How To Pray For Others And What To Pray For

My Utmost For His Highest 

…having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus… —Hebrews 10:19

{CHAMBERS} “Beware of thinking that intercession means bringing our own personal sympathies and concerns into the presence of God, and then demanding that He do whatever we ask. Our ability to approach God is due entirely to the vicarious, or substitutionary, identification of our Lord with sin. We have “boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus.”[…] we are always ready with our own ideas, and our intercession becomes only the glorification of our own natural sympathies. We have to realize that the identification of Jesus with sin means a radical change of all of our sympathies and interests. Vicarious intercession means that we deliberately substitute God’s interests in others for our natural sympathy with them.”

{ELGIN}  Acts 3:1-10 describes Peter healing a lame man.  The man had sat by the gate everyday looking for financial relief.  Jesus looked at him and saw something else besides a lame man in poverty. He saw someone in spiritual poverty.  Peter said “I don’t have any money to give you but what I do have I will give to you.  Rise up and walk in the name of Jesus Christ.  The man was healed instantly.  He was able to walk, but more, his faith was quickened and because of that he was healed and God used his physical healing as a sign to the people.  In Luke 17:10-19 Jesus healed the 10 lepers.  He told the one who returned to thank Him, “you faith has made you whole”.  Of course we must be careful that we don’t think that people are not healed because they lack faith, although that might be the case.  We do not have the mind of God but we have a heart for God.

When we pray for others, no matter what the malady, we should pray that they might have faith or a stronger faith, if they are born again. That they would look to God in their time of trouble and trust Him.  That God would be glorified through them, no matter what the outcome, that their faith would carry them through the trial.  That His strength would be sufficient. And yes, that they would be healed, if that is the will of God for them.  He is the God of all comfort who comforts us in our affliction. (2 Corinthians 1:3)