Who Needs Prayer?

“I tell you to pray for all people, asking God for what they need and being thankful to him.”

–The Apostle Paul in 1 Timothy 2:1 (NCV)

Everybody needs prayer. Sometimes, however, it’s seems easier for me to pray for the needs of others than it is to seek prayer for myself. I wonder if this is somehow because—and I am guessing—by concentrating on the needs of others I sometimes find that I feel better about myself, thinking that my troubles may not seem as bad as the needs of those for whom I am praying. I know God’s word commands us to pray for one another, but why do we deny our own need for prayer?

The Apostle Paul wrote to Timothy and told him “to pray for all people” because Paul knew God could meet all people’s needs and was, therefore, worthy of thankfulness all the time. But Paul was not above asking for prayer support from his brothers and sisters in Christ.

Paul made a request to the church in Ephesus to pray for him. He wrote: “Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should” (Ephesians 6:19-20 NIV). In this request, obviously, Paul is asking the Ephesians to pray that God equip him to teach the message of Jesus Christ effectively and fearlessly. This is his main concern, it seems, because he asks it twice. But there is a subtle reminder of another personal need of Paul’s mentioned in two words: “in chains.” Paul was a great ambassador for the Kingdom of God and the message of Jesus Christ, but at the time of his request, it had cost him his freedom.

I wonder if being “in chains” wasn’t a real downer sometimes for Paul, regardless of how thankful he was to God for the privilege of suffering for Jesus (see 2 Corinthians 12:9-10). I wonder if Paul had days where he just didn’t feel like being “ON” for the Kingdom and wanted to take a mental health day. So, sure, Paul asks for fearless effectiveness as the subject for the prayers of his friends. But was Paul also admitting he needed encouragement from God because of the chains associated with being a servant of Jesus Christ?

We must admit our needs and seek the prayers of others on our behalf. At first glance this may sound selfish, but hear me out. Sometimes we don’t ask for prayer for our own needs because we don’t want to admit that we ARE in need of prayer. We may not want to appear weak by asking others to pray for us. But until we admit our own weakness and need for prayer, we are not being very humble, an important component in getting God to hear our prayers (see 2 Chronicles 7:14).

Everybody needs prayer. We all struggle with temptation and sin. We all struggle with pain and disappointment. We all struggle with finding God’s plan and guidance in our lives. To deny these needs makes us out to be liars. Nobody has life all together and to act like we do is arrogance.

Furthermore, by admitting our needs for prayer to one another, we are actually admitting our need for God to move and work in our lives. If we can’t admit we need prayer, then, we are admitting, on a heart level, that we don’t need God. But the truth is: We all need God.

So here’s the question to consider: how can we expect God to move in the lives of others if we won’t admit that we also need Him to move in our lives? That’s just not right. Instead, we must do what James 5:16 (Amplified) says: “Confess to one another therefore your faults—your slips, your false steps, your offenses, your sins—and pray also for one another, that you may be healed and restored to a spiritual tone of mind and heart. The earnest, heartfelt, continued prayer of a righteous man makes tremendous power available, dynamic in its working.”

We all need prayer like we all need God. I need you to pray for me. I’m praying for you.