Thanks for joining us for our final day of our week of prayer.  This week we have been joining with the Assemblies of God and the theme, “Leveling the Praying Field”.  

Saturday Prayer Focus

May my present and eternal relationship with You, O Lord, be strengthened by continually keeping the line open with You day by day.

Saturday Prayer Activity

As we come to the close of our week of prayer, I pray that this is just the beginning of your commitment to spend time daily in communion with the Lord. “Real praying comes from a heart that is hungry for God. It comes when we say like David did in Psalm 42:1-2 NLT, ‘As the deer longs for streams of water, so I long for you, O God. I thirst for God, the living God. When can I go and stand before him?’ When a person is hungry, the deepest part of their spirit begins to call out to God for something to fill that hunger.”¹

“Once you begin abiding in Jesus, once you grow accustomed to having daily times of communion with him, you’ll find you cannot live without them. You’ll find yourself so craving to be in His manifest presence you can hardly wait to get into your place of prayer. Instead of hurrying to finish your time with God so you can get on with the rest of your day as you once did, you’ll hurry through everything else so you can have more precious time with Him.”¹

Take some time today to think about and plan how you will continue to grow in your relationship with the Lord during this year. Set some goals, make some commitments, and write them down. Make this year your best ever by developing a strong prayer life!

Saturday Scripture Focus

Deuteronomy 4:29 NKJV

But from there you will seek the Lord your God, and you will find Him if you seek Him with all your heart and with all your soul.

Philippians 3:10a AMP

[For my determined purpose is] that I may know Him [that I may progressively become more deeply and intimately acquainted with Him, perceiving and recognizing and understanding the wonders of His Person more strongly and more clearly]…

References:

1. Hammond, Lynne. The Master is Calling; Discovering the Wonders of Spirit-Led Prayer. Living Word International, Inc.. 1995. 22,27.

Thanks for joining us for day 6 of our week of prayer.  This week we are joining with the Assemblies of God and the theme, “Leveling the Praying Field”.  

Friday Prayer Focus

O Lord, increase my sensitivity to divine appointments to pray for others, conveying to them Your love, grace, and power.

Friday Prayer Activity

As we consider today’s prayer focus, I think about the power of praying for others and the power of joining with others in corporate prayer.

We learn in Matthew 14:14 NLT, “Jesus saw the huge crowd as he stepped from the boat, and he had compassion on them and healed their sick.” Jesus demonstrates here that He had sensitivity to divine appointments. It began with his compassion. Our love for others will position us to allow interruptions in our lives when there is an opportunities to pray for others or show the love of Christ in some way.

I love that the Holy Spirit gives us cues when we are sensitive to Him to let us know when prayer is needed. There are times that someone’s name or their face just comes across my mind. I know that they are in need of prayer through these kinds of promptings. There have been many times where others have blessed me with that same sensitivity. Just recently, while I was walking through a very difficult moment, a friend sent me a text saying, “You are so heavy on my heart, I am praying for you now!” What a blessing! It was the power of prayer that got me through that moment!

There is also much power available when we join our faith to pray together. You can read the story in Acts 4:23-32, when the religious leaders threatened Peter and John unless they stopped preaching about Jesus. The members of the early church joined together in prayer. The Bible tells us they prayed in one accord and when they were done the place was shaken. There is so much power available to us through prayer!

Friday Scripture Focus

Matthew 18:19-20 NLT

“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.”

1 Timothy 2:1 NLT

I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people. Ask God to help them; intercede on their behalf, and give thanks for them.

Thanks for joining us for day 5 of our week of prayer.  This week we are joining with the Assemblies of God and the theme, “Leveling the Praying Field”.

Thursday Prayer Focus

Help me, O Lord, to understand that prayer is my personal responsibility, not something someone else can do for me.

Thursday Prayer Activity

At the beginning of a new year, many people think about health and wellness. Countless individuals embark on a new diet and exercise plan. It would be crazy to think that someone else could eat healthy or do our exercise for us. We understand that if we want results, we have to bear the responsibility.

