Don’t you just love to hear a good secret? We like to be the first to know.
But you may be wondering, “Her secret to what?” That is a good question. How about keeping it all together when the world is falling apart? Or having peace after getting bad news? How she maintains joy? Where does her hope come from? Would those be things that you would like to know about? Do you want to know her secret? It is to pray about everything.
Right now you may be thinking, “But you don’t know my situation”. You are absolutely correct. I don’t know. But there are secrets waiting to be found that will address your situation. Pray about everything is one of them.
Does God want us to pray?
How sad it would be for any parent if their children did not talk to them. For our family, we had two children on the spectrum. They did not speak for the first four years of their lives. It was gut-wrenching. We prayed a lot for the boys. We also sought therapy, improved diets, and other things to help them. The good news is that they started talking and now have giant vocabularies. We get to hear them talk all the time.
God is our heavenly father, and we are His children if we know Jesus personally. He wants us to talk to Him. He longs for us to tell Him our fears, our joys, our concerns, our hopes, and our dreams. This father-and-child conversation is found in many places throughout the Bible.
“Prayer is your conversation with God and how you can develop a personal, meaningful relationship with the God of the universe who loves you. It’s how he can do miracles in your heart. Through prayer, he can bring your life into alignment with his vision and plans.” Prayer and Possibilities
Does the Bible say “praying about everything?”
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.” Philippians 4:6 ESV
This verse has three instructions for us.
- Don’t worry
- Pray about everything
- Give thanks to God
Why would God put these three things together? Because if we don’t pray and give thanks to God, we will worry. The following verse tells us what will happen when we follow these instructions.
“And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:7
God wants us to have peace. He also wants us to be closely connected to Him. Praying about everything will accomplish both.
“Praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication.” Ephesians 6:18
“Pray without ceasing.” 1 Thessalonians 5:17
What can you expect when you pray about everything?
How does prayer help us in our daily lives? It helps us in many ways. Here are a few.
- Less worry
- More joy
- More confidence
- Greater empathy for others
- More resiliency when getting bad news
- Hope for tomorrow
Less worry
Praying about everything reduces anxiety and worry. I like these quotes about worrying.
“Worry often gives a small thing a big shadow.” Swedish proverb
“Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow, it empties today of its strength.” Corrie Ten Boom
“Today, after all, is the tomorrow you worried about yesterday.” Billy Graham
More joy
“The joy of the Lord is your strength.” Nehemiah 8:10b
“You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore. ” Psalm 16:11
This joy that the Bible talks about can be ours even when we are feeling sad. Human feelings change. The good news is that God does not change, and neither does His joy.
More confidence
“I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.” Philippians 1:6
When we talk to God regularly in prayer, and He talks to us through Bible reading, our confidence grows in living life according to God’s will. We know that God has our backs and that everything will work according to His plans.
Greater empathy for others
“Blessed be the God and father of our LORD Jesus Christ, the God of mercies and all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. ” 2 Corinthians 1:3-4
Life is full of twists and turns that we don’t sign up for but are a reality of life. God wants to comfort us and that can happen when we read the Scriptures and pray about everything. In turn, we have empathy for those going through the same trials and have words of comfort to share with them.
More resiliency when getting bad news
“He (she) is not afraid of bad news; His (her) heart is firm, trusting in the Lord”. Psalm 112:7
“You meant evil against me, but God meant it for good.” Genisis 50:20
“But they that wait on the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.” Isaiah 40:31
Bad news comes in many packages, and usually not when we are expecting it. It can temporarily knock the wind out of us. But for us who have a strong relationship with God through Bible reading and praying about everything, we can get back up and keep going.
Hope for tomorrow
I love these words from an old hymn.
“Strength for today, and bright hope for tomorrow. Great is your faithfulness, Lord unto me. ” 1923, Thomas O. Chisholm
We have assurance from God that no matter what comes our way, He is with us. We are promised that everything will work out for our good and God’s glory. Everything. It may not turn out the way we had planned, but we are also told that God’s plans for us are good. His ways are so much better than we could ever imagine. (Hebrews 13:5, Romans 8:28, Jeremiah 29:11, Isaish 55:9, 1 Corinthians 2:9)
50 examples of how to Pray about everything
So what does the Bible say to pray about and what does “everything” encompass? Our trip to the dentist when we are scared of drills? About the morning ahead, packed with so many demands that we don’t know if we can get through it all? Or the lost keys that are needed now? I have prayed about all of them. Here are examples of how to pray about everything.
Praise is part of praying about everything
- God loves you
- God’s goodness
- For what God has done in your life
- God’s word, the Bible
- For Jesus
- The world God created
- That God will never leave you
- God’s faithfulness
Gratitude is part of praying about everything
- Comforts
- Clean water and nourishing food
- Health
- Unexpected finances
- Your senses allow you to enjoy life
- Your abilities and talents
- Mundane, everyday things in your life that create order
- Family
- Friends
- Freedom to pray and read Scripture
- A job to make a living
Pray for people you know
- Parents
- Children
- Spouse
- Siblings
- Boss and coworkers
- Neighbors
- Friends who encourage you
- Friends who don’t know Jesus
- Service personnel- at the grocery store, post office, and other businesses
- Those you see on social media
- People you text with
Pray for Yourself
- Confession and forgiveness of sins
- To be conformed to the image of Christ
- To have a pure heart
- For Godly attitudes
- Discuss your feelings and thank God that He is the God of comfort and healing
- Wisdom
Pray for your requests
- Your physical needs
- The physical needs of others
- Your hopes and dreams
- For what you worry about
- Safety
- Your day and its demands
- Your responsibilities
Pray for the furtherance of the Kingdom of God
- Opportunities to serve with your time, talents, and finances
- Your church leaders and church family
- Missions
- The persecuted church around the world
- Government leaders
- Friends and family who don’t know Jesus
Final thoughts on pray about everything
There is literally nothing that you can not pray about. Prayer is simply your talking to God. Nothing is too overwhelming for him to listen to. Likewise, nothing is too silly or unimportant to God. He is our heavenly father and we are his children. He wants to hear from us. So go ahead. Pray about everything. You will be glad you did.
A gift for you
As a reminder that we need to pray about everything, I want to give you this Scripture card that you can download, no email is required. Enjoy.
If you like to color, check out the “Prayer – Hotline To Heaven” coloring collection. It will give you hours of enjoyment as well as reminders of the importance of powerful prayers for beginners.
You might also like to read: