Believers are commanded to pray for all people — the lost, church leaders, those in authority, the persecutors and persecuted — because nothing is more powerful than prayer, and no one is beyond its reach. When interceding on someone else’s behalf, do you know the most effective way to pray? In this message, Dr. Stanley describes the six attitudes we must adopt in order to see God move in the lives of those around us. This message is Part 5 of the series: How to Talk With God – Volume 2 How to Talk With God – Volume 1 CD Series: https://store.intouch.org/purchase/ho…
Part 1: Unveiling The Hidden – 
• Unveiling The Hidden – Radio Classic … Part 2: Praying With Authority – • Praying With Authority – Radio Classi… Part 3: Praying And Fasting – • Prayer And Fasting – Radio Classic – … Part 4: A Prayer Burden – • A Prayer Burden – Radio Classic – Dr…. Part 5: Answered Prayer – • Answered Prayer – Radio Classic – Dr…. Part 6: When It’s Spiritual Warfare – • When It’s Spiritual Warfare – Radio C… How to Talk With God – Volume 2 CD Series: https://store.intouch.org/purchase/ho…
Part 1: Why Our Prayers Are Unanswered – • Why Our Prayers Are Unanswered – Radi… Part 2: How To Pray In The Will Of God – • How To Pray In The Will Of God – Radi… Part 3: A Time To Stop Waiting In Prayer – • A Time To Stop Waiting In Prayer – Ra… Part 4: The Power Of Your Prayer Life – • The Power Of Your Prayer Life – Radio… Part 5: Praying For Others Part 6: Praying Is Where The Action Is – Releasing Soon For more messages from Charles Stanley, including this week’s broadcast, go to www.intouch.org/watch
[Music]
with a message from God’s word here’s
Charles
Stanley Paul writes to Timothy by saying
I exhort therefore that first of all
supplications prayers intercessions and
giving of thanks be made for all men for
kings and for all that are in Authority
that we may lead a quiet and Peaceable
life in all godliness and honesty or
reverence
but this is good and acceptable in the
sight of God our savior who will have
all men to be saved and to come under
the knowledge of the truth for there is
one God and one mediator between God and
Men the man Jesus Christ who gave
himself a ransom for all to be rectifi
to be testified in due time where unto I
am ordained a preacher and an apostle I
speak the truth in Christ and lie not a
teacher of the Gentiles in faith and
truth I will therefore that men pray
everywhere lifting up holy hands without
wrath and
doubting now all of us have prayed for
other people and all of us have had the
experience at times of praying for other
people and expecting something to happen
and nothing happened and we’ve asked
well did I read the scriptures right do
I understand prayer was God’s listen was
God listening and all the questions that
we went through but I want to share with
you this morning some principles that I
feel are very essential if you and I
going to pray for someone else and pray
effectively and see either God meet
their need or change their life or
whatever the situation might be but I
want us to look first of all here at um
the people that Paul says we ought to
pray for and I want us to look at that
and then I want us to check the
principles and then two other uh areas
that I want us to note first of all who
the people that Paul says we ought to be
praying for well if you’ll notice he has
the category here I exhort therefore
that first of all supplications prayers
inter sessions and giving of thanks be
made for all men now that’s sort of like
Lord just bless everybody but then he
gives us a category here and then I want
to expand upon that category so that you
and I may see that we do have a definite
responsibility to pray for different
types of categories of people so he says
first of all
in verse two for kings and for all that
are in authority and in our day and time
that would be for uh presidents for
dictators for Emperors or whoever they
may be and he says that we are to pray
in their behalf he speaks of
supplications prayers intercessions and
Thanksgiving all of which means uh to
meet uh to note their needs and to
intercede in their behalf to make
petition for them and then to give
Thanksgiving to God now when God people
begin to pray for those in places of
leadership something begins to happen
now we need to pray that every man who
runs for office will have a fear for God
will have a reverence for God will
acknowledge that God is Sovereign that
God is supreme and that every man needs
to Bow his head in his heart before
almighty God and acknowledge that God is
God and he needs to do it not only in
privately but publicly that the whole
world may know that he has a reverence
for God now that’s exactly what Paul is
saying here I encourage you strongly
Paul says to pray for these men in
authority over you and if we pray for
these men God’s going to begin to change