Why would we think that if want to embark on a new devotional life centered on prayer and the study of the Word that someone could do that for us? “Prayer is a choice, a discipline, a decision to talk to God and hear from God, and no one can do your praying for you anymore than someone else can praise or worship for you.”¹

Jesus demonstrated this for us. There are many times in Scripture where we read about Jesus’ prayer life. This is just one example from Matthew 14:23, “ After sending them home, he went up into the hills by himself to pray. Night fell while he was there alone.”

Once you begin having daily time of communion with the Lord, you will find that you just can’t live without them. The interesting thing about spiritual hunger is that it can never really be satisfied. The more you get the more you want!

I hope that by day 5 you are settling into your new routine of committing dedicated time every day to spend communicating with your heavenly Father.

Thursday Scripture Focus

Matthew 6:6 NLT

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.

Ephesians 3:14-19 NLT – Paul’s Prayer for Spiritual Growth

When I think of all this, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father, the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth. I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is.  May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.

 

References:

1. Barrett, Donna L. Leveling The Praying Field: Helping Every Person Talk To God And Hear from God. Gospel Publishing House. 2019. 112

Thanks for joining us for day 4 of our week of prayer.  This week we are joining with the Assemblies of God and the theme, “Leveling the Praying Field”.  

Wednesday Prayer Focus

O Lord, may I hunger after, receive, and use the powerful prayer language available through the baptism of the Holy Spirit.

Wednesday Prayer Activity

Before Jesus left this earth to return to heaven, He told the disciples that it was best for them that he goes so the comforter and helper the Holy Spirit could come (John 16:7-14). We believe that when you accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior, the Holy Spirit enters your life fully and completely. However, we also believe in an additional encounter with the Holy Spirit, which is described in Acts 2 that happened on the Day of Pentecost. We often refer to this experience as being filled with the Holy Spirit and when this happens the initial sign is speaking in tongues.

This gift allows for a deeper prayer life opportunity. In our Week of Prayer theme book, “Leveling the Praying Field”, the author Donna L. Barrett shares the below insight about the gift of the Holy Spirit:

Wednesday Scripture Focus

Romans 8:26-27 NLT

And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words.  And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God’s own will.

Ephesians 6:18 NLT

Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere.

Jude 20-21

But you, dear friends, must build each other up in your most holy faith, pray in the power of the Holy Spirit, and await the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will bring you eternal life. In this way, you will keep yourselves safe in God’s love.

References:

1. Barrett, Donna L. Leveling The Praying Field: Helping Every Person Talk To God And Hear from God. Gospel Publishing House. 2019. 97

Thanks for joining us for day three of our week of prayer as we join with the Assemblies of God and the theme, “Leveling the Praying Field”.  

Tuesday Prayer Focus

Help me understand, O Lord, that the power of prayer is not so much in what I pray about, but to whom I pray.

Tuesday Prayer Activity and Scripture Focus

Ephesians 6:10 teaches us to, “Be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.” We must realize that the God we pray to is our source! He is the beginning and He is the end. Many in Scripture knew Him as the great “I am”!

• He said to Abram, “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward.” (Genesis 15:1 NKJV)

• He said to Jacob after he wrestled with Him all night. “I AM God Almighty!” (Genesis 35:11)

• He said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” (Exodus 3:14)

• He said to the prophet Isaiah, “I am the First and I am the Last; Besides Me there is no God.” (Isaiah 44:6)

• He told the disciples:
  •  “I am the bread of life.” (John 6:35)
  •  “I am the light of the world.” (John 8:12)
  •  “I am the door.” (John 10:9)
  •  “I am the good shepherd” (John 10:11)
  •  “I am the true vine” (John 15:1)

• He told Martha, “I am the resurrection and the life.” (John 11:25)

• He told Thomas, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” (John 14:6)

• He told John the Revelator:
  • “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last,” (Revelation 1:11)
  • “I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore.” (Revelation 1:18)
  • “I am He who searches the minds and hearts.” (Revelation 2:23)
  • “I am the Root and the Offspring of David, the Bright and Morning Star.” (Revelation 22:16)
  • “Surely I am coming quickly.” (Revelation 22:20)

We can be confident that He is our great I AM, He will be what we need Him to be at each moment in our lives, and this is to whom we pray!

Take some time today to write down who God is to you.

Thanks for joining us for day two of our week of prayer as we join with the Assemblies of God and the  theme, “Leveling the Praying Field”.  

Monday Prayer Focus

As I present needs and concerns to You. O Lord, may I be content to leave the results to You.

Monday Prayer Activity

In the book, “Leveling the Praying Field”, the author Donna L. Barrett shares the below challenge:

On the playing field, what if we played like we were winning even if the scoreboard were covered? On the praying field, what if we prayed with confidence that God is responding even when we can’t see the results? What if we gave up the need to be the arbiters of God’s will because we understand that His plans are far above anything our most astute minds could dream up?

When there’s a good team leader, each person on the team only needs to carry out the assignment given to them and the group wins. General Motors makes cars on an assembly line. There may be an employee who puts four bolts on the floorboards of cars all day long, but never gets to see the finished shiny car on the showroom floor. If he faithfully completes his assignment, he knows he helped to build that final product. In a similar way, we’re on God’s team and our assignment is to pray for His purposes to be fulfilled. We need to pray faithfully knowing we have a Creator God who is doing His part to answer our prayers.¹

Ask yourself if there are areas in your life in which you are not trusting God for His best results. Write about that situation and ask the Lord to help you to relinquish the control of that situation over to Him. Trust that He has your best interest in mind and rest in the knowledge that He is for you and not against you.

Monday Scripture Focus

Isaiah 55:8-9 NKJV

“For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.”

Proverbs 3:5-6 NKJV

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.

References:

1. Barrett, Donna L. Leveling The Praying Field: Helping Every Person Talk To God And Hear from God. Gospel Publishing House. 2019. 50-51

I want to invite everyone reading this to join with my church, Grace Community Church, and the Assemblies of God as we start our year strong with a week of prayer Sunday 1/5 through Saturday 1/11.  Our theme this year is “Leveling the Praying Field”.  The book with the same title, by Donna L. Barrett, is a great resource and is available at Amazon and other retailers.

At the beginning of each year, I like to seek the Lord for what He has for me as a focus for the coming year. This year my focus is on 20/20 Vision. When you have an eye exam and discover that you do not have that perfect 20/20 vision we all desire, there are specific lenses that are useful to correct your vision.  One of the best places to start correcting spiritual vision is through prayer! It is so important that we establish the priority and right perspective of what our personal prayer life can be. Watch for our daily focus updates each day this week and use this time to refocus your attention to making prayer a priority in your life in 2020.

Sunday Prayer Focus

Strengthen in me. O Lord, the commitment to regularly talk with You and hear from You through prayer.

Sunday Prayer Activity

I encourage you to take some time today to make a commitment to dedicate specific time to pray this week and then carry this new commitment into the year.  Write down your plans and do your best to stick with it. Remember that communicating is more than talking; it also involves listening. Train yourself to spend time before the Lord listening to what He has to say to you.

Often we make prayer so difficult, but refocus on making prayer more like a conversation with your best friend. Tell your best friend how wonderful he is, ask about his plans for your life, ask for his help and protection, then listen and follow his advice.

This may seem oversimplified, but it is a very basic outline of the prayer Jesus demonstrated in the passage below.

Sunday Scripture Focus

Luke 11:1-4 NKJV

Now it came to pass, as He was praying in a certain place, when He ceased, that one of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.” So He said to them, “When you pray, say: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us day by day our daily bread. And forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.”

Psalm 27:7-8 NLT

Hear me as I pray, O Lord. Be merciful and answer me! My heart has heard you say, “Come and talk with me.” And my heart responds, “Lord, I am coming.”

SATURDAY — NO PRECEDENT

On our last day of our week of prayer, I want to share about the prayer of praise, worship, and thanksgiving. These three are closely related. A heart of thanksgiving makes you want to praise and worship.  However, I believe one of the things we have to guard against is just repeating empty words that are not heartfelt.

If someone gives me an amazing gift, I don’t just continue to say, “Thank you, thank you, thank you, praise you, praise you, praise you!” I specifically say, “Thank you for that amazing gift”. If my spouse helps me around the house, I specifically tell him, “Thank you for cleaning up the kitchen for me”.

I believe there are times that we may be saying the words, but they are not coming from our heart. We should be specific when we thank the Lord for the blessings He bestows on us. Likewise, it is important that we think about the words that we are singing when we are offering up that type of praise. Without focus and a true heart of worship, we can be singing words and not even think about what they mean. Here are some examples of heartfelt praise and thanksgiving.

Psalm 111:1-4 AMP

PRAISE THE Lord! (Hallelujah!) I will praise and give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart in the council of the upright and in the congregation. 2 The works of the Lord are great, sought out by all those who have delight in them. 3 His work is honorable and glorious, and His righteousness endures forever. 4 He has made His wonderful works to be remembered; the Lord is gracious, merciful, and full of loving compassion.

 1 Chronicles 16:8-11 AMP

O give thanks to the Lord, call on His name; make known His doings among the peoples! 9 Sing to Him, sing praises to Him; meditate on and talk of all His wondrous works and devoutly praise them! 10 Glory in His holy name; let the hearts of those rejoice who seek the Lord! 11 Seek the Lord and His strength; yearn for and seek His face and to be in His presence continually!  

The first reason we should worship, praise, and offer thanks is simply because He is worthy of it. Secondly, it releases great power. God has ordained it to be that way. After Solomon’s temple was completed, we read what happened when the people gathered to offer praise and thanksgiving.

2 Chronicles 5:13-14 AMP

And when the trumpeters and singers were joined in unison, making one sound to be heard in praising and thanking the Lord, and when they lifted up their voice with the trumpets and cymbals and other instruments for song and praised the Lord, saying, For He is good, for His mercy and loving-kindness endure forever, then the house of the Lord was filled with a cloud, 14 So that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled the house of God.

Worship, praise, and thanksgiving are so powerful, and they can be a mighty weapon when we walk through times of testing and difficulty.

 Phil 4:6-7 NASU

6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.

 What happens when we refuse to get over into fear, but we offer up our prayer with thanksgiving? If you keep reading that passage, it tells us.

7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Another Scripture that shows the power of praise during times of difficulty is when Paul and Silas were in prison. These men had been beaten badly and they were in a horrible place with their feet in chains, yet they were still praising God. That praise had a powerful result!

 Acts 16:25-27 NASU

 25 But about midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns of praise to God, and the prisoners were listening to them; 26 and suddenly there came a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison house were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone’s chains were unfastened.

Because of this display of power, the jailer and his family were saved!

Praise, worship, and thanksgiving will keep your prayer life balanced. Without it you will be too concentrated on the difficulty, and give too much credit to the enemy. With it, you will be less focused on the problem and more focused on God your provider!

Prayer Focus:

• Pray for the eyes to see and ears to hear the things God has prepared for those who love Him. (1 Cor. 9:12)
• Pray for revelation of the bottomless things of God.
• Pray for God to move in us and through us to do greater things than even Jesus did while on the earth, with signs and wonders following us.

Scripture Focus:

1 Corinthians 2:9-10 NKJV: 9 But as it is written: “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.” 10 But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God.

John 14:12-14 NASU :”Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these he will do; because I go to the Father. “Whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.  “If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it.”

