Pray Network Forum

I recently finished the rough draft of a book on AGAPE. I have to admit that writing it has been a thrill. One of the things that God pressed on me is that agape, the love of God, the love the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit have lavished upon one another from before time, is at the heart of our bond with God. And agape needs to be the driving force of our prayer. Let me point out some natural expressions of the love of God that should shape our prayers.
Prayer for the Needy
God cares for the poor. He loves them with a special love. (James 2:5) You can pray in general for ministries to the poor. Thank God for them. And of course real agape and real prayer will give to such ministries. But that is not enough. You can pray for people you may pass every day. You may see them on the side of the road or in the grocery store. You may very well see them in church. And you can pray for opportunities to get the know some of them personally, and find personal ways to pray for each of them.
The neediest people you will ever meet are people who are lost without Christ
Prayer for the Lost
God cares for the lost. Jesus began His teaching in Luke 15 with this parable. Which one of you who has a hundred sheep but loses one of them will not leave the 99 in the open field to go after the one lost sheep? When he finds it, will he not put it on his shoulders with joy? Coming home he will call his friends and neighbors saying, “Celebrate with me because I have found my lost sheep!” Jesus concluded, “I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over 99 righteous persons who do not need to repent.”
Are you praying daily by name for people who do not know your Lord? I assumed many of us would have to look for needy people. But that is not true about lost people. God has placed you in the midst of family members, neighbors, coworkers and acquaintances who need Christ. He has trusted them to you. Pray for a clear witness to them. Pray for softened heart. Pray for every need they have. Pray for His power in their lives.
Prayer of Forgiveness
As Jesus hung on the cross He prayed, “Father, forgive them.” Who do you think He was praying for? He was certainly praying for the Roman soldiers who were carrying out His crucifixion. I believe He was praying for the multitude shouting, “Crucify!” I believe He was praying for the men who had condemned Him. But He was also praying for me. His whole crucifixion was a powerful prayer for God to forgive me and you. That prayer was a declaration of the will of God from before the foundation of the universe.
Are you praying for God to forgive those who have sinned against you? They probably include people whom you love, people who are close to you. They will include people who hate you. They will include people who hurt you deeply, and people who are not at all sorry about it. This kind of praying requires spiritual growth. And it will be a major factor in your growing more and more in the love of Christ.

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You may have seen the little tomato shaped timers called Pomodoros. The 2016 Writer's Market mentions an app called a Pomodroido. It can be downloaded to your smart phone for writing marathons. Each thirty minute block is called a pomodoro. (I think they should have called them Pomodores.) The article suggest that you take a thirty minute break after four pomodoros. Stand up, stretch and walk around.

I don't have any cute ways to time my writing breaks. In fact, I try to time mine by thought breaks or scene changes. But I break up my writing with prayer. I have prayer lists to pray through while I clear my mind from writing. 

I too need to stand up and possibly walk around the block. That is ideal for prayer. When I sit back down to write I am not only refreshed, but I am more in tune with the source of inspiration. 

Prayer like writing is something you have to discipline yourself to do. And both of these disciplines work wonderfully together.

Certain moments stay with you for a long time. When I was in Bible college I had the opportunity to be under two different presidents. Dr. Gordon Anderson came on as president of North Central University the second year that I was there. It was fun to watch a change in leadership.

Chapel attendance was one of the requirements at the time and there are some services that I still remember and others that have long since left my mind. There was a series of events that happened the first year Dr Anderson was there that has stayed with me all of these years later.

At one of the chapel services Dave Pedde was leading us in songs of worship. Dave was one of the professors from the music department who would become one of my favorites. Even though I only had one class that he taught I loved his authentic heart and passion for God. On this particular service his authentic nature caused him to stop in the middle of his leading. He said something to the effect, “God is here. It is easy to simply play notes and miss the reality that God is here.”

It was shortly after that during another chapel service where Dr. Anderson was doing a series of messages on the subject of revival. It was such a great series that I got the cassette tapes and listened to them over again. In one of those messages Dr. Anderson referenced back to Dave Pedde’s comment on the fact that “God is here.”

He made a good natured joke that he was glad that the music department was becoming aware of the omni-presence of God. He light-heartedly said the Theology department had known that fact for a while. He then turned to a life changing thought that has stayed with me ever since. Although the fact that God is always with us is a reality of the Bible, we are not always, “awake” to His presence. He pointed out that this is why the prophets often needed to encourage the people to, “wake up.”

