Praying Together
Personal Preparation Before Prayer with a Prayer Partner
Lesson 6
Personal Preparation Before Prayer with a Prayer Partner
Recommended Reading: Praying Together by Stormie O’Martian/Jack Hayford, Harvest House Publishers—chapter 2
Anyone involved in physical activity should understand the need of warm up activity before starting strenuous work.
Personal preparation before prayer with a prayer partner is needed before praying with others. Praying with others does take work; that work is a good work, and it needs preparation.
A major part of warm up when it comes to prayer is Daily time with the Lord. It is important that when are preparing ourselves for prayer with others, we should to take personal time alone with the Lord. This time is essential to effective prayer.
There are several things personal time with the Lord allows us to do:
1. It enables us to have an opportunity to give to the Lord our personal issues. The Lord wants us to trust Him with our many concerns and cares. In fact He says in His word I Peter 5:7 that we should be “Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.” Jesus will listen, and He wants to help us with our cares. Taking personal time in prayer and God’s Word is an opportunity to let Him do just that. All of us have many cares. They could be concerns about our family; they could be details about getting everything done; Or they could be dealing with interpersonal issues that we face at work or home. Whatever the case, giving those cares to the Lord – “first” -- will help us not to overburden our prayer partner with them. Yes, you can still bring them up, but in so doing remember—Jesus is the one helping us. He wants us to discover that He is our most faithful Friend, in our daily walk with Him.
2. Another reason for personal time in prayer and God’s Word with the Lord, is to experience the benefits of day by day relationship with Jesus. When we wake up it is not always easy to give thanks, but taking time in God’s Word and prayer provides the discipline which can help us. His Holy Spirit will help us, and will give us wisdom to prioritize our daily goals, to focus on Jesus, and help us to be thankful. No matter how hectic or difficult the circumstances may be, He will bring order to our lives.
3. Another purpose of personal time can be seen by considering—why as a soldier must keep himself disciplined and trained. If he is not, he cannot do his job as a soldier. Likewise, we need to be strengthened each day so we can be strong in the Lord. A daily personal time focusing on Jesus helps prepare us to meet the challenges of the day. Remember the word JOY—Jesus first, then Others, then You. J-O-Y spells Joy!
4. It is important that when we spend time with the Lord, we must be careful that time does not become like a weight that controls you. Still, we do need to set a regular time to be alone with God. Otherwise we find the opportunity slips away to be alone with God. If we have trouble ordering our time for a personal time with Jesus, there is One who can help us. That person is Jesus. He wants us to learn the reality of Is 40:31: “They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength”. In addition to renewing our strength, we need our spiritual armor. See Eph 6:11 Why not ask Jesus to help you.
Here are some additional thoughts about developing Personal Prayer when you take time with the Lord:
- Make it a priority to establish your relationship with God-You may want to consider the example given at the beginning of the Lord’s Prayer: “Our Father”. It denotes a relationship. See Matt 6: 9. Then Present your day to the Lord; Invite Jesus to be in charge asking Him to order your steps. Don’t be afraid to be specific about each detail/activity/your plans/or needs. (Commit your way unto the Lord Ps 37:5, Prov 3:5-6). As we commit ourselves to the Lord, we are actually presenting ourselves to the Lord. Look up Rom 12:1.
- Give praise to God for who He is – see the Lord’s prayer, Matt 6:9, and Ps 22:3. Giving praise to God is not always easy, because when things are “off kilter”, so to speak—or not right -- we have a hard time giving praise and worship to God. If that is the case, take time here and ask the Lord to show you the issues then take time of confession and follow I John 1:9.