Ephesians 3:20 NASU: “Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us,”

Jeremiah 33:3 NASU: “Call to Me and I will answer you, and I will tell you great and mighty things, which you do not know.”

Jeremiah 32:27 NASU: “Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh; is anything too difficult for Me?”

Luke 12:31-32 NASU: “But seek His kingdom, and these things will be added to you. Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has chosen gladly to give you the kingdom.”

Hebrews 10:23 KJV: “Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;)”

1 Corinthian 12:4-11 NASU: “4 Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit. 5 And there are varieties of ministries, and the same Lord. 6 There are varieties of effects, but the same God who works all things in all persons.  7 But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. 8 For to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, and to another the word of knowledge according to the same Spirit; 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, and to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, 10 and to another the effecting of miracles, and to another prophecy, and to another the distinguishing of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, and to another the interpretation of tongues. 11 But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually just as He wills.”

1 Corinthians 14:12 AMP:  “12 So it is with yourselves; since you are so eager and ambitious to possess spiritual endowments and manifestations of the [Holy] Spirit, [concentrate on] striving to excel and to abound [in them] in ways that will build up the church.”

 

 

FRIDAY — YOUR CHURCH

We have been providing some prayer tips each day to help your prayer life to flourish during our week of prayer. I hope you will incorporate all these different tips into your own individual prayer life after this focus week is over. Today I want to share with you about two important aspects of prayer, the prayer of agreement, and the act of listening.

One of the things we have tried to encourage this week is the prayer of agreement. We have posted specific topics to pray about and specific Scriptures to pray throughout the day. Additionally, for those who are local, we have been meeting every night for an hour to have a live event of corporate prayer.

Some may have the attitude that I can pray better on my own in the privacy of my own prayer closet. I agree that we all should certainly pray individually and our prayer life may be different when we are praying alone than it is when you are corporately praying. However, both types of prayer have an important place.

The Bible tells us in Matthew 18:19-20 NKJV:

“Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven. 20 For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.”

 From a practical perspective, what might that look like? Well we have had many opportunities to practice this during our week of prayer together. When someone is praying about a focus topic, you can join in and pray in agreement instead of just listening to that person pray.

Why is this type of prayer important? One reason is that unity is a powerful force! One of the best examples of united prayer is found in Acts 4, when the religious leaders threatened to hurt Peter and John unless they stopped preaching about Jesus.  The church’s response was to go to prayer in one accord.

Acts 4:24; 31-32 KJV

And when they heard that, they lifted up their voice to God with one accord, and said, Lord, thou art God, which hast made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all that in them is:

I won’t read the whole prayer that covers the next 7 verses, but at the end of the prayer we read in Acts 4:31-32

And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness. 32 And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul:

I think it is interesting that the first verse I read says, “They lifted up their voice to God in one accord”. It doesn’t say voices. It was a united prayer that made the place literally shake!

We read a little later in Acts that Herod killed James and imprisoned Peter, and once again the Bible tells us that, “Prayer for him was being made fervently by the church to God” (Acts 12:5 NASU). If you read the whole story an angel of the Lord came and Peter’s chains fell off and he was able to walk right out of that prison. The power of their united prayer broke the chains that held Peter. There are so many chains that need broken off so many people we know. The solution is for a united church to come together and pray the prayer of faith in one accord.

The second prayer topic I want to quickly share is about listening. If I called my husband on the phone and I said, “Where are you? When are you coming home? What are you doing tonight? Did you have a good day at work? What are your plans for this weekend? By the way I need you to take the trash out. After that can you run to the store for me, I need bread. I need you to throw in a load of laundry. I have to go, I will talk to you later, good-bye!”

Can you imagine a one-sided conversation like that where I ask all these questions, make a bunch of demands, and then just end the conversation?

Can I suggest that if we are not careful, this is often what our prayer conversation sounds like to God. It is so easy to be caught up in asking God all the questions we need answered, and list all the needs we have, but forget to stop talking and position ourselves to hear His response.