their minds he’s going to begin to
change their perspective but that’s just
one category because there’s some other
categories for example he says in
Ephesians turn there if you will for a
moment and let’s look at a few other
categories of people who for whom we
need to pray in Ephesians chapter 6 and
if you’ll recall uh this is where Paul
is telling us what the armor of the
believer is he says in verse 18 praying
always with all prayer and supplication
in the spirit and watching there unto
with all perseverance and supplication
for All Saints we need to pray for the
whole body of Christ that is the church
you say well how you going to pray for
the church because we can divide the
church up today listen not by
denominations but by need there is the
part of the body of Christ today that is
under great persecution there is the
part of the body of Christ today that is
very lukewarm there is the part of the
body of Christ today that is very cold
there is the part of the body of Christ
today that has that have set aside the
word of God and they have turned away
from the teaching of the word of God and
they aren’t just cold they have begun to
doubt the authenticity of the word of
God there’s a part of the body of Christ
today that’s in material need the body
of Christ is different in every locality
and every single church has its own
personality and the people are different
but you see he says we are to pray for
all the saints Colossians chapter 1
Philippians chapter 1 uh Ephesians
chapter 1 in all of these first chapters
of these books Paul continually reminds
us to pray for the body of Christ so we
have a responsibility to pray for the
church there’s a third category and stay
right here in Ephesians if you will for
which we need to pray that is we need to
pray for God’s servants p pastors and
teachers and preachers and missionaries
listen to what he says now in verse 18
He says praying always with all prayer
and supplication in the spirit watching
there unto with all perseverance and
supplication for All Saints pray for the
body of Christ verse 19 and for me Paul
says and for himself now listen people
say well I like to pray for my pastor
and I don’t know what to pray for all
right here we go right here here’s what
you pray for if you don’t know how to
pray for your pastor because he tells us
he says and pray for me first of all
that utterance may be given me people
need to pray that for their Pastor that
God would teach him and show him reveal
to him clarify to him what he ought to
say what he ought to preach about how he
ought to say it so he ought to be he
ought to pray people ought to pray that
God would give their pastor’s utterance
Lord you show him what to say second
thing he says here not only that
utterance may be given me but that I may
open my mouth boldly that God’s men that
pastors us would speak boldly the word
of God not compromising not ashamedly
not weakly but very boldly thus sayith
the Lord God Almighty the third thing he
says here not only give him utterance
not only speak boldly but thirdly to
make known The Mystery of the Gospel
that is to make the message clear so if
you don’t have know how to pray anything
else for a pastor or for preacher you
pray that God will show him what to say
you pray that God will give him the
boldness to say it and thirdly you pray
that God would make the message very
clear so that as he says in 2
Thessalonians chapter
3:1 that the that the Gospel of Jesus
Christ which he preaches may have free
run as Paul says or there would be no
hindrance to the preaching of the Gospel
as he shares it and I could wish every
preacher in America had somebody to get
up before daylight every morning praying
that God would do what teach him what to
say give him the boldness to say it make
the message clear meet his own personal
needs deepen his life keep his focus
upon God I could spend the rest of the
message telling you how to pray for
preachers and one of the problems with
this nation is that people criticize
their pastors and they’re always looking
for something to shoot at but they never
take time to ask God how shall I pray
for this man and I want to say to some
of you who may go to churches and you’re
um
displeased maybe with uh what you hear
maybe you ought to get on your face
before God and tell God you going to
lift that man’s name before him until
God changes him and I’m here to tell you
he’ll do it as sometimes people may pray
for their pastor and the pastor don’t
want to change there’s some folks who
prayed for me and I didn’t want to
change about some things but after God
changed me I said praise the Lord just
keep it up because I don’t want to miss
anything God’s got do
you then he says we ought to pray for
Laborers the people who yet to be called
for example in the ninth chapter of
Matthew uh he tells us in that last
