Praying for Everything and Everyone

Hey, grab your Bible and flip over to 1 Timothy 2.

So prayer... it's way more than just asking God for stuff. It's really about responding to what God has already promised us. Let me say that again because it's super important - prayer is basically us believing what God already said He'd do. Praying is more than asking for things. It’s a believing response to God's promises.

When we pray (and throw in some thankfulness too), we're acting like what we're praying for has already happened. And from God's view, it actually has! Pretty cool, right? When we pray (with thanksgiving), we're acting like it's already done—because from God’s perspective, it is.

Think of prayer as this awesome bridge connecting our believing with our receiving. Prayer is a helpful bridge between believing and receiving. While we're pouring our hearts out to God, we can pray both spiritually and with our regular thoughts too. As we share our hearts to God, we can pray in the spirit and with understanding. We can pray for others. And we watch for open doors, so truth can be heard.

Praying for Everyone

Let’s begin with 1 Timothy 2:1–2, and learn about praying for everyone. It says:

“I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men and women; For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty.”

Paul wrote this in a letter that is addressed to Timothy. It tells him how to lead, teach, and shepherd the believers in Ephesus. It tells us to put praying “first of all.” And not just praying for ourselves, but for everyone. Prayer is not just a moment of being mindful of others — it’s an act of believing, trusting, and helping. That’s what this teaching is about: how prayer connects our believing to God's power, so the Word can move freely in our lives and in the lives of others.

Let’s turn to Philippians 4:6 and learn a little about pouring out our hearts in trust. It says: “Be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.”

According to the BlueLetterBible.org and Strong’s Concordance, the word “careful” is from the Greek merimnaō, which means to be “anxious” or “mentally pulled in different directions.” Have you ever felt like that, pulled apart, when thinking about a certain situation, or a friend group, or a life decision you need to make? 

The Word says the solution isn’t to bury your feelings, suppress them, or cover them up. But rather, pray. And not just praying casually. Look at this word “supplication.” “By prayer and supplication.” Supplication means to ask earnestly or plead with someone, usually from an urgent heart. It’s not just a casual request, but a deep, sincere, and heartfelt “ask.” “In everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known.”

And here's the key in Philippians 4:6 (just like in 1 Timothy 2:1), we pray with thanksgiving. Why? Because thanksgiving is how believing works. It’s how we talk. When I pray and thank God, I am believing (I am trusting) He’s already working on it.

For example, when my daughters started to think about going to college, they started to talk about needing transportation, and they came to me and Alicia, and started this conversation about getting to class and events. Guess what? By the time they came to me, I'd already been working on the solution. As a man, as a provider, as a father, I’m excited to tell my family, “I got it. Trust me. I have a solution, and it’s right here.” That’s my job for my family. And that’s God’s job for us. How does God know what we need? Well, we can help him out by praying. 

Let’s turn to and read Hebrews 11:1 (KJV)

“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”

That word “faith” is the Greek word “pistis,” and that means believing. So feel free to use a pencil and write in “believing” where it says “faith” here. And the word “substance” is the Greek word “hypostasis,” and that means “that which actually exists.” If I go on Amazon.com and buy something, I believe that I own that thing which actually exists, even though I have not yet seen it (because it hasn’t yet been delivered to my door). In the same way, spiritually, believing is possessing something that actually exists. “I believe I am healthy. I believe I am peaceful. I believe I am surrounded by love. I believe in God. I believe I can do all things.”

And thanksgiving is the natural response to receiving what I believe. “...with thanksgiving let your requests be made known.” And prayer is that helpful bridge between believing and receiving.

So my prayer might go something like this: “Thank You, God, my heavenly Father, for handling this already.” That’s not blind hope—it’s believing with confidence and trusting in God that it shall be done or has been done already. 

And this ties right into Psalm 62. Please turn to, and let’s read Psalms 62:8. 

“Trust in him at all times; ye people, pour out your heart before him: God is a refuge for us.”

