Paul's prayer requests

The following is one of my recent assignments for my Master's from Grace College:

 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.