Paul's Prayers for the Church
Paul’s prayers often include:
Thanksgiving for the believers
Intercession for spiritual growth
Revelation and understanding
Strength and maturity in Christ
Unity and love
Examples of Paul’s Prayers
Ephesians 1:15–23 – Prayer for Revelation and Understanding
“...that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ... may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him...” (v.17)
Ephesians 1:17
Paul prays for:
Faith and love
Wisdom and revelation
Eyes of understanding to be enlightened (v.18)
Knowledge of God's hope, riches, and power (v.18–19)
Christ’s exalted position and authority (v.20–23)
Ephesians 3:14–21 – Prayer for Inner Strength and Love
“...that He would grant you... to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man...” (Ephesians 3:16)
Paul prays for:
Strength by the Spirit (v.16)
Christ to dwell in hearts by faith (v.17)
Deep roots in love (v.17)
Understanding God’s love (v.18–19)
Fullness of God (v.19)
God’s power to work beyond what we ask or think (v.20)
Philippians 1:3–11 – Prayer for Love and Discernment
“...that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment...” (Philippians 1:9)
Paul gives thanks and prays for:
Their partnership in the gospel (v.5)
God’s work being completed in them (v.6)
Abounding love with knowledge (v.9)
Discernment and purity (v.10)
Fruits of righteousness (v.11)
Colossians 1:9–14 – Prayer for Spiritual Wisdom
“...that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding...” (Colossians 1:9)
Paul prays for:
Knowledge of God’s will (v.9)
Walk worthy of the Lord (v.10)
Fruitfulness and growth in knowledge (v.10)
Strength with patience and joy (v.11)
Thankfulness for salvation (v.12–14)
I Thessalonians 3:9–13 – Prayer for Love and Holiness
“...may the Lord make you increase and abound in love..” (I Thessalonians 3:12)
Paul prays for:
Joy and reunion (v.9–10)
God to direct their way (v.11)
Abounding love for one another (v.12)
Hearts established in holiness (v.13)
II Thessalonians 1:11–12 – Prayer for Worthy Calling
“...that our God would count you worthy of this calling, and fulfill all the good pleasure of His goodness...” (II Thessalonians 1:11)
Paul prays for:
Fulfillment of their calling
Power for good works
Glorifying Christ in them and them in Him
Ephesians 1:15–23
Thanksgiving for the Believers
Ephesians 1:15–16
"Therefore, I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers:"
Philippians 1:3–5
"I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine making request for you all with joy, for your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now..."
Prayer for Spiritual Wisdom and Revelation
Ephesians 1:17–18a
"...that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened..."
Colossians 1:9
"For this reason, we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding;"
Insight into Spiritual Blessings
Ephesians 1:18b–19
"...that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power..."
Hope of His Calling
II Thessalonians 2:14
"To which He called you by our gospel, for the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ."
Riches of His Inheritance
Romans 8:17
"And if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ..."
Power for Believers
Philippians 3:10
"...that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings..."
Description of God’s Power in Christ
Ephesians 1:20–23
"...which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality and power... And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, which is His body..."
Christ Raised and Seated in Heaven
Hebrews 1:3
"...when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high..."
Christ’s Authority Over All
Colossians 2:10
"...and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power."
Christ as Head of the Church
Colossians 1:18
"And He is the head of the body, the church... that in all things He may have the preeminence."
Paul gives thanks for their faith and love.
He prays they receive spiritual wisdom and understanding.
He wants them to know the hope, inheritance, and power they have in Christ.
He exalts Christ’s authority and His headship over the church.