Praise God for Answered Prayers

Christians are robbed of help and God is robbed of praise when we are too proud to ask others for prayer. In this lab, John Piper shows us that sharing prayer requests is about glorifying God.

Principle for Bible Reading

Identify Key Characters

One help for understanding a passage is to identify the key characters and the specific roles they play — whether in a narrative or in a letter. Ask questions like, “Who are the main characters/what are they doing?” “Who is speaking/what are they saying?” “How do the characters relate towards one another?” “What role does each play in the story or in the letter?” “What do these characters reveal about God?”

For example, in 2 Corinthians 1:11, the key characters are the apostle Paul, the Corinthian church, and God. Paul asks for prayer. The Corinthian church prays. God answers and gives blessing. Paul reports back to the Corinthians, and they glorify God for his blessing. These characters give meaning to the text and help us see how crucial corporate prayer is.

Study Questions

  1. Is it important to be asking people to pray for you? Why or why not?
  2. Read 2 Corinthians 1:11. Why does Paul ask for others to pray for him?
  3. Who can you invite into your life to pray for you this week?