This truth has reminded me of my job to wake myself up to God’s presence all around. I try to practice the discipline that Dallas Willard did while he was living. When he woke up in the morning, before he even left the bed, he would acknowledge the presence of God. What simple habits do you need to start to wake yourself up to the reality that you are in God’s presence right now?

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WRITING PRAYERFULLY

"Every moment is alive with My glorious Presence, to those whose hearts are intimately connected with Mine. As you give yourself more and more to a life of constant communion with Me, you will find that you simply have no time to worry. Thus, you are freed to let My Spirit direct your steps, enabling you to walk along the path of peace." Sarah Young, Jesus Calling

As we enter into a new year, it is absolutely essential that we learn to walk in God's presence. We need to be intimately connected with Him as we face an unknown future and uncharted waters. We are in a new day with so many stresses and strains in our everyday life, and what God wants from us in the midst of a chaotic world is to walk in His Presence and live from that place of peace. Worry, anxiety, and fear are at an all-time high, but this is not what God wants from us. He wants us to be free from negative emotions so that we let His Spirit direct our steps with confidence and joy.

To help you this year, I want to give you a gift of 11 crafted prayers that will empower you with new joy and breakthrough for what God has in store for you during this new season. CLICK HERE or the title below to receive your gift called:

11 Breakthrough Prayers to Empower Your Life in 2017!

Take time to realize that God will take you farther than you ever dreamed possible if you learn the secret of practicing His presence. What a privilege to become a best friend of God! Have you grasped the reality of what this means?

“Knowing and loving God is our greatest privilege, and being known and loved is God’s greatest pleasure. Rick Warren

Look at the amazing example of Brother Lawrence. He was a humble cook in a seventeenth-century French monastery who was able to turn even a boring job, such as washing dishes, into an act of worship and an opportunity to build his relationship with God. He said:

“The key to friendship with God is not changing what you do, but changing your attitude toward what you do. What you normally do for yourself you begin doing for God, whether it is eating, bathing, working, relaxing, or taking out the trash.”

Following Brother Lawrence’s example, let’s realize that worship should not be so much an event as a perpetual attitude. We read in Psalm 16:11, “You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.”

I once read about a man who said that he wanted to learn to pray all the time in every situation day and night. He wanted to live in constant fellowship with God and moment-by-moment companionship with Jesus. This is a holy ambition and motivated me personally to develop this kind of intimate relationship with God. When we pray, we are speaking to God, and when we meditate on God’s Word, He speaks to us. We need both as we develop our friendship with God. Practicing the presence of God will give us rest and lead us into a more fruitful lifestyle.

But how can we practice God’s presence on a daily basis? Here are two key ways.

How  to Practice God's Presence

“When you think about a problem over and over in your mind, that’s called worry. When you think about God’s Word over and over in your mind, that’s meditation. If you know how to worry, you already know how to meditate! You just need to switch your attention from your problems to Bible verses.” Rick Warren

As you apply the following two ways of practicing God's presence, you will realize in a deeper dimension His companionship with you. As time goes on, it come will become a natural practice in your everyday life, and you will realize afresh that Jesus really is your best friend. You become more aware that He is with you through all the joys and sorrows of daily life. A deeper joy invades your life as you realize that you are learning to abide in Christ.

• Use Breath Prayers - Pray a brief phrase to Jesus throughout the day that you can repeat in one breath. You may want to pray phrases such as, “You will help me,” “You promise to never leave me,” “I can do all things through Christ,” “Your joy is my strength,” “I love You,” and “Help me trust You.” Breath prayers, unlike regular prayers, are short with just a few words that you can quickly pray to God at any time. They will keep you more conscious of your relationship with God on a moment-by-moment basis, and you will walk in less worry and greater peace. 
  
  “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest” (Exodus 33:14).
  
  
• Think About God’s Word. Meditate on God’s Word throughout the day. Focus your thoughts on the Bible. Write down short Bible verses and repeat them often. Think about who God is and what He has done. This takes time to learn, but Scripture offers a promise of God’s prosperity in our lives when we meditate on His Word:
  
  "His delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither.
 Whatever he does prospers (Psalm 1:2-3).

Father, I pray that You will help me to cultivate Your presence in my life. Remove the distractions that keep me from Your presence [Repent of any distractions in your life]. I repent of any pride or personal idols that have taken me away from having you in first place and being completely Yours (Name them one by one - i.e. television  material possessions, food, sports, work, etc.]. Remove the compromise in my life, and set me on fire for You. I want to be a clean vessel, bringing light into the darkness and carrying Your presence wherever I go. I want to come up higher around Your throne and sit with You in heavenly places. 