verse he says pray ye therefore in verse
38 pray ye therefore the lord of the
Harvest that he will send forth laborers
unto his Harvest we need to pray for the
people who yet to be called people to be
preached the gospel teach the word of
God people to sing people to take place
of leadership people who work in the
nursery we have a responsibility for
praying for God to speak to people for
people to listen to God speak to them
who’ve never even thought about serving
the lord
then the scripture says we likewise
ought to pray for the lost now if the
average person picked up the Bible back
to First Timothy if the average person
picked up the Bible and said now where
does it say pray for the lost well I
would have to say to you that the vast
majority of times in the Bible the Bible
is always admonishing us to pray for the
Saints not the lost but the scripture
does want God does want us to pray for
the lost because listen to how he
couches his admonition to pray here in 1
Timothy chapter 2
he says he’s exhorting us or strongly
encouraging us to pray for all men then
he names Kings and so forth and listen
to what he says he says when we pray for
these people something’s going to happen
and then he departs in verse four
speaking of Christ and he says who will
have all men to be saved and come to the
knowledge of the truth now why would he
spend verse four five and six talking
about God’s willingness to save men
Christ dying on the cross order to save
us if he did not intend for us to pray
for lost people he does want us to pray
for lost people he says it’s not my will
that any man should perish he said who
will have all men to be saved and come
to the knowledge of the truth we had to
pray for God to deal with the hearts of
these people then if you’ll turn to
Matthew Chapter 5 and this is where the
rubber hits the road and sometimes it
makes some real rubber marks on the road
at this point because I want you notice
the last category that I want to mention
here verse 44 of chapter 5 The Sermon on
the Mount one of the group of people
that we need to pray for and I’m sure
there are others but he says verse 44
but I say unto you love your enemies
bless them that curse you do good to
them that hate you and pray for them who
despitefully resentfully bitterly
criticize you and do what and persecute
you he says we to pray for them now you
say well now wait a minute now I can
take care of the president and pastors
and Saints and laborers and I can take
care of
of uh you know all these people but now
wait a minute praying for my enemies you
see what I want you to see in just a few
moments because I want to share the
principles that I feel are essential to
making anybody’s praying for anyone else
these principles are essential to make
that praying profitable and you see it’s
very difficult for us to pray for people
that we don’t like of people who don’t
like us maybe or people who persecute us
but I want you to go back to First
Timothy for a moment notice something
here
what he says about Kings or presidents
and people in places of authority is
also true among our enemies in the home
in the school in the government in our
society in your office or wherever it
may be whether it’s your enemies your
friends your loved ones listen to what
he says he says in verse two we to pray
for these people in order that we may
lead a quiet and Peaceable life in all
godliness and honesty you begin to pray
for that person what happens God begins
to work on you you say oh that’s not it
I’m praying for that person God says yes
but I’m starting with you you say but
Lord that’s where the need is God says
yes I see that and so he begins to work
on you and then before long what the gap
between you and that person is changed
and what was a gap between you have
brought the two of you together and then
what are you doing you able to relate to
that person and when you see that person
or you inter relate to them there is a
sense of quietness and peaceableness and
Oneness why you began to pray God began
to to work on you then he began to work
on the other person and what is true of
the government is true in the home in
the office in the school God closes the
Gap through prayer and peaceableness and
quietness and godliness and reverence
and respect for one another is the end
result that’s what God wants to do in
this nation that’s what God wants to do
in this world and it makes no difference
how bad things are today I am totally
convinced if God’s people will start
doing what God says do we’ll watch God
work a miracle in America and there’ll
be a
quietness a peaceableness and we’ll
begin to see that God has leveled out
the Revolutionary forces in the society
and that God is doing a miraculous thing
in America but if we fail to pray I’ll
tell you exactly what’ll happen there’ll