Let’s not wait to thank God until after we see the results. Let’s thank God now, because we believe now. My prayer with thanksgiving is an expression of trust. I trust God will provide. At all times. My prayer is not a question mark. I open and pour out, of my heart, and my mind, a thankful expression of believing and trust. 

Praying in the Spirit and with Understanding

Let’s turn to and read 1 Corinthians 14:15: “What is it then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will pray with the understanding also…”

This is about our full engagement in prayer—both mind and spirit, natural and supernatural. As born-again believers, we’ve been given the gift of holy spirit, and we can manifest it through speaking in tongues, which is praying in the spirit. That’s perfect “intercession.” That “intercession” listed in 1 Timothy 2:1. The word “intercession” suggests standing in the gap for another person—bringing someone else’s needs before God, as though you are their advocate. Intercession is when we pray not for ourselves, but for others. Maybe even when they can’t, won’t, or don’t know how to believe for themselves.

We pray in tongues when, we don’t need know the full picture of what’s going on, or the details of what someone needs. But, we can follow up, in our understanding, with verses, names, specific needs—and always, with thanksgiving. We can pray in the spirit. And we can pray with understanding—using our hearts and minds, making requests for specific people and situations. 

Back in 1 Timothy 2:1, Paul gives us a pattern to keep in mind: “I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men and women.”

• Supplications – praying deeply and sincerely

• Prayers – talking with God

• Intercessions – spiritually stepping in on someone else’s behalf

• Thanksgiving – our response of believing and trust

When we pray for others and thank God in the same breath, we’re showing our confident believing—not begging for results, but believing we have received them.

This is in alignment with 1 John 5. Let’s read in 1 John 5:14–15:

“And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.”

We have full confidence that whatsoever we ask, for ourselves or for others, he hears us. 

Prayer That Opens Doors and Moves the Word

Let’s wrap this up with one more verse. Let’s read Colossians 4:2–3: “Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving; Withal praying also for us, that God would open unto us a door of utterance...”

Paul, who is writing this letter from house arrest, isn’t asking for an open door to be released from imprisonment—he’s asking for open doors to speak God’s word to people, and he knows prayer is the key that unlocks those doors.

In 1 Timothy 2:1–2, it says to pray for kings and people in authority. Believing prayer isn’t just for leaders—it’s for all believers. But ministers have a unique calling to pray on behalf of those they serve. This reminds me of something Reverend Koetteritz once said. He shared that he lived out Ephesians 1:16 as a daily part of his service. And Ephesians 1:16 says: “Cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers.”

That’s something spiritual leaders do. They remember people by name, to give thanks for them continually. I want to pray like that—for others, with thanks, because I believe God is already working on it. 

Paul repeats this again in Colossians 1:9: “For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you…”

And in 1 Thessalonians 1:2: “We give thanks to God always for you all, making mention of you in our prayers.”

We can pray like this. And when we do, God opens doors. We’re part of a ministry that prays for boldness to speak, open doors to speak to, and open hearts that hear the Word. 

A STORY

So, just before we conclude this teaching, I want to tell you a story that proves to me (and will hopefully prove to you) that praying works. A long time ago, in a faraway place, there was a man who lived with his family in the Rocky Mountains. This man was a good man, but he was struggling with his work and his money. Every day, for about a year, this man would climb a nearby mountain, called Mount Sanitas, and he’d sit on a rock, under an old pine tree, and he’d pray. It was more like a conversation with God. You should have heard some of that conversation. At times, it was pretty frank and to the point, without any filters. This mountain man asked God for help. He wanted to be the best at what he does so that he could provide for his family. Many years later, this man has received everything that he believed in, and even more than what he could ever ask or think. Praying works. Give it a try. Just do it. Trust God. Let go, and let God do all the work. 

CONCLUSION

Let’s put this all together. Believing and praying change everything. It opens doors. We don’t have to be worried about anything. We can pray in the spirit. And we can pray with specific requests. We trust that God is already working on it, so we can have a quiet and peaceable life. And we’re thankful that we already have what is needed, for ourselves and others. 

Thank you. That’s what I wanted to share.