Seemingly straightforward verses in the Bible can sometimes provide us our greatest challenges. Pray for the people in your life. Seems simple enough. The apostle uses four words to describe the kind of prayer we should be offering. Supplications involve asking God to meet specific needs in peoples’ lives. Prayers refer to every kind of prayer we can lift to God. Intercession can describe what we do for other believers. It is standing in the gap for others. Finally, giving thanks is giving gratitude to God for His work in someone else’s life. Paul claimed we should do this for every person in our life.
Praying for some people is easy. I am happy to ask for God’s blessing upon my spouse and children. My friends at work or church can be a delight to intercede for. But then there are others. What about that colleague at work that continually offends me? Or that customer who is never satisfied? That overbearing boss who is making my life miserable? Praying for God to do anything good in their lives would be challenging enough, but thanking God for them? That seems impossible.
The truth is that spiritual leaders rise above their own grievances and complaints to gain a higher view of God’s activity in the world around them. God is always at work around us. Some of the people we may like the least, could well be the ones in whom God is working most significantly. The only way we can thank God for some people is if we see them from His perspective. If you can’t find anything to pray for some people, you may need God to give you a fresh vantage point.