General vs. specific prayer

[disciple05]

Hey Pastor Mike,

I recently had a discussion with a friend on the issue of prayer.
I told him that in my prayer time i was praying for some friends and I to become closer. He said that that is the wrong thing to pray for and I should just be praying for friendships in general.

I however disagree I do believe there is a place for general prayer such as: "Lord, Bless this service today that your truth may be preached."

but also, I Feel, there is necessity for specific prayer even: " Father, please draw me and Jake closer as brothers. allow us to build each other up and challenge each other to draw closer to you for guidance."

now I feel that this is right in it's principle here is my question:

Are there/how many some specific examples (either OT or NT) where we see this practiced out?

thanks for your time

In Christ


Disciple05

[Mike Miller]

I always find it interesting when people tell others they are praying incorrectly when Scripture doesn't seem to place such limits. In fact, what we see modeled in the Bible by the prayers of God's people are prayers about all kinds of things, both general and specific.

On the one hand, I'm not sure we see anything in Scripture that directly addresses praying for specific friendships. Neither do we see anything about praying for friendships in general. However, we do see both general and specific prayers and encouragements to pray. I cannot possibly tell you how many there are in either testament, but let me give you a few examples.

In Numbers 21:7, Moses prayed for the people (general), and in Deuteronomy 9:20, he prayed for Aaron (specific). Both contexts are similar in that Moses was praying that God would not destroy people who had sinned, but one was general, and one was specific.

In 2 Kings 6:17, Elisha prayed that God would open the eyes of his servant so that he could see what was going on in the spiritual realm (specific), and in 6:18 he prayed that God would blind the eyes of the people (general).

In Ezra 9 & 10, Ezra prayed on behalf of the people because they had sinned against God (general), and in Job 42:8, God directed Job to pray for Eliphaz and the 2 others because they had sinned against God (specific).

In Luke 22:32, Jesus says he has prayed for Simon ("you" in v. 31 is plural, but "you/your" in v. 32 is singular) that his faith would not fail (specific), but in John 17, Jesus prayed for all believers in the future that we would be faithful (general).

In Ephesians 6:19, Paul asks the church to pray for him to preach the Gospel boldly (specific), but in 1 Thessalonians 5:17, Paul tells the church to "pray without ceasing" (general).

Really, I could go on and on, but I think you get the picture. Biblically, you will be right to pray for friendships in general, and biblically you will be right to pray for your specific friendships. I would say that praying is only incorrect when we pray for something that is clearly outside the will of God ("Father, help me rob this bank without getting caught") or when we pray with the wrong motives ("Father, help me get rich so I can buy lots of stuff for myself." See James 4:3).