Seven-Day Practical Faith Blog: The Importance of Praying for Others

Generation after generation, we find something "wrong" with the next generation coming up. But a new survey of Gen Z does worry me - especially in terms of spirituality.

New research from the Survey Center on American Life suggests the Gen Z generation (13-28 years old) is very individualistic. One result is Gen Z'ers are prone to viewing morality and ethics through an individual lens rather than in a social or community context.

Among the many observations are that Gen Z tends to be more spiritual, but in private. They aren't as likely to gather in church community as they focus on individual faith. They don't tend to pray for other people, instead only praying about their concerns. 46% of young women said they prayed for others, while 72% of senior women lifted up others in prayer.

It made me think about our seven-day practical faith and why it's important to pray, not only for ourselves, not only for connection to God, but for other people. I'm not talking about studies that prove that praying for others actually does help. I'm talking about the scriptural basis for praying for others.

In my view, there are two scriptural reasons. First, early church leaders Paul and James saw praying for others as essential to both community and to following God's will. Here are a few verses (all NIV):

1 Timothy 2:1, 3-4 I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people. . .This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.

James 5:16 Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.

Colossians 1:9 For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives.

The second scriptural reason is a connect-the-dots exercise, but it makes sense. We've seen from the verses above that prayer has power and can make a difference. So, when Jesus tells us to love our neighbor, does it not lead to praying for them? By doing so, we connect them even more closely to God and the power that comes from God.

Jesus even directly connects loving others with prayer. In Matthew 5:44, he says, "Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you." First, there's the mind-blowing command to love even your enemies. Second, we see how loving others and praying for others are intertwined.

Gen-Z is a generation focused on self-improvement; there's nothing inherently wrong with that. But if we only focus on ourselves, then we miss a large part of the gospel that tells us to focus on others. One way is to start praying for them today. And if you already pray for others, expand your horizon, praying for more people and in more detail when possible.

When we experience God's love, it becomes more possible to let God's love flow through to others. I stated this key principle in my book, "Live Like You're Loved." This book has been proven to help people connect to God, feel loved, and change their lives. Carlie Miller wrote in her Amazon review, “I have gotten away from my faith over the years. This book helped to bring me back. I did a lot of self-reflecting while reading this book, and I'm happy to say I feel closer to God as a result.” Please check out the book at online booksellers or at CecilTaylorMinistries. com.