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Lots of God-fearing, Jesus-loving, church-going Christians are intimidated by prayer. Why? Because
they don’t know what to say. That doesn’t have to be you!
The truth is, none of us knows exactly what we should pray for, which is why Romans 8:26 (NLT) is
good news. It says, “And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what
God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit intercedes for us with groanings that cannot be
expressed in words.”
Since Scripture plainly expresses that we are unequipped to be certain about what our petitions to the
Lord should be, it’s okay to relax, know that God is not judging you, and go to Him in sincerity.
To help provide a bit of guidance, here are 6 biblically-inspired prayer requests.
Pray for Favor. Favor is God’s love demonstrated. Grace, which is a huge aspect of divine
favor, is the manifestation of God’s goodness in your life. It’s okay to ask the Lord to favor you.
Who doesn’t desire to see God’s goodness? Psalm 84:11 says in the NIV, “For the LORD God
is a sun and shield; the LORD bestows favor and honor; no good thing does he withhold from
those whose walk is blameless.” God wants to show you His favor. It pleases Him to bless you,
so don’t be afraid to ask Him to.
Pray for His Will. We’ve all heard the line in the Lord’s prayer from Matthew 6:10 that says,
“Your will be done, on earth, as it is in heaven.” Hopefully it hasn’t just become part of a prayer
routine rather than a heartfelt request. The favor of God is found when you are in His will. Just
as Solomon prayed for wisdom, and received wealth and honor as a result, if you seek first the
things of God, “all these things will be added to you” (Matthew 6:33). By praying God’s will, you
position yourself to receive good things from the Lord.
Pray for Righteousness. Matthew 6:33, which was just referenced above, reads in full, “But
seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you”
(ESV). To seek righteousness is to follow after the example of Christ, and desire to be holy like
Him. Alone, our righteousness is like filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6), which is why we must ask the Lord
to make us righteous, because only He can. It’s not our works that purify us, but the blood of
Christ.
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