Help me to worship only You. Take me deeper in my prayer life and in intimacy with You this year. Help me to walk in Your light and holiness. I want to know You more. “Blessed are those who have learned to acclaim you, who walk in the light of your presence, O Lord” (Psalm 89:15). Give me joy in Your presence and help me to bring joy into the lives of others. I want to dwell in Your house and gaze on Your beauty. I want to seek Your face. “One thing I ask of the LORD, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple… Hear my voice when I call, O LORD" (Psalm 27:4, 7a). In Jesus’ name, amen.

“Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”

By Debbie Przybylski

Intercessors Arise International
International House of Prayer Kansas City (IHOPKC)
www.intercessorsarise.org

One of the reasons that people don’t go to a prayer meeting is that they think that it is going to be boring. Even if Christians “should” go to the prayer meeting even if it is boring there are ways to change it so boring is not the first thing that comes to mind when people hear the words, “prayer meeting.”

Reason 1: Lack of expectation that God will meet with us.

From a Bible perspective when we gather for prayer we can be assured that God is, “there in the midst of us.” But often it is the leader’s job to play the role of Elisha with his servant when he prayed, “Open his eyes.” When people expect to meet with God their attitude will be very different. As George Muller used to say, “God has dealt with me according to my expectation.” 

Cure: There are ways to increase people’s expectation of meeting with God. Here are three examples of that. Songs of worship can raise our awareness that we are meeting with God and not going through religious activities. Drawing our attention to Bible passages of God’s power with His people can have the same effect. Finally, along a similar line, stories of powerful prayer meetings from history can increase expectation in the room.

Reason 2: Lack of anticipation of the importance of the meeting.

Many people in our day and age place a high value on time. Things are equated with boring if they are considered a waste of time. I think that is part of the reason that people, especially men, often skip the prayer meeting for other activities. Overcoming this perception can increase the attendance of the prayer meeting.

Cure: One of the ways to help people to see the importance of the prayer meeting is to line up the agenda of the prayer meeting with important items. When the early disciples met for prayer in Acts chapter 4 about the persecution they were facing no one probably questioned the importance of the meeting. And the room was shaken. Maybe make the agenda for your prayer service the Big Hairy Audacious Goals that God has put on your heart for the church. Maybe put signs around the room with pictures of lost people in need of God.

Reason 3: Leaders governed by obligation instead of desperation in calling the meeting.

I was a senior pastor for about nine years before starting this ministry back in 2005. There always seemed like there was more to do than I had time to do it. It is easy with that type of environment to feel like a prayer service is just another item on the list of things to do. If this is how the leader feels it will quickly be felt by everyone else and drain the energy in the room.

Cure: There are two steps to overcoming this challenge. Both are important. First, the leader needs to reconnect with their “why.” This may be as simple as changing the agenda of the prayer meeting like we talked about in the last reason. The second part is to set up the time and structure of the prayer meeting as the leader so that you want to come. Don’t feel obligated to have a morning prayer service if you are a night owl. Maybe to start with a 30 minute prayer service before Sunday morning is better than adding another night to your agenda when you are feeling overwhelmed.

Reason 4: No balance of spontaneity and predictability.

There is nothing wrong with routine in your prayer service. Structure can provide security to people who are new to a prayer meeting. Knowing what is happening next can even help the veterans of the prayer service feel comfortable to focus on prayer. But structure can also create boredom if we are not careful. 

Cure: Hopefully you will see that the first three reasons are foundational to fixing this challenge as well. Let me encourage you as leader to create a simple broad stroke plan with predictable parts, but don’t be afraid to change to follow the moment. Let the components be like your playbook that gives you the comfort to call an audible with confidence. 

Over the history of the church the prayer service has often been the moments that changed the course of churches and countries. May your prayer service be with expectation as you meet with God and do the work of prayer that changes the world. 

We know that most of the believers in the Arabian Peninsula are first generation believers. Islam is so strong here that this is not surprising. However, there is a second generation of believers too! Though very small in number, they do exist. Please pray for them. Pray specifically for the teenage son of one local mother. He became a believer through his mother. She has asked us to pray for his studies, that he would be a good student in school who is disciplined and focused. And also, pray that he would be a faithful witness to Christ to other high students through his life and his words. Pray for protection since persecution is inevitable when other students find out about his faith. Pray that the Lord would bless him and cover him with favor as with a shield (Psalm 5:12).

