I was reading Paul’s letter to the Colossians and realized how deeply he prayed for others. When I pray for others my heart is usually burdened for their trial.
My prayers usually consist of my pleas for God to take away their pain. Sometimes I even get lost in their pain and sadness overtakes me.
There’s nothing wrong with these prayers. These prayers are filled with compassion.
Even Jesus prayed in the garden for God to take away the pain, if it was His will.
But what if I could also be praying for myself and my family members in life-changing spiritual ways for them to deepen their faith? I know this is what I truly want for my children. For them to have a deep spiritual life that will sustain them through the pain that is bound to come their way in this life.
We can learn how to pray this way by following Paul’s example.
Prayers to Deepen Your Faith
Thank God for your loved one’s faith and his/her love for others.
Lord, thank you that _________ loves you and desires to live for you. I pray __________’s faith in you would grow stronger. Help him/her to share the gospel with others and spread the message of your saving love. Please allow him/her to believe in your Word as truth and to share the message of your love to others. (Colossians 1:3-4)
Pray that they would understand God’s will for them.
I pray that you would fill up _______with the knowledge of your will and plan for his/her life. Give ________ the spiritual understanding to know how to serve you best. Help ________ to know what you want him/her to do. Thank you that your Holy Spirit gives us wisdom and understanding. (Colossians1:9)
Pray that their life would reflect God’s image.
Lord, I pray you would bless the work of ______ hands. May he/she grow in the knowledge of your Word and truth. I pray that ______’s actions would reflect his/her faith.
(v.10)
Ask the Lord that the fruit of the spirit would be evident in their lives.
Father, I pray that _________would be fruitful in every good work. Help ______ to show your love by helping others. (v.10)
Pray that they would always seek to grow closer to God.
Lord help_________ to increase in the knowledge of you through prayer and reading your Word. (v.10)
Pray for God to give them strength to endure
Father give _________ the strength and patience to endure whatever difficulty he/she is facing. (v.11)
Ask the Lord to fill them with his joy.
Lord, it’s not easy to face difficulty. Father fill ________with your patience and joy. Help __________ to know the joy of his/her salvation. (12)
Pray for them to have a thankful heart
Lord thank you that through your Son we are qualified to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. You have rescued us from darkness and brought us into Your kingdom where we have redemption and the forgiveness of our sins. I pray _______ would understand the depth of your love for him/her and that he/she would give joyful thanks to You for the forgiveness of his/her sins. (v.12-14)
There’s such power in praying the scripture and claiming the truth of God’s word over our lives!
I’ve provided these prayers in some printable scripture cards for you below.
Have you ever felt the power of prayer in your own life? I would love for you to share your experience in the comments!
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Hello there! I'm Valerie, a mom of four and wife of 27 years. My writing inspires others to cultivate courageous faith and find solace in trusting God, especially in moments of fear and uncertainty. Join me on this adventure as we explore the beauty of trusting God when we are afraid. 
Thank you for creating such wonderful work here, Valerie. It is very practical. You are truly writing “…the vision and making it plain, so he may run who reads it.” Hab. 2:2 God bless your writing and your life! I found your site on the Chad Allen FB Group I just joined. Hope you will visit my website and subscribe if you like it as well!
Thank you Rhonda. I just subscribed to your blog. I look forward to getting to know you in BookCamp. What a blessing to read your posts!
These prayers are great application of Colossians and give others confidence and new ideas for their own prayers.
Thank you so much Kevin.
These are great prayers. I love that they are based on God’s Word. That way we can be confident that God will answer.
I’m pinning this to my Prayers/Praying God’s Word Pinterest board.
Thank you for commenting and pinning!
These prayers are such a blessing, Valerie. I can just imagine your tender heart aching for others when you pray. It’s one of the things I love about you!
Hugs,
Lori
Such a beautiful post! Prayer is so powerful <3
Blessings,
Edye | http://gracefulcoffee.wordpress.com
Thank you Edyde!
This is a lovely post and makes it so easy for someone who may have difficulty coming up with their own words. Thank you so much for sharing in our Small Victories Linkup.
Thank you, Leigh!
What a great list of verses, Valerie!
Love this one!
Thank you for pointing us back to the Word.
Sure am blessed by you~
Thank you!
This is something that the Lord has recently convicted me of, too – I pray for Him to take away others’ trials but neglect to pray for their spiritual growth while they endure! Praying for spiritual growth is so, so important. Thank you for sharing and for linking up at Grace and Truth!
Thank you, Julie. I can’t stand seeing people go through trials and suffer. And yet, it’s often those trials that refine us and cause us to truly trust and understand who Jesus is and how He meets us in those very painful moments. And to think that Paul wrote Colossians in prison, thinking of their spiritual well-being and not his own suffering.