It is one of the ways you can be a channel of God's love in a world that desperately needs it. Billy Graham, and others who study intercessory prayer agree that even the least gifted in this area of prayer are an important element in the working of God in human lives. Lengthen your prayer list to include everyone that comes into your conscious awareness. Some you will give thanks for; some you will request guidance for, some you will just ask God's blessing upon, and for some you will plead for mercy. This is just one aspect of practicing the presence of God in daily living, and by having the longest prayer list possible, you will be a greater blessing to others, and be a receiver of greater blessings.