Politicized Prayers. Don't Bother.

#ItSeemsToMe... it is way too easy for Christians to unintentionally offer prayers that are actually more Republican than righteous; sound more like a Democrat than a disciple. When our political preferences infect our intercessory petitions, we have shifted from empowering the Spirit to employing the Spirit. No one of us is immune from this politicized syncretism.

Our best solution is to leave our political wish-list aside when we pray.

Begin with praise (declaring the goodness of God). Give thanks (declare the grace of God.

  • A - ASK...for a fresh filling as you surrender to the Spirit ...Ask a question
  • S - SEEK...a scriptural focus in silence, stillness
  • K - KNOCK...when you receive Spirit-led, scripture-fed direction, move forward boldly in faith

When you pray for your candidate, also pray for the other.

When you pray about those you consider an enemy of your positions, ask for God's mercy to bring (repentance (a change of mind).

When you have completed your prayer/praying, ask the Spirit to help you review and, as needed, revise.

#ItSeemsToMe...my politicized prayers may be canceling your other-party-platform prayers. God is neither Democrat nor Republican. If you do not believe that, then may I ask that you work and vote for your party but stop bothering God.

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  • PRAY

    then VOTE

    then PRAY HARDER❗️

  • This is crucial. 

    "Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees."

    Matthew 16:11

    Thank you, Phil.

  • Prayer Champion Pastor Prompts the Prayer of the People...For the People!

           

                                                              a real church of the real God to the real world...

    August 28, 2020

    Hello Phil,

    Welcome to the end of the month of August. We are 23 weeks into COVID-19. It’s been a challenging week for the city of Kenosha, Wisc and our nation. A lot has happened since the end of last week.

    On Sunday evening the city of Kenosha, Wisc was outraged over the shooting African American Jacob Blake as he was shot in the back 7 times while walking away from police. Since that night there have been violent protests in Kenosha, a 17 year old young man from Antioch, IL subsequently shot 3 people at the protests 2 of which have died. He has been arrested and charged with the shooting. 

       

    So where are we now?

    We have 2 pandemics on our hands. One one hand, we have the unseen killer COVID-19 that has now taken over 179,000 lives. On the other hand, we have a 2nd pandemic which we have seen clearly this week.

    We have witnessed Racism, Hatred, Rage & Anger, leading to violence and destruction. The sins of man are on full display. We see the hopelessness of our situation without our Savior Jesus.

    Jeremiah 17:9 says The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?  

    We are in a spiritual battle and we need to understand who our real enemy is. Eph 6:12 says, for our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Spiritual battles must be fought with spiritual weapons so we fight this battle on our knees. 

    Please pray for God’s grace and mercy for the Blake family and pray for the systemic change that is needed to address the issue of racism. We recognize as a church “real change comes from the inside out.” Only God can do that Ezekiel 36:26.

    Pray for our governing authorities (2 Tim 2:1-4). Pray for great wisdom for our leaders in navigating these protests, pray for incredible restraint for police and the National guard in dealing with hostile, angry protesters.

    Pray for peaceful protests this weekend. Pray for the businesses that were damaged in the city of Kenosha. Pray they are able to recover and start over again.

    Most importantly, pray for spiritual revival in God’s CHURCH. Pray for God to use us to minister to confused and hurting people around us leading them to a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

    Continue to pray for a “Great Awakening” in our country & world. Pray that his Spirit would fall afresh on us and for God to soften people’s hearts so that they might turn back to him. Thanks for your prayers UBC saints. They are powerful for the Kingdom of God James 5:16. Blessings, Pr Mark

     

    PS See below for a wonderful devotional by Pr Sunday Bwanhot titled “Mother of all Sins.”  It’s a great devotional that really explains the reason behind what’s happening in our country in these days

     

     

    MOTHER OF ALL SINS

    “If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” 2 Chron. 7:14

    This Old Testament passage is the most quoted promise by intercessors who pray for cities and nations. But somehow, we miss a key fact. The passage does not say “SINS” but “SIN” and yet when we pray this promise we run through a list of sins we are guilty of. I have been guilty of that myself. When you look at the context of this passage there is just one sin that is the mother of all sins.

