Prison Prayers

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; Colossians 1:9

Eugene Peterson said, “Left to ourselves, we are never more selfish than when we pray. With God as the Great Sympathizer, the Great Giver, the Great Promiser, we go to our knees and indulge every impulse for gratification.”1

Instead of "Amen," I want to say "Ouch!"

But I think he's correct. At least sometimes, when we pray, we can become quite selfish, and we may not even realize it.

In this verse, Paul sets a good example for us. He continually prays for a group of Christians whom he probably never met, and he does this while he is in prison. One would think his prayers would be all about his problems, his incarceration, and his desired deliverance.

Surely, he prayed for himself, but not just himself. Much of his prayer life was for others.

Is intercession a vital part of your prayer life? Do "others" get much air time in your prayers?

Dear Heavenly Father, Please forgive me for being selfish in my prayers. Help me to be like Jesus, who ever lives to make intercession for us. May other people and their needs, both physical and spiritual, take up a great portion of my requests. Help me not to grow weary in praying for them. In Jesus' Name, I pray. Amen.

1 David W. Pao, Colossians and Philemon, ZECNT: (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2012), 79.