Apostle Paul’s Secret to Mountain-Moving Prayer

I try to operate according to three principles when I pray for a situation in someone’s life:

1. I don’t pray the obvious—at least not at first. Instead, I ask the Holy Spirit how I should pray. What does God want to do to bring glory to Himself in this situation?

2. I pray the process rather than the results. The Holy Spirit may direct me to pray the obvious, but often I sense a spiritual fruit or a kingdom growth principle to focus on. So I usually pray more for spiritual development in the life of the one with the need. Yes, I will from time to time be led to pray for a miraculous fix. But that is not the majority of the time.

3. When I do not know what the Lord wants me pray, I look to His Word and pray Scripture. I find a verse or passage that the Holy Spirit nudges me to pray.

For individuals, I challenge you to follow similar guidelines when praying for others. Churches, I challenge you to make sure that there is far more outward praying in the public ministry of your church. In other words, prayer in a church worship service should more often focus on praying for the community, the nation, the lost, and the moving of the Spirit in the midst of your congregation—than on personal needs from within. You can still have your prayer chains and prayer sheet, but don’t make needs-based praying the focal point of your public prayers.

A congregation that witnesses its church pray in powerful, eternal, and kingdom-impacting ways will learn to pray in the same way, regardless of personal circumstances. They will mature in their prayer lives just as the New Testament believers did when their beloved friend Paul was in a seemingly hopeless situation. Paul resisted the urge to simply get out of prison, and rather pointed his friends to prayers of the more lasting result of kingdom expansion

What Did Paul Pray?

Ephesians 1:17–18—A spirit of wisdom and revelation
Ephesians 3:16–21—Strengthened with power and to know Christ’s love
Colossians 1:9–14—Knowledge of God’s will
1 Timothy 1:17—Prayer of praise
1 Thessalonians 5:23—Sanctification
Romans 15:13—Filled with joy and peace
2 Corinthians 13:7–10—Do what is right
2 Thessalonians 1:11–12—Fulfill every good purpose
Philippians 1:9–11—Love may abound
2 Thessalonians 3:5—Direct your hearts into love and perseverance
Colossians 4:12 —Standing firm in the will of God
1 Thessalonians 3:12–13—May love increase and overflow to others
Romans 15:5–6—Unity Philemon 6—Active in sharing faith
2 Thessalonians 2:16–17—Encourage and strengthen
1 Thessalonians 1:2–3—Thanking God for them
Colossians 1:3–4—Thanking God for their faith
Romans 10:1—For Israel to be saved {eoa}

JONATHAN GRAF is a popular speaker and the author of multiple books on prayer, including Praying Like Paul. He is also a vice president with Harvest Prayer Ministries and the publisher of Prayer Connect.