Every so often in the Gospels, Jesus instructs his disciples to pray for something. If Jesus said it, then they must be important, right? So, I compiled these prayers into a list, so that we can remember to pray them often. What are the 7 prayers that Jesus asks us to pray?
1. Pray for Laborers for the Gospel
“When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.” (Matthew 9:36-38).
2. Pray for Your Enemies
“But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get?Are not even the tax collectors doing that?” (Matthew 5:44-46).
3. Pray for Strength Against Temptation
“Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” (Matthew 26:41).
Here, Jesus was speaking to Peter on the night of his betrayal. He is praying in the Garden of Gethsemane, and his disciples are having trouble staying awake. They clearly do not grasp the seriousness of this moment in history, and are somehow not picking up on the distress of the Lord.
While Jesus is praying, he asks his disciples to stay up and pray as well, specifically that they would not fall into temptation. While they do continue to doze off into sleep, and Peter does end up falling into the temptation to deny him later into the night, Jesus redeems this all into a lesson for us all. He is so kind.
We can learn from this that we can in fact overcome great temptation, in the most intense of circumstances, with the help of God. Prayer matters.
4. How to Pray!
“This, then, is how you should pray: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.” (Matthew 6:9-13).
The official blueprint and instruction manual on how to pray! Jesus guides his disciples on the essential elements of an effective prayer:
- Praise and Gratitude. This helps us start the prayer off right, under submission to God. It is important to know Who you are speaking with!
- Requests. Remember, you may have not because you ask not (James 4:2). And remember to intercede for your neighbors (James 5:16), the sick (James 5:14-15), spiritual (Colossians 4:3) and political leaders (1 Timothy 2:1), and peace in Israel (Psalm 122:6).
- Repentance.
- Again, prayers against temptation!
5. Humbly Pray for Mercy
“Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’
“But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’
“I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” (Luke 18:10-14).
6. Pray You Will Escape the Tribulation
“Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you suddenly like a trap. For it will come on all those who live on the face of the whole earth. Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man.” (Luke 21:34-36).
7. More Prayers About the Tribulation!
“Pray that your flight will not take place in winter or on the Sabbath.” (Matthew 24:20).
Here, Jesus is speaking again about the end times, and how difficult it will be for those on the earth. He tells us to pray that our flight from these persecutions would not take place in winter, or on the Sabbath. It seems obvious why it would be tough to escape hardship in the winter. It will be cold, roads and water sources will be iced over, overall not a great time to travel, right? Let’s pray that we don’t have to experience that.
The instruction to pray that these things do not take place on the Sabbath requires a little extra explanation. This prayer may have been specifically meant for Jews or Christians who follow strict prohibitions on the Sabbath. One of these restrictions include the prohibition of carrying burdens, in other words, one may not carry anything large enough that would make the task considered to be work.
For example, one might follow this prohibition so strictly that, if his house caught fire on the Sabbath, he would not carry water to put out the fire and could save only enough food from the house to cover three meals (Safrai, 2006). Therefore, if he were to flee on the Sabbath, he wouldn’t be able to effectively carry out most possessions or emergency equipment. It would be a difficult scenario.
A similar theory regards the prohibition of walking a certain distance or numbers of steps on the Sabbath. This distance is known as “a Sabbath day’s walk” (Acts 1:12), approximately two thousand cubits (Numbers 35:5), or 1.2 kilometers. Therefore, it would certainly be inconvenient to need to flee on the Sabbath. So, if you are following these Sabbath restrictions and, Lord forbid, you find yourself in the Tribulation, remember to also pray that your flight is not on the Sabbath.
If Jesus asks us to pray about these things, they must be important. So, I’m going to add these seven prayers to my regular prayer list. Thank you for reading. For further study, check out How Is the Eye the Lamp of the Body? or How Are We the Salt of the Earth?
