To Be Still and Know...The Power of Purposeful Prayer
"Devote yourselves to prayer with an alert mind and a thankful heart." Colossians 4:2
I have had, what I considered, a fairly decent prayer life for years now. I am almost constantly talking to God in my mind and heart throughout every day. I take everything that worries me to the Lord. I thank Him for my blessings. I ask for forgiveness when needed. I pray for other peoples requests. I knew though that I wasn't what was considered a "prayer warrior." It wasn't until I saw the new movie War Room that I was truly convicted (after 26 years of being a Christian) that my prayer life was seriously lacking. I realized that with the problems and worries I face, I take them to the Lord but rarely do I leave them with Him. I basically just talk to Him about them without truly trusting Him to take the burden of the worry off my shoulders and take care of it. I was very convicted that I needed to choose to set aside time to write out my prayers AND then search Scripture for verses that apply to my requests and write those verses out, praying them over my requests. This is powerful prayer. This is prayer that changes things. This is prayer that changes lives. It's taking time to be still and let God truly take over. It's not just worriedly praying, it's praying with the full intent and confidence of prayers being answered and hearing from God, through His Word, regarding each request. It's truly praying in God's will.
So I began yesterday, by sitting down and writing out a prayer concerning a job situation of another person. This person has been attacked hard at work for over a year and while I have prayed for this situation, I had never spent time searching God's Word for verses that were applicable and then writing them out. God led me right to a specific passage that I knew He then wanted me to share with this person. I also left that prayer time fully confident that God would either completely improve the situation or move this person into something better. The verse God led me to was Zephaniah 3:17 "For the Lord your God is living among you. He is a mighty Savior. He will take delight in you with gladness. With his love, he will calm all your fears. He will rejoice over you with joyful songs."
Today I spent time in prayer over a personal situation that has caused me a lot of worry and anxiety this year. I poured out my heart, remembering to spend time also thanking the Lord for what He has already done and then searched the Word of God for applicable verses. In this particular request I found many verses to pray over my situation. I look forward with confidence and anticipation of how God will answer this one!
I want to spend time going to God's Word about what the Lord has to say about prayer.
"Don't worry about anything; instead pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank Him for all he has done. Then you will experience God's peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:6-7
This passage tells us that we do not need to worry about ANYTHING! What can we do instead? Pray about it! Pray about EVERYTHING! What does everything mean? Only the big things? Only the important stuff? Nope, everything means everything. While in prayer we are supposed to tell God what we need, not because he doesn't already know ("Don't be like them, for your Father knows exactly what you need even before you ask him!" Matthew 6:8), but I believe it's a way of us to acknowledge our dependence on the Lord and to mentally hand over each need to Him. Then we are supposed to spend time thanking Him for what He has already done for us. In my current situation I mentioned above, I had to not only present the needs, I had to also spend time remembering the many ways Gods already taken care of us and provided time and time again. This puts our hearts in a place of gratitude and helps us remember all the needs God's already met for us. What's the promise if we pray this way? PEACE! The peace only God can give. The peace that passes all understanding and will protect our hearts and mind from the attacks of Satan as he tries to cause us to doubt God's promises.
"Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying." Romans 12:12
"Never stop praying." 1 Thessalonians 5:17
What's the common theme in these two verses? NEVER STOP PRAYING! Prayer is one of our strongest weapons against the attacks from the enemy. If we develop a powerful, purposeful prayer life we will be able to withstand trials so much better. We will be prepared mentally and spiritually when doubt and worry try to sneak in and knock us down. We will have peace and confident hope, knowing God is always at work. We will be able to be patient while we wait on the Lord to work because we have grounded ourselves in the Word of God through prayer (praying verses applicable to our requests).
"Are any of you suffering hardships? You should pray. Are any of you happy? You should sing praises. Are any of you sick? You should call for the elders of the church to come and pray over you, anointing you with oil in the name of the Lord." James 5:13-14
This passage tells us to pray when we are suffering and if we aren't currently going through any trials, spend time praising God. If we are sick then pray for healing, go to your church and ask to be prayed over. Sometimes God chooses to heal. I have heard many modern day miracles of God healing people, sometimes instantly during prayer. Sometimes God doesn't heal. I don't know why, other than His plan is different for everyone. Sometimes sickness brings many people to know the Lord as their Savior. My Papa got very ill when I was 11 years old. He was never healed from that illness and went on to be with the Lord several months later. BUT, it was through his sickness that family members were brought back together and relationships were restored. It was also through his sickness that several family members accepted Christ as their Savior when a pastor came to the hospital to visit my Papa and shared the plan of salvation. God used my Papa's sickness in more than one really good way and I am fully confident my Papa is now in Heaven (along with his adoring wife, my sweet Granny, who passed several years later).
"...The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results." James 5:16b
This says "the earnest prayer of a righteous person" not a half hearted prayer said by someone who hasn't even cracked open a Bible in a few months. Prayer is powerful when it's a purposeful earnest prayer. Praying Bible verses about situations is powerful! Taking time to align your heart with God's makes your prayers powerful! And I know we all want powerful prayers that produce wonderful results.
