What can we learn from the prayers of Paul in his letters?

Scattered through Paul's letters, often easy to skim past on the way to his theological arguments, are some of the richest, most instructive prayers in the New Testament. Paul did not merely write theology about prayer; he modeled it, repeatedly telling churches exactly what he was asking God for on their behalf. These prayers offer a kind of masterclass in how to pray for other people, especially fellow believers, with depth rather than shallowness.

Reading them together, a clear pattern emerges. Paul rarely prayed for people's circumstances to simply improve. He prayed, again and again, for their inner transformation, that they would know God more deeply, love more fully, and stand more firmly, regardless of what their circumstances happened to be.

It is striking how little Paul's recorded prayers for churches focus on comfort, ease, or the removal of hardship. Writing from prison, facing persecution, watching churches struggle with division and false teaching, Paul consistently asks God for things like wisdom, spiritual strength, deepened love, and fuller knowledge of Christ. He prays for the Ephesians to have the eyes of their hearts enlightened, that they may know what is the hope to which he has called them (Ephesians 1:18), not for their circumstances to become easier.

This does not mean Paul thought physical needs or hard circumstances were unimportant; he prayed about those too, and asked others to pray for his own safety and open doors (Romans 15:30-32). But his priority in praying for churches consistently aimed higher, at spiritual depth and Christlike character, trusting that a heart transformed by God could endure any circumstance God allowed.

For the Ephesians, Paul prays that God would give them the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, that they would know the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe (Ephesians 1:17-19), and later, that Christ would dwell in their hearts through faith, and that they would be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth of Christ's love (Ephesians 3:16-19).

For the Colossians, he prays they would be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, walking worthy of the Lord, strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy (Colossians 1:9-11). For the Philippians, he prays their love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so that they may approve what is excellent (Philippians 1:9-10). Each prayer, in its own words, aims at the same target: deeper knowledge of God producing transformed, resilient, loving lives.

Paul was not only a man who prayed for others; he repeatedly and humbly asked churches to pray for him. He asked the Ephesians to pray that words may be given to him in opening his mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel (Ephesians 6:19), even though he was already an apostle and gifted preacher. He asked the Colossians to pray that God may open to them a door for the word (Colossians 4:3), and the Thessalonians simply, brothers, pray for us (1 Thessalonians 5:25).

This matters because it shows that even the most spiritually mature, gifted leader in the New Testament church considered himself genuinely dependent on the prayers of ordinary believers. Paul did not treat prayer requests as a formality; he believed the churches' intercession genuinely affected his ministry's outcomes (2 Corinthians 1:11).

One of the most practical things you can do with these passages is pray them, almost word for word, for people you love. Instead of only praying help them feel better or make their week easier, try praying Ephesians 1:17-19 over a struggling friend, or Colossians 1:9-11 over your children, or Philippians 1:9-11 over your church. These prayers, written under divine inspiration, are guaranteed to align with God's will, because they simply echo what Scripture already reveals God delights to give (1 John 5:14-15).

Following Paul's example also means being willing to ask others to pray for you, rather than assuming a mature Christian should be self-sufficient in prayer. If the apostle Paul needed the church's intercession to preach boldly, none of us should be too proud to ask for the same.