We need to pray for vital things. We consume too much time praying for trivialities and selfish requests. Instead of focusing on weightier matters, we pray for health, financial needs, job and relationship decisions, and for favor. These petitions are important to us, but are they vital to furthering the Kingdon of God?
I’m certain you could make arguments they can be, but I hope we can agree that in the grand scheme of things, our personal comfort, happiness, health, and pleasure are irrelevant and insignificant in the grand story of God’s redemptive plan. The Lord knows what we need and promises to supply us from His eternal riches. (Matthew 6:7-8; Philippians 4:19) We should rest in His promises and shift our focus from our needs to the needs of the Kingdom. (Matthew 6:33; Colossians 3:1–2)
No prayer is more troublesome to me than giving thanks before a meal. Without question, we should always be thankful for the food God provides for us. (1 Timothy 4:4–5) The general rule, however, is that this prayer becomes not only rote, but we offer it with great rapidity and with little reverence. We should never rush through a prayer for the sake of expediency. (Ecclesiastes 5:2) I’d rather spend an extra five minutes in prayer and eat cold peas than rush through it for the sake of warm food! This happens when we neglect to focus our prayers on vital things and instead pray light and shallow prayers.
Even in our more focused and planned prayer times, it is too easy to spend the majority of our time on personal needs or the needs of our friends and families. Again, praying for such things is not wrong, and we should always pour our hearts out to God. (Psalm 62:8; Philippians 4:6) Buty when we finish the race, if all our prayers have been selfish and local, we’ve missed the point. The first petition in the model prayer given to the disciples was “Your Kingdom come on earth as it is in Heaven.” (Matthew 6:10) Before and beyond anything else, we should pray for God’s Kingdom to come and spread throughout the world. (Matthew 24:14; 2 Thessalonians 3:1)
There is no ill, no sickness, no evil that the truth and reality of God’s Kingdom can not overcome. (Revelation 21:4) To pray for His will to be done on earth as it is in Heaven is to see every holy desire come to fruition. Those are the vital things we should focus our prayers on, not today’s newest desire. The reason we exist is to worship God. (Revelation 4:11; 1 Corinthians 10:31) What better way to worship Him than to pray for what He desires to come to pass, and to use us to accomplish His will? (Ephesians 2:10)
Our praying has become backward. Most of our prayers focus on that which is temporary instead of what is eternal. (2 Corinthians 4:18) Don’t worry about what you will eat or drink, or what you will wear. (Matthew 6:31) God knows what you need and will care for you. (Matthew 6:32) Pray for vital things, things which will matter in eternity. God wills that no one should perish (2 Peter 3:9), so pray for salvation to come to all men. (1 Timothy 2:1–4) Pray that the Lord will expose false teachers and not allow them to bring dishonor to the name of Jesus. (2 Peter 2:1–3; Titus 1:11) Thank God for His majesty, holiness, provision, wisdom, and salvation. (Psalm 145:3) Praise the Lord for His mercy, His provision, and His love. (Psalm 103:8–10) These are the things that matter. Let us all look beyond ourselves and pray for vital things.