- Don’t let sins go unconfessed. Confess them. The Psalmist also knew the importance of confessed sin. See Ps 139 vs 23-24 Those verses speak of confessing sins. Also look at where it says “Lord Search me…” -- Do you ever feel condemned? Satan wants us to feel so condemned that we are ashamed to come before God. Satan wants us to struggle with guilt to the point that we can’t’ even pray. The Lord has provided a way out of this condemnation. It is called confession. In I John 1:9 we are instructed to confess sin so we can be cleansed of it. Unconfessed sin separates us from God and can block our prayers. See Is 59:2. If you take care of sin throughout the day, you won’t have to be dealing with it when a need comes up for prayer. Occasionally the question sometimes comes up, I have confessed my sin in obedience to God’s word, yet I still feel condemnation. How do I get out of condemnation that keeps returning? Personally, I have found 3 steps that have helped me, and these steps can also help where we have difficulty forgiving a deep hurt. They are:
A. Obedience to God’s word.
B. Forgiveness Matt 6:14
C. Blessing-Ask God to help you speak only words that bring life, especially to the other person. Heb 3:13. It has been found that blessing others reduces the need of bringing past problems up again.
As we move forward in our personal relationship with the Lord and our prayer life, consider-- the more we ask God to keep us in His perfect will, and in relationship with Him, we will be more prepared to pray with others.
God has chosen to work on earth through partnership with those who want and welcome doing His will. John 9:31 says that if any man be a worshiper of God and does His will, He hears Him.
There are many ways that joining with in praying with others can be done. We could join with a group at a prayer meeting. There are some who are not comfortable with prayer in a group, and they might want to consider praying with a prayer partner. They might be ones who will pray ‘On the spur of the moment’ when the need arises. What ever the case, prayer with others should not be forced, but grow out of our relationship with God, and with compassion for others. God has chosen to work on earth through partnership with those who want and welcome doing His will. John 9:31 says that if any man be a worshiper of God and does His will, He hears Him.
Reflection Questions:
What benefits do we have when we take steps to keep our relationship right with the Lord? Why are those steps important?
Try writing down impressions you get when you take time with the Lord? Do you find those impressions helpful? In what way?
Why is taking daily personal time with the Lord helpful in being able to focus on others?
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Be filled with the Holy Spirit, then ask God what you can do for Him, then wait on His answer. Listen closely, and wait. You have a purpose he is waiting on you, and you just need to be willing; He will bless you in magnificent ways and your success will be according to His perfect will and in His own timing. Ask HIm to expand you, and ask Him to be in all that you do, and to keep you from evil so that you will honor His name, and you will be always ready when He calls you. Don't worry just believe. ( sometimes that seems so hard) But we must tear down those strongholds as soon as we recognize them and get back on track, and move forward. Remember, the Holy Spirit will guide you.BELIEVE! Daily.
Over the years, I have been able to have some personal time with the Lord. I will admit that that while time has not always been consistent, my thoughts throughout the day to focus on the Lord and what He is doing. I want to share some of the items that are a part of my personal time with the Lord.
Personal time with the Lord
Also, seek the Lord's guidance for the challenges of the day.
When take personal time with the Lord, you may see only a few of the above elements of the above listing in a particular day, but that time alone with the Lord is still very important. The personal time with the Lord, will help you when you spend time in prayer with others.
There is a song, 'More time alone with thee Lord Jesus, More time alone with thee'. The more time we spend alone with the Lord, the more we will desire it.
Blessings
I have often found that my heart is divided, not the focused heart that I want to have. My time with God is often crowded out by cares of the world - work, family, finances, etc. Two things have helped me to put this in perspective and regain balance - though in my weakness, the balance is never permanent.
First, I recognize that there is a sense in which all of life is time with God. There is nowhere we can go to flee from His presence. He walks with us, indeed lives in us, each moment of each day. That isn't to say that we're always conscious of His presence - I am often distracted enough to not be so conscious. Nonetheless, at the end of the day, I find it helpful to review my day and just make a quick mental note of all the places that God met me, provided for me, guided my thoughts, etc.
Second, I find that my heart grows lukewarm the longer I go without a major retreat time with God. I am far more likely to be faithful in spending time daily with Him if I've recently spent a day on a retreat - whether alone or with others - that focused on His presence. I find that my daily time with God often centers around what I'm going through that day. And I've stopped feeling guilty about that - I think that God desires to meet us where we are and to be a part of our daily lives. But the more extended times with Him give me time to come away and just focus strictly on who He is, apart from my own concerns. Those times inform and inspire my daily times with Him. And when I don't have those extended times, my daily times tend to be less consistent and less meaningful. I really agree with that statement that the more time we spend with God, the more we will desire it.
