A friend once told me about some people who went to a prayer mountain to pray that the vehicles of another person should spoil beyond repair. That was their motive for going into prayer.
In the days of ignorance, I attended prayer meetings where we were told to pray toxic prayers. We prayed with all energy but those prayers had no scriptural backing. For instance: "Father, bless me more than all my siblings so that I will be their head". Have you heard this kind of prayer point before?
Another prayer song we sang those days says, "Father, make me the daddy in my family so that I will be giving to them in my father and mother's house and they'll reckon with me as their daddy". Being a daddy in context refers to being the head everyone looks up to by virtue of wealth.
For me, that's not necessary. The spirit of competition and selfishness will set in once we are wired to believe God can make us greater than our families so that they would be looking up to us. Instead of being blessed together as a family, some will be poor and others will be rich. That's not the will of God.
The spirit of competition in such circumstance is very dangerous. It is an indirect way of saying, "God, make others poor but bless me alone so that by virtue of my wealth, they all would look up to me". We didn't learn of Christ that way. When it comes to greatness or success as we call it, you don't need to pray someone else down to bring yourself up.
In fact, in the Spirit of brotherly love, you can pray for all your siblings and friends to be great. Imagine a family of blessed siblings where nobody is begging the other to survive. That's God's will. One wealthy man among many poor people is a poor man. He won't enjoy his wealth.
I do not desire any of my family members to be poor or to be lesser than who God made them to be. It doesn't profit me to see them suffer while I'm enjoying. That would end up leaving a bitter taste in the mouth. People go as far going to the mountain to pray down people they see as competitors.
If you're in business, don't pray down those doing similar trade. Do you know that sometimes, praying for others from a heart of love makes your issues receive heaven's attention? I know because the bible says, "The liberal soul shall be made fat: and he that watereth shall be watered also himself" (Proverbs 11:25).
Praying for others is a form of watering. Stop giving yourself sleepless nights because you are praying to be greater than another person in life or ministry. Praying competitively is devoid of love and God won't answer such prayers.
