How to Pray for Friends, Family and Others

5 And He said to them, “Which of you shall have a friend, and go to him at midnight and say to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves; 6‘for a friend of mine has come to me on his journey, and I have nothing to set before him’; 7“and he will answer from within and say, ‘Do not trouble me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give to you’? 8“I say to you, though he will not rise and give to him because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence he will rise and give him as many as he needs.

9“So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 10“For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. 11“If a son asks for bread from any father among you, will he give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent instead of a fish?

INTRODUCTION: All of us from time to time are asked to pray for others, whether it be a member of our family who is lost and needs the Lord Jesus as Savior or whether it be a friend or loved one who is sick.

Whenever we pray to the Father on behalf of others, that is what we call intercessory prayer. And intercession or intercessory prayer is the highest level of prayer. It is that Super Prayer God has given us.

Intercessory prayer is the secret weapon of the church. The devil has absolutely no defense against it. Many people will not come to church and hear God's Word but we can take them before the Father’s throne at any time. (with or without their permission!)

Dr. Wilbur Chapman often told of his experience when, as a young man, he went to become pastor of a church in Philadelphia. After his first sermon, an old gentleman said to him, "You're pretty young to be pastor of this church. But you preach the Gospel, and I'm going to help you all I can." Dr. Chapman thought, "Here's a crank." But the man continued: "I'm going to pray for you that you may have the Holy Spirit's power upon you. Two others have covenanted to join with me in prayer for you." Dr. Chapman said, "I didn't feel so bad when I learned he was going to pray for me. The 3 became 10, the 10 became 20, and 20 became 50, the 50 became 200 who met before every service to pray that the Holy Spirit might come upon me. I always went into my pulpit feeling that I would have the anointing in answer to the prayers of those who had faithfully prayed for me. It was a joy to preach! The result was that we received 1,100 into our church by conversion in three years, 600 of whom were men. It was the fruit of the Holy spirit in answer to prayer!"

So the secret to praying for your friends, your family or other loved ones is simply learning how to practice intercessory prayer.

By the way, this illustration of intercessory prayer follows immediately our Lord’s teaching His disciples to pray the Model Prayer in verses 2-4.

Two men were talking together. The first challenged the other, "If you are so religious, let's hear you quote the Lord's Prayer. I bet you $10.00 you can't." The second responded, "Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep. And If I die before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take." The first pulled out his wallet and fished out a ten dollar bill, muttering, "I didn't think you could do it!"

Tonight, I want to share with you several truths about this most powerful and effective kind of praying, praying for others, intercessory prayer.

I. Intercessory Prayer is Daring Prayer,

Luke 11:5-65 And He said to them, “Which of you shall have a friend, and go to him at midnight and say to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves; 6‘for a friend of mine has come to me on his journey, and I have nothing to set before him’;

In those days they didn't have hotels or convenience stores therefore it was the custom to help any friend who came to you with a need. Now notice from this story our Lord Jesus gives us several reasons why intercessory prayer is daring.

A. Intercessory prayer is daring in its size - verse 5 "lend me three loaves."

Now this might not sound like such a big request to you. Three loaves of bread are not that costly to us.

But in that day and time, one loaf of bread required a day’s wage. This request is for three loaves. He’s asking the equivalent of three days’ income.

How many of us would be willing to hand that over to a friend at a moments notice? So this request is daring in its size.

We should be willing to ask God daring prayers. Big prayers! Most of our praying is too small. We need to ask God to do something only He can do. That way, when He does it, when He answers our prayers, there will be no doubt who receives the credit and the praise.

B. Intercessory prayer is daring in its steadfastness - verse 8

"Because of his persistence (importunity) he will rise and give him as many as he needs."

In spite of the lateness of the hour and the inconvenience which was caused, the man continued to knock until he received what he wanted.

That’s why Jesus tells us to ask, seek and knock in verse 9. All of these are verbs that denote action and in the imperfect tense meaning continuous action.

Jesus taught that we were to ask and keep on asking, to seek and keep on seeking, to knock and keep on knocking. Praying for your friends to be saved or for a family member to come to Christ requires steadfastness, daring steadfastness.

C. Intercessory prayer is daring in its sacrifice

1. The man who asked for three loaves was willing to be out at midnight in order to get them.

It was a dark and dangerous time. Robbers, murderers and every form of evil roamed the darkness at such late hours.

2. Moses was willing to sacrifice himself if God would save his people.

Exodus 32:30–32 (NLT) 30 The next day Moses said to the people, “You have committed a terrible sin, but I will go back up to the Lord on the mountain. Perhaps I will be able to obtain forgiveness for your sin.” 31 So Moses returned to the Lord and said, “Oh, what a terrible sin these people have committed. They have made gods of gold for themselves. 32 But now, if you will only forgive their sin—but if not, erase my name from the record you have written!”

3. Paul was willing to be condemned forever if God would only save his people.

His people being His Jewish brethren.

Romans 9:1–3 (ESV) 1 I am speaking the truth in Christ—I am not lying; my conscience bears me witness in the Holy Spirit— 2 that I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. 3 For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, my kinsmen according to the flesh.

Romans 10:1 (ESV) 1 Brothers, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved.

II. Intercessory Prayer is Definite Praying, Luke 11:5, 11-13

A. He asked specifically for three loaves - verse 5

Luke 11:5 (ESV) And he said to them, “Which of you who has a friend will go to him at midnight and say to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves,

In the same way, we should ask for specific things and pray for specific people when we intercede.

Luke 11:11–13 (ESV) 11 What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent; 12 or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? 13 If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

B. What does the bread represent - verse 11-13

It represents Holy Spirit’s power in our lives and in the lives of our loved ones. He's talking about getting spiritual power in our lives so that we may have bread to set before those who come to us.

III. Intercessory Prayer is Desperate Praying, Luke 11:6

For a friend of mine on his journey has come to me and I have nothing to set before him!"

A. Intercession is desperate praying because of our inescapable responsibility - v.6

"A friend of mine has come to me."

All of us have people in our lives for whom we are personally responsible.

1. Our spouse

2. Our children, brothers and sisters

3. Our business or work associates

4. Our neighbors

B. Intercessory prayer is desperate praying because of our inadequate resources,

Luke 11:6, "I have nothing to set before him."

Many times our personal resources are inadequate to meet the needs in the lives of those for whom we pray. While our resources are inadequate God is a friend who always has the bread that we need to share with others.

C. Intercessory prayer is desperate praying because of our inevitable reward, Luke 11:8

he will rise and give him as many as he needs.

Wouldn’t it be wonderful to begin to see God rise up and give answer to our prayers for the salvation of our lost family, friends, and loved ones?!

Jesus said, “You have not because you ask not.”

If we truly want to see our loved ones saved, we must be praying for them. Our Lord also told us, “Ask and you shall receive.”

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