Many times people get into the habit of quoting prayers they grew up with without any real feeling or understanding on their part. These prayers don't do anything. Quoting the Lords Prayer is wonderful but isn't truly praying from the heart. You can definitely pray these verses over situations, but be specific with it, break it down and really understand it's meaning.
"Our father in Heaven, may your name be kept holy. May your kingdom come soon. May your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today the food we need, and forgive us our sins, as we have forgiven those who sin against us. And don't let us yield to temptation, but rescue us from the evil one." Matthew 6:9-13
This prayer is a guideline for how our prayers should go. We need to first recognize the power of God and His holiness. We need to pray for His will in every situation, and ask for our hearts to be open to whatever that is. We need to ask for the things we need, like food and shelter, as well as our spiritual needs of patience and faith. We also need to ask God to forgive us for any sins we have committed throughout the day and then ask Him to help us forgive those who have hurt or wronged us. Last but not least we need to ask God to help us stand firm on His Word and not give into temptations, such as gossip, impatience, worry, fear, anger, lust, sinful thinking, etc. and for Him to protect us from Satans attacks.
"But when you pray, go away by yourself, shut the door behind you, and pray to your Father in private. Then your Father who sees everything will reward you." Matthew 6:6
Praying in groups is perfectly fine. In fact another passage says "I also tell you this: If two of you agree here on earth concerning anything you ask, 'my Father in heaven will do it for you. For where two or three gather together as my followers, I am there among them." Matthew 18:19-20. But you should also have a private prayer life. God wants you to get alone with Him and Be Still! He wants us to have a time and place where we pour out our hearts to him and search Scripture for verses pertaining to our situations. He doesn't want us to turn to other people before we turn to Him. When something arises in our lives we need to first run to Him. Get alone with Him and pour it all out before Him and see what He has to say about the situation. Once we have taken the time to be alone with Him then we can seek out someone to share it with, someone to also be in prayer for us. Remember God's the one who has the answers and the ability to change things and lives. Other people are able to encourage us and lift us up but they cannot answer our prayers.
"Give all your worries and cares to God, for He cares about you." 1 Peter 5:7
I want to challenge you to transform your prayer life. Do you want to have powerful prayers that change things? Do you want to feel peace from God that passes your understanding? Do you want to have confident hope knowing God's at work in your requests? Then it's time to change your prayer life. Do it today. Get alone with God and pour out your heart to Him, thank Him for what He has done and for who He is and then search the Bible to find verses to apply to your requests. We can change lives one prayer at a time!
"God is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us." Ephesians 3:20
I have had, what I considered, a fairly decent prayer life for years now. I am almost constantly talking to God in my mind and heart throughout every day. I take everything that worries me to the Lord. I thank Him for my blessings. I ask for forgiveness when needed. I pray for other peoples requests. I knew though that I wasn't what was considered a "prayer warrior." It wasn't until I saw the new movie War Room that I was truly convicted (after 26 years of being a Christian) that my prayer life was seriously lacking. I realized that with the problems and worries I face, I take them to the Lord but rarely do I leave them with Him. I basically just talk to Him about them without truly trusting Him to take the burden of the worry off my shoulders and take care of it. I was very convicted that I needed to choose to set aside time to write out my prayers AND then search Scripture for verses that apply to my requests and write those verses out, praying them over my requests. This is powerful prayer. This is prayer that changes things. This is prayer that changes lives. It's taking time to be still and let God truly take over. It's not just worriedly praying, it's praying with the full intent and confidence of prayers being answered and hearing from God, through His Word, regarding each request. It's truly praying in God's will.
So I began yesterday, by sitting down and writing out a prayer concerning a job situation of another person. This person has been attacked hard at work for over a year and while I have prayed for this situation, I had never spent time searching God's Word for verses that were applicable and then writing them out. God led me right to a specific passage that I knew He then wanted me to share with this person. I also left that prayer time fully confident that God would either completely improve the situation or move this person into something better. The verse God led me to was Zephaniah 3:17 "For the Lord your God is living among you. He is a mighty Savior. He will take delight in you with gladness. With his love, he will calm all your fears. He will rejoice over you with joyful songs."
Today I spent time in prayer over a personal situation that has caused me a lot of worry and anxiety this year. I poured out my heart, remembering to spend time also thanking the Lord for what He has already done and then searched the Word of God for applicable verses. In this particular request I found many verses to pray over my situation. I look forward with confidence and anticipation of how God will answer this one!
I want to spend time going to God's Word about what the Lord has to say about prayer.