Learning to “be still” in His presence is often a discipline that is hard to learn but practice and you will get better at it. I just want to encourage you to develop this practice. Listening for the voice of God is an essential part of your prayer time.

Prayer Focus:

• Pray for your pastor.
• Pray for increased effectiveness as your church reaches your community.
• Pray for spiritual growth, biblical literacy, and church health.

Scripture Focus:

Matthew 16:18-19 NKJV: “And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. 19 And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”

Ephesians 2:19-22 NKJV: “Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, 20 having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, 21 in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, 22 in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.”  

Ephesians 4:11-14 NKJV: “And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, 12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, 13 till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ;”

1 Peter 4:10-11 NKJV: “As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. 11 If anyone speaks, let him speak as the oracles of God. If anyone ministers, let him do it as with the ability which God supplies, that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belong the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.”

Ephesians 4:1-6 NKJV: “I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, 2 with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, 3 endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6 one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.”

Ephesians 1:15-23 NKJV: “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, 21 far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come. 22 And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, 23 which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.”

 

THURSDAY — OUR WORLD

We have been discussing the ABCs of prayer the last two days. Monday we learned that “A” stands for “Abiding”, yesterday we discusses “B” which stands for “Believe”. Today let’s consider “C”, which stands for “Continue”.  Originally, I told you that the “C” stands for “Continue to pray, but my goal is to encourage you to continue period.

• I want you to continue to participate
• Continue to pray
• Continue to abide
• Continue to fast
• Continue to believe

Two other words that describe our teaching focus for today are perseverance and persistence. I have a sweet friend, who says some funny things at times that we are not quick to let her live down. A few years back, we were attending a prayer conference, and we went to Red Lobster during their annual “Endless Shrimp” campaign. When the server came to take our order, she said, “I will take the keep it coming shrimp please”. We all burst into laughter! I had to share this story because I believe it is a humorous way for you to never forget to “Keep it coming”! Just think of it this way…God is saying to you:

• Keep your prayers coming
• Keep your praise coming
• Keep your devotion coming
• Keep your petitions coming
• And so on….

A familiar passage is found in the second part of verse 16 in James chapter 5.

The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much (James 5:16b NKJV).

 I love the way that passage reads in the Amplified Bible.

The earnest (heartfelt, continued) prayer of a righteous man makes tremendous power available [dynamic in its working].

 When we continue to pray, we stick with it all the way until the end. That means when God puts a person or a situation on your heart, you continue to pray about that until the prayer is totally answered or until the burden lifts and you sense victory.

Sometimes we see answers to prayer quickly and sometimes we have to continue to pray. In the passage that I shared above from James 5, if you continue to read it says:

James 5:17-18 NKJV

 17 Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain; and it did not rain on the land for three years and six months. 18 And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth produced its fruit.

If you go back and read this account about Elijah in 1 Kings 18, he went to the top of Mount Carmel and knelt down to pray for rain. He sent his servant Ahab to go look toward the sea to see if rain was coming. When he came back and reported that there was nothing, Elijah kept praying and sent him back again, in fact he sent him back again seven times!

After the seventh time, Ahab reported to Elijah, “I see a cloud as small as a man’s hand coming up from the sea!” (1 Kings 18:41-44)  Elijah prayed and he continued to pray until he saw victory. James uses this example and says about it, “The earnest (heartfelt, continued) prayer of a righteous man makes tremendous power available [dynamic in its working]”(James 5:16b AMP).

As you likely know, during Jesus’ earthly ministry, He liked to teach using parables. Depending on which version of the Bible you are looking at the one found in Luke 18 is often called either the “Parable of the Persistent Widow”, or “The Parable on Prayer”. I want to share it with you.