    Fact of the matter is that even when we attempt to confess all known sins, we still leave some out. God wants us to deal with the root cause of all our sins. So, what is that mother of all sins that God wants us to turn away from?

    It is our turning away from God. This has been the charge against Israel and against the Church today. When we turn away from God, we turn to something else. That becomes an idol and idolatry becomes our downfall.

    Once we turn away from God, then every imaginable sin and wickedness will be committed. But when we genuinely return to the Lord, those sins will no longer be appealing to us. Next time you pray using this passage, deal first with the mother of all sins and there after you can confess the other consequential sins as we are commanded to do in 1 John 1:9.

     

  • Comment on a Facebook comment I made that is related to this post...

    "I deeply appreciate Phil Miglioratti’s heart for truth and the humble, yet bold approach he takes in sharing the truth. I’m thankful and relieved when I see men of God and prayer not being swayed by politics or the status quo."

    May these words be true of us all...

  • Kind words and a strong word from your Pastor I hope all who read this will take time to make their own prayer ...

    Here is mine: Jesus grow in my/our storms, so the storms are no longer storms but become opportunities to trust you, to grow in faith, to serve others...

    Phil

  • Dear Phil, I love reading your insight, so much wisdom in your words!!! I wrote on my Facebook wall a phrase from my pastor, "When Jesus grows in our storm, storms are no longer storms:"

    There is a rare storm in the world in these last months, and it is quite necessary to stay sensitive to the Holy Spirit. 

    My country (Argentina) is in flames even in the midst of this pandemics and huge efforts in the government to avoid social disaster, health workers exhausted and even infected or dead. It is time to pray according to the Lord's heart, who is seeking his lost sheep, his beloved ones. it means...everybody, no matter the right or left-wing.

    Let's keep on the track. It was a long time since I visited this page and I am glad to read you again, Phil Miglioratti...

  • EMAL RECEIVED:
    On Mon, Aug 17, 2020 at 12:02 PM  <_____@gmail.com> wrote:
    Regarding your blog on Politicized prayers, I’m actually astounded at your view. If you study the whole bible, there are several prayers and intercession that involve government. Every single SANE Christian knows that God is not a Republican or Democrat. That’s just a cliche going through religious circles. That blog is leading Christians to have bland, powerless prayers and intercession for the culture, community and upcoming elections.
    MY REPLY:
    Thank you for taking time to express your concern.
    I am not promoting "bland, powerless prayers," unless you consider praying according to the pattern our Lord gave us in Matthew 7:7 as bland and powerless. 
    By this comment, "When you pray for your candidate, also pray for the other," I am encouraging intercessors to pray FOR the person/leader.One, being our personal favorite, the other, presumably, in the "enemy" category Jesus told us to also pray for.
     
    Maybe I have not been clear when I use the term "politicized." By choosing that term, I am not telling readers to avoid praying about political issues (always, hopefully from their biblical world-view); I am pleading with zealous Christ-followers who lavish praise on their favorite candidate, to not confuse their political preferences with biblical teachings and admonitions. Such as? Being pro-life; protecting life in the womb and caring for the child who enters this life in unsafe, poor, marginalized situations. When we pray, remembering "the Lord God has told us what is right and what he demands: “See that justice is done, let mercy be your first concern, and humbly obey your God.”
     
    My deep prayer is that what I have written is not "cliche" but, even in part, expresses the mind of Christ,
    ​Phil​
    #BeKind    #ShareJoy     #PrayOften
    Free. Periodic. Updates. Join-in @ The #ReimagineFORUM 

  • Spot on!
    Love how you went right after the elephant in the room. Let’s not bother God with our preferences, opinions or needs that do not bring Him glory. Praying for Ephesians 3:14-21, with a plea for us to camp out on 3:20 upon which He can bring an answer that makes a difference in the lives of those generations coming behind us! Let’s do some housekeeping on what comes out in our prayers... It has to be about Him.
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