Pray for the world

Matthew 6: 25. "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?" (Matthew 6:25 NIV)

What makes up the bulk of our prayer time? Prayer for Jobs? Healing? Money? Conflicts? Relationships? Trips? We tend, after all, to focus on what is the nearest and dearest to our hearts…

There was, one day, a believer who was 200,000$ in debt. The reason for his debt is immaterial. After all, who among us has no debt?

Now ask yourself: What would you do in his shoes? You have all this debt, and it needs to be paid off!

I suspect you’d do exactly what this man did: You’d pray!

One day, in the midst of this man’s prayers, he heard the voice of the Holy Spirit: "Don't pray for money! Instead, pray for the world!"

I don’t know about you, but in his shoes I’d probably say something like, “But…but I’m in debt! I need to pay off my loans! I need help!” While we focus so much on our own problems, however, the world at large, so desperately in need of love and healing, has no idea that our Heavenly Father loves them: "And now these three remains: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love." (1 Cor 13:13, NIV).

That particular man decided to obey God. His prayer time changed from a focus on his own needs to praying for the world. And as he did so, the Holy Spirit worked on his heart until he started to feel an overwhelming love for the world; and as he began to understand how important the world is to God, his prayers became even more fervent.

But wait. What about his debt?

Amazingly, it was soon completely paid off.

Why?

"But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself each day has enough trouble on its own." (Matthew 6:33-34, NIV)

What will be the focus of your prayers?

Rob Chaffart