"Don't worry about anything; instead pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank Him for all he has done. Then you will experience God's peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:6-7
This passage tells us that we do not need to worry about ANYTHING! What can we do instead? Pray about it! Pray about EVERYTHING! What does everything mean? Only the big things? Only the important stuff? Nope, everything means everything. While in prayer we are supposed to tell God what we need, not because he doesn't already know ("Don't be like them, for your Father knows exactly what you need even before you ask him!" Matthew 6:8), but I believe it's a way of us to acknowledge our dependence on the Lord and to mentally hand over each need to Him. Then we are supposed to spend time thanking Him for what He has already done for us. In my current situation I mentioned above, I had to not only present the needs, I had to also spend time remembering the many ways Gods already taken care of us and provided time and time again. This puts our hearts in a place of gratitude and helps us remember all the needs God's already met for us. What's the promise if we pray this way? PEACE! The peace only God can give. The peace that passes all understanding and will protect our hearts and mind from the attacks of Satan as he tries to cause us to doubt God's promises.
"Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying." Romans 12:12
"Never stop praying." 1 Thessalonians 5:17
What's the common theme in these two verses? NEVER STOP PRAYING! Prayer is one of our strongest weapons against the attacks from the enemy. If we develop a powerful, purposeful prayer life we will be able to withstand trials so much better. We will be prepared mentally and spiritually when doubt and worry try to sneak in and knock us down. We will have peace and confident hope, knowing God is always at work. We will be able to be patient while we wait on the Lord to work because we have grounded ourselves in the Word of God through prayer (praying verses applicable to our requests).
"Are any of you suffering hardships? You should pray. Are any of you happy? You should sing praises. Are any of you sick? You should call for the elders of the church to come and pray over you, anointing you with oil in the name of the Lord." James 5:13-14
This passage tells us to pray when we are suffering and if we aren't currently going through any trials, spend time praising God. If we are sick then pray for healing, go to your church and ask to be prayed over. Sometimes God chooses to heal. I have heard many modern day miracles of God healing people, sometimes instantly during prayer. Sometimes God doesn't heal. I don't know why, other than His plan is different for everyone. Sometimes sickness brings many people to know the Lord as their Savior. My Papa got very ill when I was 11 years old. He was never healed from that illness and went on to be with the Lord several months later. BUT, it was through his sickness that family members were brought back together and relationships were restored. It was also through his sickness that several family members accepted Christ as their Savior when a pastor came to the hospital to visit my Papa and shared the plan of salvation. God used my Papa's sickness in more than one really good way and I am fully confident my Papa is now in Heaven (along with his adoring wife, my sweet Granny, who passed several years later).
"...The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results." James 5:16b
This says "the earnest prayer of a righteous person" not a half hearted prayer said by someone who hasn't even cracked open a Bible in a few months. Prayer is powerful when it's a purposeful earnest prayer. Praying Bible verses about situations is powerful! Taking time to align your heart with God's makes your prayers powerful! And I know we all want powerful prayers that produce wonderful results.
Many times people get into the habit of quoting prayers they grew up with without any real feeling or understanding on their part. These prayers don't do anything. Quoting the Lords Prayer is wonderful but isn't truly praying from the heart. You can definitely pray these verses over situations, but be specific with it, break it down and really understand it's meaning.
"Our father in Heaven, may your name be kept holy. May your kingdom come soon. May your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today the food we need, and forgive us our sins, as we have forgiven those who sin against us. And don't let us yield to temptation, but rescue us from the evil one." Matthew 6:9-13
This prayer is a guideline for how our prayers should go. We need to first recognize the power of God and His holiness. We need to pray for His will in every situation, and ask for our hearts to be open to whatever that is. We need to ask for the things we need, like food and shelter, as well as our spiritual needs of patience and faith. We also need to ask God to forgive us for any sins we have committed throughout the day and then ask Him to help us forgive those who have hurt or wronged us. Last but not least we need to ask God to help us stand firm on His Word and not give into temptations, such as gossip, impatience, worry, fear, anger, lust, sinful thinking, etc. and for Him to protect us from Satans attacks.
"But when you pray, go away by yourself, shut the door behind you, and pray to your Father in private. Then your Father who sees everything will reward you." Matthew 6:6
Praying in groups is perfectly fine. In fact another passage says "I also tell you this: If two of you agree here on earth concerning anything you ask, 'my Father in heaven will do it for you. For where two or three gather together as my followers, I am there among them." Matthew 18:19-20. But you should also have a private prayer life. God wants you to get alone with Him and Be Still! He wants us to have a time and place where we pour out our hearts to him and search Scripture for verses pertaining to our situations. He doesn't want us to turn to other people before we turn to Him. When something arises in our lives we need to first run to Him. Get alone with Him and pour it all out before Him and see what He has to say about the situation. Once we have taken the time to be alone with Him then we can seek out someone to share it with, someone to also be in prayer for us. Remember God's the one who has the answers and the ability to change things and lives. Other people are able to encourage us and lift us up but they cannot answer our prayers.
"Give all your worries and cares to God, for He cares about you." 1 Peter 5:7
I want to challenge you to transform your prayer life. Do you want to have powerful prayers that change things? Do you want to feel peace from God that passes your understanding? Do you want to have confident hope knowing God's at work in your requests? Then it's time to change your prayer life. Do it today. Get alone with God and pour out your heart to Him, thank Him for what He has done and for who He is and then search the Bible to find verses to apply to your requests. We can change lives one prayer at a time!
"God is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us." Ephesians 3:20
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