Luke 18:1-8 NLT

One day Jesus told his disciples a story to show that they should always pray and never give up. 2 “There was a judge in a certain city,” he said, “who neither feared God nor cared about people. 3 A widow of that city came to him repeatedly, saying, ‘Give me justice in this dispute with my enemy.’ 4 The judge ignored her for a while, but finally he said to himself, ‘I don’t fear God or care about people, 5 but this woman is driving me crazy. I’m going to see that she gets justice, because she is wearing me out with her constant requests!'” 6 Then the Lord said, “Learn a lesson from this unjust judge. 7 Even he rendered a just decision in the end. So don’t you think God will surely give justice to his chosen people who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? 8 I tell you, he will grant justice to them quickly! But when the Son of Man returns, how many will he find on the earth who have faith?”

Perseverance is important, but it is a word we don’t always like, because if you are to persevere, you must need to push through some kind of difficulty, opposition, or delay. Perseverance often makes me think of endurance, which gives me a picture of a long distance runner.

I have never enjoyed running. When I was in high school, I was on the track team for all the wrong reasons.  I liked to do the jumps or maybe the short races or relays, but I certainly wasn’t committed enough to be the one who ran the long distance races. Those races required too much perseverance. The ability to push through the pain and fatigue when you feel like your lungs are on fire and your legs cannot move another step.

Hebrews 12:1-2 NKJV

Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

This passage describes our spiritual race during times that require perseverance. We are reminded to keep our eyes on Jesus since He demonstrated for us not only how to start a race, but how to finish it!

In the middle of the race, there are times you feel all alone and you may be tempted to question if you are in the right race. We sometimes feel this way when we are in the middle of a situation in which we have been praying and believing for victory and we have not seen an answer yet.

Perseverance is needed when God SEEMS to be absent and SEEMS to be silent! Scripture tells us that He will never leave us or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5). This is when we stand on the Word of God. A very familiar scripture found in Galatians 6:9 AMP reads:

“And let us not lose heart and grow weary and faint in acting nobly and doing right, for in due time and at the appointed season we shall reap, if we do not loosen and relax our courage and faint.”

Let me tell you two of the greatest enemies in certain stages of the race is doubt and disappointment. When you are in a season where you have been believing and standing in faith for a long time, and your answer has not yet manifested, it is tempting to begin to question if you really heard from God, or if this commitment to the race or to prayer is really worth it.

In some situations, the risk of disappointment is so great that people give into hopelessness instead of standing in faith and staying in the race. In these times, you must contend and persevere! You have to “Keep it coming”!

I want to encourage you today to “Continue”!

Prayer Focus:

• Pray for the unreached.
• Pray for missionaries throughout the world.
• Pray that more people would hear God’s call to missions.

Scripture Focus:

Mark 16:15-16 NKJV: “And He said to them, ‘Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. 16 He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.’”

Matthew 18:12-14 NLT: “If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them wanders away, what will he do? Won’t he leave the ninety-nine others on the hills and go out to search for the one that is lost? 13 And if he finds it, I tell you the truth, he will rejoice over it more than over the ninety-nine that didn’t wander away! 14 In the same way, it is not my heavenly Father’s will that even one of these little ones should perish.”

Luke 19:10 NKJV: “For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”

John 4:34-37 NLT: “Then Jesus explained: “My nourishment comes from doing the will of God, who sent me, and from finishing his work. 35 You know the saying, ‘Four months between planting and harvest.’ But I say, wake up and look around. The fields are already ripe for harvest. 36 The harvesters are paid good wages, and the fruit they harvest is people brought to eternal life. What joy awaits both the planter and the harvester alike! 37 You know the saying, ‘One plants and another harvests.’ And it’s true.

Matthew 9:37-38 NLT: “He said to his disciples, “The harvest is great, but the workers are few. 38 So pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask him to send more workers into his fields.”

2 Peter 3:9 NKJV: “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.”

Matthew 24:14 NLT: “And the Good News about the Kingdom will be preached throughout the whole world, so that all nations will hear it; and then the end will come.”