Sunday, May 9, 2021

Sunday Thoughts: Part Two of Five : Preparing for Prayer


 

For some people, prayer merely expresses their wishes or wants to God. To be candid, it’s perfectly acceptable for you and me to tell God what we want or hope for. He knows anyway, and sometimes it just helps to talk it out with Him. For instance, when I was talking to God about the challenges I am currently dealing with, telling Him that I wanted relief from stress and pressure, His response was to say clearly, “Be strong.” He also gave me the key to strength with: “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit, for without Me you can do nothing.”

 

It wasn’t exactly what I wanted to hear at the time, but it was the answer. It changed the way I prayed. Instead of praying, “God, give me a break,” I began praying, “Lord, I choose to be strong in You as I abide in total dependency upon You through prayer, Bible reading, and obedient faith. One day at a time I will go forward in Your strength. Thank you for supplying all that I need.”

 

Do you see the difference? Prayer that moves Heaven and changes a nation, as well as changes your life and mine, is prayer that is based on God’s Word. If you have a specific need, want, wish, or hope, put it in the form of a request, then open up your Bible and ask God to speak to you about it. He may change the way you are praying, as He did with me. Or He may confirm the way you are praying.

God speaks personally to us through His Word, but we need to learn to listen to His voice. One way to listen is to pray before you read your Bible. Talk to God about what’s on your heart and mind. Then open His Word and “listen” with your eyes on the page. He may not speak to you every time you read it, but He will speak. You and I will never know how to pray in such a way that Heaven is moved and our nation is changed until we start reading our Bibles.

 

Ask Him for a promise on which you can base your prayer. A promise for your children, your spouse, your parents, your career, your church, your health, your finances, our nation or our world, or whatever is uppermost on your mind. Then pray. God loves to be held to His Word. I’m continually encouraged by the ways He consistently demonstrates His faithfulness to it.

 

How do we know if our prayers move Heaven? We don’t know – not always. But the answer is not our responsibility. When God burdens us with what burdens Him, our responsibility is to pray. Then we can leave the answer up to Him. What is important is that when you feel altered, you pay attention and pray.

 

God speaks to us through His Word, and it’s His Word that we need to “speak” back up to Him in prayer.

 

 

 

This devotional is drawn from The Daniel Prayer: Prayer That Moves Heaven and Changes Nations by Anne Graham Lotz. Used by permission.

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