I have been committed lately to praying very specifically for people. While visiting Wycliffe Bible Translators last May, our guide, Gary Peterson, whom we have come to dearly love over our years of experience at Wycliffe, talked to us about praying specifics. He said we often pray, "Lord be with 'Joe and Mary.'" But where is God? He's with Joe and Mary. So we pray, "Lord bless ''Joe and Mary.'" And God responds, "I am blessing them. What do you want Me to do? In what way are you asking Me to bless them?" Prayers like "God be with them," and "God bless them" are extremely generic, and I have become very convicted of praying generic prayers.

Paul prayed specifics. He weighed the known circumstances, and prayed specifically: "We always thank God, the Father of the Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all the saints--the faith and love that spring from the hope that is stored up for you in heaven and that you have  already heard about in the word of truth, the gospel that has come to you. All over the world the gospel is bearing fruit and growing, just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and understood God's grace in all its truth. You learned it from Epaphras, our dear fellow servant, who is a faithful minister of Christ on our behalf, and who also told us of your love in the Spirit.
Now watch--

"For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of His will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding. And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may praise Him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to His glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light. For He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son He loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins" (Col. 1:3-13).

Now that's prayer!

Heavenly Father, You have invited us to "come boldly before the throne of grace." Help me to pray bold, powerful, effective and specific prayers that will touch the needs of Your kingdom and Your people on this earth. Steer me away from hum-drum generic prayers that lack power, and help me to pray "in the spirit and with understanding." Renew my burden for the welfare of others, and teach me to "pray without ceasing," for I know Your ears are always open. Amen