be no more quietness and there’ll be no
more peace and we will get what’s coming
to us and the only people we can blame
is the body of Christ because the word
of God says there is in the power the
grasp there is available to the people
of God that inexhaustible Supernatural
resource of prayer that can penetrate
every area of society and bring about a
revolutionary marvelous miraculous
spiritual change in all of our
society do you realize what we have in
our capacity God has given you and me
the privilege and it’s his power I know
and the power to change the
world
and you don’t have to make but one
decision will I use it or will I not
that’s all the decision you have to use
well what are the
principles if you’ll jot these down if
you will and let me just give you about
six principles that I feel are very
essential absolutely essential if you’re
praying for someone else is going to
make any real decided difference we say
Lord just bless everybody he doesn’t
hear
that how do how would he answer
that some folks don’t need a blessing
they need a
whipping and you say well that’s a
that’s that’s a blessing in
disguise well you ask your kids if they
think that all right all right the first
principle let me put it this way so you
can follow me in order to make your
prayers for others effective so and so
and so and so so I won’t just keep
repeating that and you don’t have to
keep writing that down number one if my
prayers for others are going to be
effective my prayers must come from a
heart of love and compassion for the
people I’m praying for you will not pray
for people you resent you will not pray
for people that you bitter toward you
say oh yes I have well I can tell you
you may do it but you’ll pray two or
three little time you’ll say now Lord
and more your prayers are going to be so
Prejudice that God’s not going to hear
it anyway God I don’t understand what’s
wrong that stinking attitude toward me
God’s not going to answer
that and I’ll tell you what I’ve told
you before when when I have a problem
with somebody else the Lord’s already
taught me this I I have to learn it over
and over and over again but I think I’m
making some progress and that is I have
to start with me and God has to give me
a sense of love and compassion for the
other person because it may be it may be
that they don’t know any better than I
do so first of all if my prayers for
other people are going to be effective
they’ve got to start with the heart of
love and compassion
secondly I’ve got to recognize that I
that my prayer is the link between
between their need and God’s
inexhaustible resource how do how do I
help that person get God’s inexhaustible
resource into their life to meet their
need if I’m willing to pray for that
person and to bring their name and their
need before the Lord God Almighty my
prayer is the link because as as I begin
to speak to God about their need then
what does God do God here’s my prayer
pray and what does he do he goes down to
meet their needs so that you and I must
recognize if we if our prayers are going
to be effective that our prayer is the
link between almighty God and His
resources and that person’s need whether
it’s an emotional need a physical need a
material need a financial need whatever
it might be and we have to see that
we’re not just praying disconnected to
the whole idea as we’ve said before it’s
like a triangle it’s like this here’s
God here’s the need and here you are God
sees their need he burdens your heart
you pray for them God answers your
prayer and meets their need now he could
leave you out but God isn’t going to
isolate his people like this he doesn’t
want his church living like that he
wants his church living like this
depending upon one another looking to
each other meeting each other’s needs
that’s the way God intended for the
family to work the local family the
small family and the whole body of
Christ is to work in that way so if you
and I are going to pray effectively
we’ve got to see that we’re the length
the third thing if my prayers for
someone else is really going to be
effective I’ve got to be able to
identify with their need that is I’ve
got to be able to get a grasp on what
their need is and feel what they feel do
you recall when Jesus was watching the
multitudes he says he looked upon them
and had compassion for them and you
recall he says that he was tempted and
tried and all Point such as as we so
that Jesus Christ when he came to Earth
literally this is what happened God the
Father seeing the need of mankind came
in the form of Jesus Christ and he got
under the burden with all of us and he
lifted that burden and when you and I
talk to the Lord Jesus Christ he can
identify with it he lived in a home for
30 years he knows all about fuss and
fighting going on the home he knows all
about brothers and sisters fighting with
each other because he was one of them I
