1. Study carefully Paul's requests for himself in the following five passages:
Romans
15:30-32; Ephesians 6:18-20; Colossians 4:2-4; 1 Thessalonians 5:25; 2
Thessalonians 3:1-2
2.
Write a short essay answering these 3 questions
A.
What is the main (central) thing Paul requested people to pray for?
The central concern that Paul requested
prayer for was that the will of God, which is of course that all should come to
repentance and not perish, and that God’s will be done through his life and
ministry. Paul was focused on one thing only; the furtherance on the Kingdom of
Heaven. He desired prayers from others for the Lord to equip him to spread the
gospel efficiently. Paul’s main determination was to preach Christ and he required
boldness from the Lord to do so. He also needed the liberty and opportunity
that only God can give and therefore he directed those praying for him to pray
for these things. In his prayer requests, we can see the resolve of the
Apostle, that though I am certain he had many personal needs he sought no
comfort for himself, but that God alone be glorified and that His Kingdom would
prosper.
B.
What can we learn about prayer by studying Paul’s requests?
The true lesson that we can glean from
studying the prayer life of the Apostle Paul is one of understanding sacrifice.
Paul cared nothing for himself, only that God’s will be done. He counted it joy
to suffer for the sake of the gospel. I believe that the Paul looked not at the
situations of his life, prison, bonds, persecution, etc. as a difficulty that
he must endure or a sacrifice that he was making for God. But rather, Paul
looked at these circumstances as an opportunity to worship God. We can see from
his selfless requests that Paul considered these hardships just as another way
for him to glorify God, and thus his real prayer request consisted of bringing
more honor to the Lord, instead of relief for his current physical suffering.
C.
My thinking about prayer and my prayer activity will change in the following
ways because of what I have learned.
Many times I am tempted to request
prayer for the hardships in my own life and not for the more important matters
such as God’s help to reach my lost family. Based on the lessons I have
learned, I am resolving to reserve my prayer requests to others for the more
weighty matters with eternal value. My physical needs should not take priority
over reaching out to those that are in need of eternal life. I believe that the
value of a soul outweighs the pressures of my desires and comfort. There is no
cost too high to win the lost! I now see that this goal of spreading the gospel
is paramount and that if I equate the sacrifices of reaching this goal with the
worship of my Savior, then I will find true joy in doing the will of God. My
prayer activity has changed to reflect the knowledge of this lesson learned
from Paul’s prayer requests. I now spend much more time in thanksgiving for
things that I once considered to be burdens. My continual prayer is that I will
conduct myself daily with eternity in mind.
