Apostle Paul’s Secret to Mountain-Moving Prayer

We see this kingdom principle also in what is perhaps the most widely quoted prayer promise on the pages of Scripture: “If you remain in Me, and My words remain in you, you will ask whatever you desire, and it shall be done for you” (John 15:7). What a great promise! It means I should get everything I want, right?

But we need to put this verse in context. That promise is smack in the middle of the passage where Jesus shared that He is the Vine—and as believers, we are branches. As branches, Jesus explained, our primary purpose is to stay attached to Him so that we can bear fruit. We are to draw everything through the sustenance of the Vine. Jesus provides our nutrients. We take in His Word so we can be obedient to it and live it out. When we do this, we will bear fruit. That means helping other believers grow deeper in their walks, leading people to Christ, and shining as lights for the kingdom.

If we do that, what happens to how we pray in a situation? Instead of praying a perhaps selfish, quick-fix prayer, I now want to pray what the Father tells me to pray. I want to pray the fruit-bearing thing. So I look at the situation and pray for the kingdom to grow through what has come into my life or my friend’s life. I pray for boldness for Paul, rather than “get him out of prison, Lord.”

Paul’s Prayer Life

We see this same principle at work throughout Paul’s letters to the churches. There are 19 places scattered through the Epistles where Paul reveals a prayer he is praying for believers. None of those prayers cover an obvious answer to a specific need. Even when Paul asked believers to pray for him, he never requested prayer for a personal need.

Perhaps that was due to the time in which he lived. Immediate communication was not possible—no cell phone, no prayer chain, no email, no good postal system to move a letter within a few days. It would be hard to pray for specific and personal needs several months later—especially when you didn’t know what was happening to Paul right then.

So instead of focusing on everyday stuff, Paul shifts the emphasis to spiritual growth. This is what Paul told the Ephesian believers he was praying for them: 

I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of His glorious inheritance in his holy people, and his incomparably great power for us who believe (Eph. 1:17–19).

Paul’s model does not indicate I should not pray for everyday needs. But what it should tell us is that there are far more important things on which to focus the majority of our prayers. Perhaps we should focus first on praying for spiritual growth in the life of the one with the need, rather than pray the obvious quick fix.