didn’t say he fought with them but I
said he was one of them he knew all
about that he knew all about Temptations
He all knew all about trials he says he
was tempted in every Point such as is we
so then what did he do he came in order
to be able to reach down into your life
and my life and say I understand I’ve
been there and you see not in every
single instance of circumstance but in
circumstances that are so alike what you
and I go through there isn’t anything
that we face that he has not faced more
intensely because he was perfect more
intensely because he was perfect Satan
worked on him he’s experienced every
temptation every heartache every burden
that we’ll ever be able to face in one
form or the other so he could identify
with us that’s why we say Lord I know
you understand if he had not come to
Earth if he had never been tempted and
tried like we we would say Lord now I
know you don’t understand it but this is
the way I
feel you won’t Pour Your Heart Out
somebody doesn’t understand so if we
going to pray for others we’ve got to
ask the Lord to help us to see what
they’re feeling and feel what they’re
feeling and understand the hurts and
feel the hurts we’ve got to get up under
the burden with that person until we’re
able to feel a little bit of what
they’re feeling then my friend it isn’t
just Lord bless so and so and so and so
then we begin to pray oh God lift that
burden off their heart meet their need
you know what motivates us to pray with
earnestness because we feel the hurt
that somebody else feels and until you
feel the hurt you’ll never be able to
pray effectively unless it’s praying for
Joy or something else you want in
someone else’s life number four for my
prayers for someone else to be effective
I must always desire their highest good
I must always desire their highest good
let me give you an example here’s a g
and a fellow who are dating and this
fellow says Lord I want the best for her
I love her God with all of my heart I
want the highest good for her life God
says F don’t want her to marry somebody
else well only married people can laugh
at
that let me tell you something that’s
sort of a radical thing but it’s very
true and it’s happening all the time but
what I’m saying is simply this when you
say Lord I want what’s best for the
other person then you can’t say Lord I
want what’s best for them but we don’t
want to change this we want to keep this
this way you can’t do that when you’re
asking when you’re praying for someone
else you know what you have to do here’s
what you have to do when you’re praying
for someone else you have to take your
hands off the matter and let God deal
with it any way he wants to and it may
not come out the way you want
it but see I can’t pray for someone else
honestly sincerely with all of my heart
have God here and answer my prayer
unless I’m willing to say now Lord I’m
going to take my hands off the whole
matter if I say God I want you to answer
my prayer and I’ve got a tight grip on
it because I’m not going to let him do
but just so much God says if I’m going
to answer your prayer you’ve got to
trust me to do it that exactly what I
want to do and get yourself totally out
of the picture except to pray and
sometimes that’s very difficult for
parents to do that and praying for their
children the next thing the fifth thing
is this listen if I’m going to pray for
someone else effectively
I must be willing to be part of the
answer if God chooses to make it so I
must be willing to be part of the answer
if you’re praying for someone else and
you’re not willing to be part of the
answer you’re not willing to cooperate
with God and helping meet that person’s
need I’m here to tell you God’s not
answering your prayer because it is the
prayer of hypocrisy listen it is the
prayer of Separation it’s the prayer of
isolation listen to this you’re saying
God here’s a tremendous need in this
family over here but count me out I
don’t want to get mixed up in that don’t
bet on me for that I don’t have any
money for that and I shouldn’t want to
get mixed up in anybody else’s problems
Lord you take care of that can you
imagine Jesus Christ doing that he
didn’t say to the leper somebody else
touch him I don’t want to get my pure
holy hands dirty with somebody’s lepos
stinking
buddy the Reason God does not answer
most of our prayers we pray for other
people is because we’re not willing to
get
involved brother if you’re going to pray
for somebody else you know what you’ve
got to be willing to do you’ve got to be
willing to step right over in the middle
of the mess and say all right God I’m
willing to intercede to bear that burden
to lift that heartache and whatever you
want to do with me God here I am just do
it with me until you’re willing to do
that all your prayers for others are a
waste of your
