How to Pray for Another Person

In every church there's a prayer list people with special needs, who we are to pray for daily.  This is harder than it sounds.  If all we do is recite to God a list of names, prayer seems a monotonous and futile chore.  After all,  God knows these people better than we do! While I would never suggest we not pray for them,  I have to ask--how effective can such an mechanical approach to prayer be?  Praying for someone is more than reading off a list.  It has to be something deeper.
 Praying for people is more than praying for their problems.  Frankly, we can never be sure that we know the real problem, because it is often not what it appears to be. Real prayer implies special interest in individuals.  Don't just pray for the lost, pray for your lost neighbor next door. Don't just pray for the poor--pray for the beggar you met on the street. Prayer is an empathic process in which we become acquainted and involved with real people as we pray.The Lord's prayer in Matthew 6 gives us a pattern for prayer not only for overall needs, but also for individuals.  

 "Our Father in Heaven"

Don't rush into in prayer for others.  Take time to praise God first.  Prayer is not just wishing someone well, but bringing them to the throne of God.  Before we do this we need to get to the throne of God ourselves, through praise and worship.  Do not pray for an individual need until you have first settled your heart in thoughts on God.  Our impatience wants to be done with prayer, to rush in, leave our concerns, and get out.  But effective prayer lingers in the mind on the nature and thoughts of God.
 "Hallowed be Thy name"  

Spend time in graceful contemplation of the person we are remembering.  The name of God is His nature, His divine attributes. As we pray for an individual, we need to see them as an expression of God's divine nature.   

Sin affects us all, and we are thorough sinners, but we are also made in the image of God.  God's forgiveness in Christ makes it possible for us to overlook the sins of individuals and focus on their God-like qualities.
This is empathy, the ability we have to see the world though others' eyes.  Empathy is an essential part of a true ministry of intercessory prayer. 
Before we pray for needs,  seek to understand the world from that person's perspective. Respect the things about that person which are good,  holy and truthful.  Try to imagine what it is like to feel what they feel, see what they see, and do what they do.  Celebrate the things about them which celebrate God.  Youth reflects the power of God, Age reflects the wisdom of God.  Creativity celebrates the creativity and diversity of God.  Learn to appreciate the things which are like Him in all people. 
This can be done for our enemies as well as our friends. It is good to remember that even the worst person on earth still bears something of the name of God in them.  For that reason, they are deserving of our love and appreciation.
"Thy Kingdom Come"   

Though we all are possessed of a portion of divine qualities, we are all fallen short of it.  Imagine what the person who is the object of your prayer might be, if he or she were fully in line with what God had for them.  Then, turn those thoughts to God. 
"Thy will be done"

 In this fallen world, we are all both sinners and victims.  Some of what happens to us in this world was not God's perfect will for us, but the result of our interaction with fallen people and fallen creation.  Pray that God's perfect will be done in their lives, so they can have the potential to realize their best and most perfect lives.
"Give us Thy daily bread" 

  Here is where we get into the physical and emotional needs which this person has, whether it be for healing, food,  a job,  etc.  We are praying not just for providence, but for them to have enough, so they can fully realize the life that can be theirs, if they live in submission to Him, and His kingdom.
"Forgive us our debts"  

 Unforgiveness holds us back from God's promises in our lives,  both our own unforgiveness, and not being forgiven.  It is impossible to pray for a person with all our hearts if we do not forgive them from the heart.  Pray that God will free them from the bondage of past sins,  both their own and others.
"Lead us not into temptation"  

 A person cannot realize theif full potential in God's kingdom if he or she falls into temptation. Pray that the person will have the strength to resist the false trails along the way to a full and meaningful life in submission to God.

"Deliver us from the Evil (one)"   

This is a recognition that there is an enemy--Satan--who is trying his hardest to get us off the path.  All prayer is warfare, since it is our own direct defense against Satan. Pray for protection, and thank God for the authority against the evil one that was given to us through the blood of Christ. 

Prayer for one person is not as easy as a short prayer lifted up now and then. To truly and fully pray for God's blessing takes time effort, involving the mind, will, feelings, and imagination.  To pray for others is not something we should take on lightly. But as we practice, it gets easier. 

My prayer is that I might have someone--anyone--who would take on the burden of prayer on my behalf, and that God would use me to take on that burden for some others.  Then I can start to think of them the way God sees them, as His children who need His help to be fully what He called them to be.