Strategic Prayer for One’s Destiny

May Your Faith Not Fail

By James Banks

How much do we owe to the prayers of others? The tale will never be told this side of heaven—at least not in full. But we catch glimpses now and then.

Jesus gave us one example when He told Peter, “Satan has asked to sift all of you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers” (Luke 22:31–32).

In a single moment Jesus captured the disciples’ desertion before His crucifixion, Peter’s denial, Peter’s restoration to leadership, and the role that prayer would play in all of it.

How humbling that must have been for Peter! Moments before, he was arguing with the disciples about which of them was “the greatest” (Luke 22:24). Suddenly he was face to face with Jesus and the tale of his impending failure, as well as a poignant lesson on the necessity to love others through prayer.

What would have happened if Jesus had not prayed for Peter? Jesus’ own words make that clear: “I have prayed for you . . . that your faith may not fail” (italics added). Jesus’ prayers saved Peter’s faith from disaster, and His way of interceding for Peter’s destiny sets an example for every believer to follow.

Warfare and Destinies

All of us have moments of failure and disappointment, but God always provides a path forward toward redemption through repentance and forgiveness. He wants us to intercede for each other strategically with the long view in mind. Paul gave us an example of what the long view looks like with his instructions to Timothy to “fight the good fight of faith” and “take hold of the eternal life” we have been called to (1 Tim. 6:12), overcoming every obstacle to live effectively for the Kingdom of God.

Jesus also prayed for us in this manner when He prayed, not only for his original disciples, but “also for those who will believe” (John 17:20, italics added).

Some months back, my wife and I received an email from one of my childhood friends, wanting our help in solving a longtime mystery. She wrote, “I used to pray for James [me] often in the past and wonder why. Found this in my old Bible. . . .”

Attached was a picture of her Bible with this note written in the margin: “Pray for James. . . . Cover mind, thoughts, words. Never say anything is impossible for God.”

She wanted to know what was happening in my life at that time and why she felt such a burden to pray for me.

The photo showed three-year designations beside the note in her Bible. As soon as I saw them, I understood the why—the significance. During those years I lived abroad as a foreign exchange student, which challenged my faith as never before. Those were also the years I was beginning college and running from God’s calling on my life. But during that season I saw my faith renewed and deepened, my calling increasingly clarified.

As I studied the picture, I realized what a gift I was given. My friend had been obedient to the Holy Spirit’s prompting even though we were only in touch briefly at the time. She prayed. My mother prayed. And an entire row of “blue-haired” elderly ladies at my home church prayed. As a result, by God’s grace, I weathered a difficult season without shipwreck of my faith (see 1 Timothy 1:19) and emerged on course for His purpose for my life.

When we pray strategically for other believers’ spiritual destinies, we move beyond “bless and be with” prayers into effective spiritual warfare. My friend had covered my mind and thoughts and words years before I would ever preach a sermon or write a book. God gave her that prayer. She stayed in His presence long enough to listen, to receive His wisdom, and to intercede accordingly.

This kind of praying is deeply personal, and its results can have a significant impact because we’re not simply praying our own thoughts or desires. We’re receiving the divine direction of the Holy Spirit.

Forward-looking Prayers

During the years when my son was wrestling with substance abuse, my wife Cari frequently told me, “I really believe God is going to use Geoffrey in ministry some day.”

I would nod my head and manage a smile, but I couldn’t see it at the time. Today, years later, Geoff is a youth pastor at a large church in the same city where he once abused and sold heroin. How was Cari able to see what God would eventually do in Geoff’s life? It was a special gift and depth of insight that God provided “just for her” as she waited before Him.

Believing parents are especially equipped to pray for their children’s spiritual destinies simply because they know their children so well. When directed by the Spirit of God, this familiarity and depth of knowledge may lead to insights that take years to unfold.

• Awareness of your children’s weaknesses may help you pray strategically against future temptations, providing a strong defense for decades to come.
• Covering your children’s unique gifting with prayer can open doors of vital effectiveness for their service in the Kingdom of God. Your intimate knowledge of them may help you anticipate potential challenges, which you can lift before Him.

Paul demonstrated this same kind of in-depth, forward-looking praying when he wrote this to the Christians in Colosse: “We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light” (Col. 1:9–12).

This prayer, along with others, such as Ephesians 3:14–21 and Philippians 1:9–11, are powerful pleas we can lift up strategically for those we love, letting God’s Word and His Spirit lead us as we pray.

Last year I recorded the audio version of my book Prayers for Prodigals (written ten years ago while my son was struggling with addiction). The recording could have taken a day’s time, but it took twice that long. I had to keep stopping because my voice broke down, overcome with emotion. When I paused, the sound technician would ask, “Another answered prayer?”

All I could do was nod silently. At the time the book was written, every prayer in it was unanswered. Now, by God’s grace, I have seen His kindness in answered prayer again and again.

Eternal Answers

No request grows old before God, even long after our lives on this earth are past. God keeps our faith-filled prayers ever before Him (Rev. 5:8) and will respond with His own perfect wisdom and timing.

Reflecting on this, Scottish theologian P.T. Forsyth poetically sums up the outcome: “God has old prayers of yours long maturing by Him. What wine you will drink with Him in His kingdom! Faith is sure that God refuses with a smile; that He says No in the spirit of Yes, and He gives or refuses always in Christ, our Great Amen.”¹

From family members to people we haven’t had much contact with for years, we have an unparalleled opportunity to touch hearts and lives and generations through the privilege of strategic, believing prayer!

¹P.T. Forsyth, The Soul of Prayer (Beloved Publishing, 2017), p. 46.

JAMES BANKS, a pastor and church planter, is the author of multiple books on prayer and a writer for Our Daily Bread. His website is jamesbanks.org. He and his wife Cari make their home in Durham, NC.