9 Ways to Pray for Believers from a Distance During COVID-19

9 Ways to Pray for Believers from a Distance During COVID-19

While being in chains for the gospel or on long missionary journeys, the apostle Paul modeled intentional prayer for other believers while at a distance from them. Though Paul was separated from believers for different reasons than the COVID-19 “shelter in place” orders or self-isolation, he still leaves us an example. When we are apart from our brothers and sisters in Christ, they need not be far from our hearts and minds in prayer.

Having care and concern for the physical health of other believers has biblical precedent: “Believer, I pray that all may go well with you and that you may be in good health, as it goes well with your soul” (3 John 1:2). We can pray for stamina, strength in immune system, healing, and wellness for each other.

As we do, we can also pray for each other’s souls. Paul’s letters can be surveyed to glean ideas for how to pray for one another from afar. Learn from this servant of Christ to pray:

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1. Thank God for the testimony to the gospel evident in your brothers’ and sisters’ lives.

“I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus, that in every way you were enriched in him in all speech and all knowledge—even as the testimony about Christ was confirmed among you—so that you are not lacking in any gift as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 1:4-8).

Offer thanks for your brothers and sisters in Christ—for the knowledge of God present in their minds and hearts. Pray they would be assured that God would sustain them to the end, and that His sacrifice has made them guiltless before the Father. Thank God for the faith evident in your brothers and sisters.

2. Ask God for comfort for your brothers and sisters—and for fitting ministry opportunities.

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of 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).

Praise this God who comforts the spirits of His people. Following that, pray specifically that your brothers and sisters would be comforted in their time of hardship. Ask that they might see ways to comfort others as well, out of the abundance they have received in Christ. Ask that neither focus would dominate—that they would not become focused on receiving comfort to the exclusion of giving it, and that they would not become focused on ministering to others such that they do not receive the comfort from God they need.

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3. Pray for the gospel to remain central in your brothers’ and sisters’ thoughts and lives.

“Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen” (Galatians 1:2-5).

Pray they would remember the gospel—that the message of Christ, who gave Himself for us, would remain the focused and clear motivation for daily living. Pray that no legalism or lawlessness would creep into their hearts to distort the gospel. And pray that they would be strong against temptations. Ask that they would remain focused on giving God glory for the good that is in their lives while in their homes and with their families.

4. Ask God to deepen the faith and understanding that your brothers and sisters have of the gospel—that they would strive for more truth of Christ in their lives through knowledge, discernment, and insight.

“I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you . . . and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe . . . far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named” (Ephesians 1:16, 21).

“We ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers, as is right, because your faith is growing abundantly, and the love of every one of you for one another is increasing. Therefore, we ourselves boast about you in the churches of God for your steadfastness and faith in all your persecutions and in the affliction that you are enduring” (2 Thessalonians 1:3-4).

Pray for believers to rest in the Spirit, who opens the heart and mind to the wisdom and knowledge. Ask that in what your brothers and sisters cannot control, they would remember the hope of glory and the exceedingly great power of God. Pray that though the outside world becomes reordered or even disordered, their lives would remain ordered as always—by operating in submission to the kingly rule of Christ. Ask God to remind your brothers’ and sisters’ hearts that He is over all things—every authority, power, dominion, and name. Pray that, in thinking of the might of God who indwells them, they would experience an increase in faith and have endurance in affliction.

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5. Praise God for the good gifts He has given to your brothers and sisters—asking for those gifts to be affirmed, to grow, and to be effectively used.

“I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all, making my prayer with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. And 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 . . .  And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God” (Philippians 1:3-6; 9-10).

“We give thanks to God always for all of you, constantly mentioning you in our prayers, remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thessalonians 1:2-3).

Take time to thank God for how He has used others to share and spread the gospel. Worship God that He has given partners to you in ministry, and rejoice in His good gifts in the lives of others. Ask God that your brothers and sisters would be confident of His good purposes for their lives—and that they would have the joy of their gifts being used for the good of others in this time of trial.

6. Ask that your brothers’ and sisters’ lives would align with God’s holy will, be filled with good works, demonstrate fruits of the Spirit, and overflow with worship for God.

“And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy; giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light” (Colossians 1:9-12).

Ask that your brothers and sisters would be abounding in spiritual wisdom and knowledge—that they would not approach trials from the standpoint of the world, but from a godly perspective that sees all of life in the Father’s hands. Pray that their lives would be characterized by amazement that the God of heaven would condescend to save man. Ask that their humility would create a yearning to walk in a way that is worthy of Him. Pray that their lives would only grow more fruitful in goodness during these days.

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7. Pray that God would allow believers to be peaceful and dignified in response to government officials.

“First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way” (1 Timothy 2:1-2).

Ask that during this time of disruption and uncertainty, your brothers and sisters would interact and react honorably, graciously, and kindly to governmental authorities. Ask that the truthful speech of your brothers and sisters would also demonstrate a peaceable spirit—that those in high places might see believers’ approach and words and be drawn themselves to Christ and the gospel. Pray that your brothers’ and sisters’ hearts would yearn for the salvation of the unsaved in authority, molding their actions around that hope.

8. Pray for sincerity, warmth, and brotherly/ sisterly love to remain constant and intact in separation.

“. . . I remember you constantly in my prayers night and day. As I remember your tears, I long to see you, that I may be filled with joy” (2 Timothy 1:3b-4).

Ask that while believers do not gather in local church congregations, their hearts would not grow cold and distant from one another. Pray that they would highly anticipate the future day of gathering in person. Pray that your brothers and sisters would be full of genuine love—and that you would be too.

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9. While praying for the faith and fruitfulness of other believers, thank God for the comfort and refreshment that your brothers and sisters have afforded to you.

“I thank my God always when I remember you in my prayers, because I hear of your love and of the faith that you have. . . For I have derived much joy and comfort from your love, my brother, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you. (Philemon 1:3-4, 7).

Thank God for the way that other believers have ministered to you personally. Ask that your heart would stay humble and open to receiving good gifts, words, and help from them. Praise God for the refreshment of being united with others who are devoted to the Lord Jesus—and who are orienting their lives around Him and His truth.

We do well to pray for the physical health of our family, church members, other friends, country, and world—demonstrating our heartfelt concern amidst this novel coronavirus pandemic. While we observe what is taking place in our communities, God is to be praised for our brothers and sisters—for how gospel hope is evident among them, for the good gifts and works in their lives, and for the ways they have been comforted through Christ. He wants to use you and me to offer Him that worship. And we can pray that, through Christ’s truth, grace and peace would be further multiplied among us. While being in our homes, our hearts can remain attuned to those outside of our walls with our prayers.

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Lianna Davis is author of Keeping the Faith: A Study in Jude and Made for a Different Land: Eternal Hope for Baby Loss. She and her husband, Tyler, live outside of Dallas, Texas and have two dear daughters.

Lianna Davis is author of Keeping the Faith: A Study in Jude and Made for a Different Land: Eternal Hope for Baby Loss. She is also a contributor to We Evangelicals and Our Mission with Cascade Books. Lianna is a graduate of Moody Bible Institute and a student at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. She lives in Illinois with her husband and daughter. You can learn more about her writing at her website.