Written by Pastor Jack Wellman– E.M. Bounds
For the Lost
Just as the Apostle Paul said, we should be praying for the lost that God would “open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me” (Acts 26:18) and even for the Jews who were Paul’s worst persecutors he wrote, “Brothers, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved” (Rom 10:1) for even “the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost” (Luke 19:10) and so should we.
For Holiness
We are commanded to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord (2nd Pet 3:18) but also to be salt and light in a decaying and dark world as the author of Hebrews writes, “Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord” (Heb 12:14) and so “ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness” (2nd Pet 3:11). In this way God “may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints” (1st Thess 3:13) so “that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor” (1st Thess 4:4) “For God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness” (1st Thess 4:7).
For the Kingdom
Jesus told us to pray to God the Father, praying “Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” (Matt 6:10). Don’t you eagerly look forward to the end of this sin-stained world and for the kingdom of God to come when all suffering and pain will end (Rev 21:4) and sin shall finally be no more! I can’t wait for my sinful nature to be changed!
For One Another
We are actually commanded to be praying for each other (James 5:16), thereby having “the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves” (Phil 2:2-3). In this way we can “look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others” (Phil 2:4).
Conclusion
E.M. Bounds, in writing that the more praying there is in the world, the better the world will be is so true since we should be praying for the lost, we should be striving to grow in holiness, we should be praying for the kingdom to come, and we should be praying for one another.