It is impotant to take steps to keep my relationship right with the Lord, because I will then think right about what the scripture says about God's promises, and His authority in my life and in the things I am about to pray.I will believe within HIs will and can expect God to answer my prayers. This right relationship should start with asking God to search me and to show me any hinderance that I have between Him and me, and I should agree with what His word says about that error and truly confess it, not with my head ,but with my heart. I will relate to God for who He is and praise Him for that. I will speak to Him of His loving character, and atributes and thank Him for His goodness and understanding. I will know that He answers according to His will and in His perfect timing. I will know that His answers reflect His love.
I do believe in the Trinity.
Grover, I sometimes think that the Trinity is the hardest thing about the Godhead to understand. Someone once explained the Trinity to me using an egg as an object to do that. An egg has three parts to it, the shell, the white, and the yolk. The three of them remain as one, they are the egg as a whole. Each part of the egg has a different structure and consistancy,and each part has a different purpose in the development of an egg. All three members of the egg are needed to make the egg whole, but each part can also be used separately. Each part is as important as the other. It is the same with the Godheaad. The Godhead or Trinity is one, but it consist of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost. Without any one of these parts God would not be complete. They are one, serve the same purpose, but have their own jobs in getting the task done. They are really always connected in some manner. So when we are alone with God we are in the presence of the entire Trinity with each doing their job so that we can have fellowship. It take all three for us to have that fellowship lest we would not be able to have fellowship. It is much like when we became a Christian. God and sin can not occupy the same space, so we cannot be in his presence without Christ who made it possible in His death and ressurection,and we would not have ask Christ into our lives without the Holy Spirit calling us to repentance. This is how we have a relationship with God. We need all three of the Trinity to be alone with God. It's that we must be alone. All emptied out, an empty vessel made ready before God. I hope this helps. FRAN
Grover,
You ask a deep question and it is a good question. We see through a glass dimly, (I Cor 13 vs 12-13) we only see in part. What I share with you here, I humbly submit to you for consideration. With that said, when I spend time with God, I come to Him through the Name of Jesus. My time with God is time to worship, get to know His Character, and bring my requests to Him which includes prayers of intercession for others. It is also a time I learn about His character and how He wants me to live which I find as I spend time in His word, the Bible.
Jesus is our Lord who intercedes for us. He does what He sees God doing. He reflects the character and nature of God. His example should guide our getting to know God. They work as one, yet are two.
The Holy Spirit is there to comfort us and guide us. (John 16 vs 13) He brings directs us to God’s word as He counsels us and guides us. He leads us in the way of God’s peace. He knows our heart and He helps us pray. (Rom 8 vs 26-27) He does what God desires, working as one with God and Jesus.
I John 4 vs 8 says God is love. This love is a holy and pure love. It defines the character of God. That love (John 3 vs 16) is what sent Jesus to die on the cross for you and I and raised Jesus after His death on the Cross for us. God’s love that paid the dept for our sin and that love made it possible to have fellowship with God, through believing in Jesus.
When I fellowship with God through Jesus, I want to know the depths of His love. I have seen the Holy Spirit counsel me setting me on His path when I stray. I am thankful for that!!! Jesus is really interceding for me. (Romans 8: 34 and Heb 7 vs 25) I have sensed God directing me. That direction appears to be one that has brought healing and will bring healing to others. A healing of past wrongs by humility, confession, and repentance in accordance with the word of God, so those wrongs no longer hinder his work.
When I focus my fellowship on God my Father I sense the following happening. God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit are working as one. I sense God is the one leading—leading us to know His love and encourage His Love to grow in our hearts. Jesus intercedes on my behalf and the Holy Spirit counsels me and guides me.
Grover, I am not a theologian, but perhaps the above may help somewhat in understanding this completely. I too see through a glass dimly, and someday we will understand this clearly—when we are with Jesus in Heaven.