Have you ever been asked to pray for someone that you didn’t know well? Or maybe you know a little bit about the person. Maybe you know that they have breast cancer for instance. Of course you pray for healing, wisdom for the doctors, etc. But how can you pray for their inner man. (Their inner Humanity)

Although I am not a fan of reciting written prayers, they can be a good framework for more personal prayers. The best example in the Bible, in my opinion, is the Lord’s prayer. It is good for praying for yourself and your family.

But for praying for someone you don’t know too well there are two passages in the Bible that are very useful as a framework.

The first is Colossians 1:9-14. This is a prayer that could be said for any believer and is a plea to heaven for the individual to

– be filled with the knowledge of God’s will.
– gain spiritual wisdom and understanding.
– walk in a manner worthy of the Lord. 
– bear fruit in every good work. 
– increase in the knowledge of God.
– be strengthened with all power.
– give thanks to the Father.

Here is the passage from the ESV: And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, 10 so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; 11 being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy; 12 giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. 13 He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

You might want to have these bullet points handy in your prayer journal as a prompt that is especially handy for people you need to pray for that you don’t know that well. Or maybe the individual is missionary. You haven’t had an update on their ministry in a long while, so you don’t have specific prayer requests to pray. This is great prayer for them.

The second passage is Ephesians 3:14-19. This passage is for

• Inner strength from the presence of the Holy Spirit
• intimate fellowship with Christ
• the love to Christ and his creation
• knowledge and awareness of Christs love for you
• being filled with the fulness of God

14 For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,15 Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named,16 That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man;17 That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love,18 May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height;19 And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.

This is a prayer for friends going through stress and anxiety, but can be used for those in critical positions or leadership positions in time of crisis. But having said that, it is a good prayer for all of us. Nothing settles a nervous heart like intimacy with God. If we are aware of the presence of His love for us we can draw upon that love to love others.

So these are two good passages to pray when you don’t have specific prayer requests to pray about. They will bless the recipient with some really valuable wisdom and peace of mind.