Praying for Spiritual Blessings

In all these years that have gone under the bridge, there have been many seasons of praying for the church.  More than likely those prayers have been too much about the work which was in front of me.  Like other preachers I have sought prayers for the agendas which seemed pressing, needful, and important.  Perhaps, some of them were, but more than likely too many of them were more about what I thought the church should be doing rather than what God was leading it to do.  One thing is certain.  There was too much praying about the church doing instead of being.

The Apostle Paul prayed for the church.  One of his prayers is set forth in the early part of the letter to the church at Ephesus.  He wrote, "I do not cease to give thanks for you as I remember you in my prayers.  I pray that....you may know what is the hope to which He has called you, what are the riches of His glorious inheritance,...and what is the immeasurable greatness of His power..."  (Ephesians 1:16-19)  His prayer for them to be blessed with hope, His glorious inheritance, and immeasurable power makes so many of my remembered prayers for the church seem paltry indeed.

It seems we do too little praying for the church to be blessed with spiritual blessings.  We pray that people will be generous so we can build our buildings and meet our budget.  We pray for bigger crowds.  We pray for a host of things which keep the institutional part of the church healthy and strong.  Too little of our praying time is spent praying for spiritual blessings to abound in the church and upon the hearts of those who are a part of it.  Knowing the divine hope, and knowing the inheritance which is ours, and knowing the greatness of His power would have been a far better prayer to offer to the Father.  It is not too late to pray such prayers.