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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