breath because what you’re saying is God
I’m I’m lifting a cheap prayer it’s not
going to cost me
anything
that’s just a lot of stuff because God
doesn’t hear that the last principle
very essential the one that trips us up
if we’re going to pray for someone else
effectively we must be willing to
persevere that is we must be willing to
hang in there and keep on praying I am
blessed and blessed and blessed and
blessed and blessed and blessed by folks
who will surround me and pray for me and
hold me up and get right in the middle
of my life and be willing to say God let
me bear some of that burden let me bear
some of that hurt let me bear some of
that ache and I’m here to tell you
you’ve not prayed with anybody until
somebody tells you and tells God lord
you just push that over on me whatever
it takes God use me to be a blessing to
this
fellow you talking about binding the
body of Christ together brother that’d
be better than the most powerful glue
man could ever
create because you know what
happens God’s meshing Spirits together
and when you have been on your knees
with somebody else and you’ve prayed
them through something friend that’s
what you are for a lifetime that’s real
genuine friendship glue it never comes a
part of the
same but how many times you and I pray
somebody says somebody shares need and
says will you pray for me I sure will
and that night you ask the Lord it
please bless so and so you know they
have a need father and I just want to
ask you to do that in Jesus name amen
the next day that’s the end of that and
you know and then there some day may say
did you pray oh yeah I prayed for
you I can just about tell when somebody
tells me they’re going to pray for me
the way they say it whether they really
and truly intend to pray for me or not I
want to challenge you to do one
thing ask God to show you three people
for whom you need to pray
three people that have a burden three
people that have a heartache three
people that you know really need a
change whatever it may be or need
something or experience whatever it
might be ask God to give you three three
people that you willing to be a part of
the answer three people that you’re
willing to get under their burden three
people that you can love start off with
somebody that you love and tell God that
you want him to teach you how to pray
and to intercede and to get under and to
get with and to get into somebody else’s
life and that you will pray for them
until God answers your
prayer just three
people do you know what would happen if
all of us were to start praying for each
other boy I’ll tell you all Heaven would
break loose all over this
place homes mended kids come back home
parents getting straight with their
children finances getting straightened
out people begin to love each other
there is absolutely no human way to
describe what God would do if you and I
would just take those simple principles
and apply them to our everyday
life Heavenly Father we thank you for
loving
us all of us have been prayed for by
somebody body in fact probably many
people who’ve prayed for us we’ve not
even known about it People Prayed for us
to be
saved and people have prayed for us down
through the years and we want to thank
you for that this this
morning and now Lord we want to ask you
in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ the
great
intercessor father would you help us to
be as absolutely quiet as we can be for
just a few moments and then I want to
ask you father in Jesus name that first
of all I want to start fresh with me and
for each one of us would you place three
people on our
heart let three names come to our
mind three people that we can love now
we may have to learn to love some folks
Lord but we want to love these people
now three people whom we can love now
three people under whose burden we are
willing to get now three people whose
hurts and heartaches and needs we’re
willing to share now three people we’re
willing to keep on praying for until we
see the answer
come Heavenly
Father we want to we want to pledge to
you as many of us as will that we’re
willing to take these principles and
apply them to those three people and
father we want to thank you right now in
advance but what you’re going to do in
those three people’s lives we praise you
already for what you’re going to do we
bless your name for it and ask that our
own Hearts may be kept so clean and so
pure and so righteous before you that
not one prayer would fall to the Earth
and shatter in Brokenness and
uselessness and waste
but that every petition we lift in their
behalf would reach your holy
ears and move your omnipotent
hand to pour out your abundance in that
life whether it’s knowledge to know your
will an emotional
experience of security or strength or
some physical or material need we want
to thank you for that right now in Jesus
name
amen