Praying for Character

 
by Carol R. Cool  Issue #39 November/December 2003 

When my prayer time moved from dragging myself through my prayer lists to avoiding them altogether, I knew I needed to try something new. What could I do to revitalize my intercessory prayer life and move my prayers for myself away from a laundry list of desires?

I thought about the attributes I wanted to see in my life and decided to choose one each day and talk to God about producing it in me. Then I asked God to bring to mind people for whom He wanted me to pray the same character trait. As individuals popped into my thoughts during the day, I prayed for them what I had prayed for myself. The guilt of not finishing the required prayer list vanished. My responsibility was to be mindful and respond in prayer. This brought with it the added benefit of listening for God's prompting and being in His presence throughout my day.

I began with qualities I knew were lacking in my life at that time, such as perseverance, reliability, selflessness, and moderation. Sometimes I spent my first prayer moments asking God to reveal the character trait for the day. Attributes such as transparency, an appreciation of beauty, compassion, and living fully in the present came to my attention. At other times, qualities such as thankfulness and trust showed up in my daily Scripture reading. Occasionally I see a trait I desire in a fellow believer or in a biography, and I include that in my prayers.

In prayer, I have worked through the fruit of the Spirit in Gal. 5:22�?3. I have prayed for the character traits God tells me to clothe myself with in Col. 3:12�?7. I am currently working through the facets of love outlined in 1 Cor. 13:4�?.

It's been wonderful to pray more fully and meaningfully for those around me. I am no longer focused on their physical life, but on their spiritual life. I still pray for physical needs. For instance, when I pray for perseverance for a church member enduring a long illness, I pray for an alleviation of the sickness as well. But praying for character is helping me remember that the people I interact with at church and work are more than physical beings. They are people, like me, in need of spiritual development. Now I have the privilege of letting God lead me to pray that the character of Christ may be formed in each of us (Gal. 4:19).