Effective Prayer
This post was birthed during a time of personal prayer. I will be sharing that prayer with you at the conclusion of this post.
I have advocated for many years that the most effective prayer comes from the Word of God. As we pray the scripture, we are speaking that which never returns void, but which accomplishes what it is sent to do. Isaiah 55: 11, " So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it." God speaks and it is. His Word is His will.
Jesus taught His disciples to pray in Matthew 6:9,10 and 13, "In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. 10 Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. 13 And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen." As we look at these verses, we see that He begins and ends prayer with worship. He then prays that His will would be done on earth as it is in heaven. 1 John 5:14 and 15, "and if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him." Therefore, if we ask according to His will, He will not only hear us but grant what we ask of Him. To follow the example of prayer given to us by Jesus, we should begin and end our prayer with worship.
The book of Psalms is a great place to learn worship and praise to God. After worship, the focus of our prayer can turn to praying for our nations and others.
1 Timothy 2:1-4, "Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, 2 for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence. 3 For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, 4 who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth." We are to pray for all of those in authority. Besides government leaders, this also includes praying for the leaders of the church. This would include, pastors, elders, deacons, Sunday school teachers, worship leaders, etc. We also need to pray for the church in general, regarding their growth in Christ and doing the work of His kingdom.
Romans 12:2, "And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God." This verse reminds us that God's Word, which renews our mind, will reveal to us what the perfect will of God is.
Whatever need or request we have, will be answered or granted if we ask according to God's will. So, the first thing we want to do before praying is to find the scriptures that reveal God's will concerning our need or request. Then, we pray accordingly.
You can pray the scripture word for word. or pray what the scripture says in your own words. According to whom or what you are praying for, you can insert your name, another's name, the church, or nation as a whole into that scripture. Paul's prayers are a good example of this in the various epistles.
Such as: Ephesians 1: 15-20, "Therefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, 16 do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers: 17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, 18 the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, 19 and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power 20 which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places";
Ephesians 3:14-19, "For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15 from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, 16 that He would grant you [me], according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, 17 that Christ may dwell in your [my] hearts through faith; that you [I], being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height-- 19 to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you [I] may be filled with all the fullness of God.";
Philippians 1:9-11, " And this I pray, that your [the church's] love may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment, 10 that you [the church] may approve the things that are excellent, that you [the church] may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ, 11 being filled with the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.";and Colossians 1:9-11, "For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; 10 that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; 11 strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy"
These prayers can be prayed for yourself, others, your church or the church as a whole, or for your nation. Whether your need is for healing, finances, worrying, fear, protection, deliverance, wisdom, comfort...whatever it is, there is a promise or directive in the Word of God that you can stand on to have your need met.
Please join with me in the following prayer:
Gracious, Merciful, Heavenly Father,
I come in the name of and by the blood of Jesus. I come giving You all glory, honor, adoration, praise and worship. You, Father, and You alone are worthy. Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, Who was and is and is to come. You are the Creator and Sustainer of all creation. You are the Eternal One, there is none like You. It is You and You alone that I desire. I worship and bow down, I kneel before You, the Lord our Maker. I worship You Lord, in the beauty of holiness! You are good and full of loving kindness and compassion. You are faithful, ever ready to help those who cry out to You.
I pray for our nation in this time of great need. According to 2 Chronicles 7:14, I pray that Your people, the church, would cry out to You, confessing their sins and turning from them, so that You will hear from heaven, forgive our sin, and heal our land. I pray for the church to wake up, rise up, and take the dominion that You, God, meant them to have. Lord, awaken Your pastors, other leaders, and the church members in the pews to their full potential, in and by the power of Your Spirit, who dwells in them. Help them to recognize the gifts that You have given to them and stir up those gifts within them.
As the enemy has been doing his worst to destroy our nation with plagues, lies, and deception, I stand upon Your Word which never fails. Whatever You have spoken, so be it. Psalm 5 declares that: You, Almighty God, take no pleasure in wickedness, the boastful shall not stand in Your sight, You hate all workers of iniquity, You shall destroy those who speak falsehood, and You abhor the bloodthirsty (abortion) and deceitful man. These named have no faithfulness in their mouth, their inward part is destruction; their throat is an empty tomb, they flatter with their tongue. Pronounce them guilty, O God! Let them fall by their counsels; cast them out in the multitudes of their transgression, for they have rebelled against You. I speak not of any particular political party, but of those who shake their fists in Your face and those rulers who take counsel together against You and Your Anointed, saying that they want to shake themselves free from You, who want to cast away their obedience to You, those who desire to be their own gods. Psalm 2 declares that You laugh and hold them to derision. Your Word declares that You shall speak to them in Your wrath and distress them in Your deep displeasure. You have given the nations to Christ Jesus, Your Son, and the ends of the earth for His possession. He shall break them with a rod of iron. He shall dash them to pieces like a potter's vessel. Yet He exhorts them to be wise and serve the Lord with fear. Lord, turn the hearts of the wicked, for I know it is Your desire that all be saved. Open their eyes to Your truth and turn their hearts to Your ways.
We pray for our president, Donald Trump. Strengthen him, spiritually, mentally, emotionally, and physically. Set Your hedge of protection around him. Give him supernatural wisdom and counsel. Having done all to stand, help him to stand.
Lord, I pray for myself, that I reach a greater potential in You. Lord, I confess that I have not sought You as I should. Lord, I desire to come into that secret place that You have provided for just You and me. Psalm 91:1, "He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty." Psalm 27:5, "For in the time of trouble He shall hide me in His pavilion; In the secret place of His tabernacle He shall hide me; He shall set me high upon a rock." Psalm 31:20, "You shall hide them in the secret place of Your presence from the plots of man; You shall keep them secretly in a pavilion from the strife of tongues."
Lord, I yearn for You as no other. My life is Yours and I cannot be content till I am wholly Yours. Apart from You, I can do nothing. Help me Lord, to take this journey with You. This journey to what Your Word calls "perfection or completeness". Holy Spirit, lead and motivate me to be the man that the Father created me to be. Please help me to get beyond myself and my flesh. Bring me to a place of obedience and dependence upon the One Who created me in my mother's womb, for such a time as this.
As You pour out Your glory upon this earth, I want to be a participant, not an observer. Bless me Father. For in You and You alone can I succeed.
Bless the Lord, O my soul; and all that is within me, bless His holy name.
In Jesus' name,
Amen