Praying for Strangers

Read Colossians 1:1–2:23

9. We have not stopped praying for you since we first heard about you. We ask God to give you complete knowledge of his will and to give you spiritual wisdom and understanding.
10. Then the way you live will always honor and please the Lord, and your lives will produce every kind of good fruit. All the while, you will grow as you learn to know God better and better.
11. We also pray that you will be strengthened with all his glorious power so you will have all the endurance and patience you need. May you be filled with joy,
12. always thanking the Father. He has enabled you to share in the inheritance that belongs to his people, who live in the light.
13. For he has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of his dear Son,
14. who purchased our freedom and forgave our sins. Colossians 1:9-14

The child away from home is always welcome to call collect, and your spouse’s calls are welcome at work, even during a busy day. With people you care about, talk is precious and almost never an inconvenience. With strangers, though, it can sometimes be just the opposite.

Prayer should be like talking to a loved one. But the only way that will happen is to talk with God often and about everything. As Paul illustrates with his own example in this letter, intimate prayer even includes praying for those we do not know. As you read, think about your relationship with your heavenly Father. Have you spoken with him lately?

Also notice the other lessons in these chapters on how to have a new life in Christ, and how to stay free of legalism.

Paul had never met the Colossian Christians, but he faithfully prayed for them (Colossians 1:9-14). He did not just pray vaguely; he prayed about specifics, asking God to cause them to grow in their understanding, wisdom, and good works so that they could know God better. Paul didn’t feel timid about praying for strangers.

Needs and prayer requests fly at us from all directions. Some of the people we hear about have casual connections to us. Others we know only as names or faces. Still others have no connection to us at all. Whatever their specific needs, all have the same basic need to grow in the knowledge of God. Paul’s prayer for the Colossians gives us a good pattern to follow in praying for those we do not know.

The next time you learn of a stranger’s needs, do not feel overwhelmed by another prayer request. Instead, pray for that person’s needs as well as for his or her growth in understanding, wisdom, and knowledge of God.