Also, pray for his mother who feels attacked by the evil one. She is trying to help "Jennifer" whom has been highlighted in our prayer emails the past few months. Now this believer feels that the evil of black magic from Jennifer's life is affecting her. Therefore, she has started fasting. Pray that the Lord would protect this believer from all evil. Continue to pray for Jennifer who is still searching for answers. Pray that the Lord would mightily use this believer to minister effectively to Jennifer.

Recently, a friend of mine spent the weekend with her grandchildren. She told me, “It was shocking to see how fast my four grandchildren are growing up and the challenges they are facing. I am experiencing a lot of heartache over the world they are growing up in and concern over their response to it. Seeing my sweet grandkids living in such a godless culture is heart breaking.” I can identify with those thoughts and I am hearing those thoughts expressed by many grandparents.

Using media, technology, education, social influences, and political pressures to desensitize and cloud the boundaries of truth that holds our families together is launching an aggressive attack. The enemy’s attacks against our families and our nation’s moral foundations are relentless and growing worse with time.

Ask your grandchildren about their friends, their teachers, their activities, what is going on in their world and how they feel about it. Keep an open mind and open ears so you know how to pray for them. If you are alarmed, they may not feel open to share with you. Appreciate their perspective, listen to their opinions.

However, Daniel, the one in the lion’s den for not obeying the king, stood strong for God in a very complicated ungodly culture. Today, we as grandparents can stand in the gap for our grandchildren, praying they will stand strong for God. Just as Esther stood in the gap for her people, the Israelites when their lives were threatened physically, we can stand in the gap for the spiritual lives of our grandchildren.

Suggestions to pray:

• Pray your grandchildren will invite Jesus into their hearts.
• Pray your grandchildren will grow strong in their walk with the Lord.
• Pray your grandchildren will recognize the difference of truth and deception in their culture so they can flee from it.
• Pray your grandchildren will respect authority and pray for those in authority over them, like their parents, teachers, and others.

Our hope for the future generation can only be in the Lord, not in this complex world.

What are you doing to stand in the gap for your grandchildren? Please share in the comments.

If you would like to receive the grandparenting blogs, subscribe for the email updates on the right of this blog. If you subscribe to the grandparenting blogs you will receive a free downloadable document of “31 Scriptures to Pray for your Grandchildren.”

By Lilllian Penner, lpenner@christiangrandparenting.net
Prayer Coordinator, Christian Grandparenting Network

Happy New Year

Happy New Year, Neighbors!

   I pray that you had a wonderful Christmas; that your home was filled with friends and family and that you took the opportunity of the season to share the love and message of Jesus with your “neighbors.”  The cultural calendar holiday makes it an easy conversation – asking people how they celebrate and worship throughout the season and inviting them to celebrate and worship with you.

   As 2017 begins, our thoughts and conversations turn to goals and resolutions for a new year. We should all have a desire to improve and grow every day, but the New Year gives us pause to pray, think, and focus on the purpose of our days and the desires of our hearts. What are some of your goals? How is the Holy Spirit prompting you as you look forward to another year to worship, serve and share the love and message of Jesus with a world searching for hope?

   Jesus always puts a specific word on my heart and mind at the beginning of each year. Jesus weaves this word into areas of growth, discipline and fruit in my life throughout the year – often in many unexpected ways. This word always keeps my eyes and ears focused on Him; what He wants to teach me and where He wants to lead me. How do you stay aware and take care to record Christ’s work in your life every year? Do you keep a journal or jot a few words onto a calendar each day? Are your prayer journals filled with intercession and direction that serve as standing stones of your years? Do you make it a practice to look back in thanks – even at the years that were the hardest or hurt the most?  Christ’s hands and heart get us through those years and tears; thank Him and profess your faith in Him to do it again this year.

   As we step into 2017 we cross over to a year closer to our LOVE2020 goal of EVERY American receiving the loving touch and message of Jesus from a Christ-follower. We must mobilize our prayer-care-share lifestyle and live out the word that Jesus prayed for and expects from His followers – UNITY.

   He created us to love Him and share His love. He commissioned us to that same calling and gave us His millions of like-hearted, like-minded brothers and sisters to help complete the mission and ministry of sharing the salvation message with EVERYONE. We do not compete for church members against other churches, we do not compete for ministry turf – we complete the Great commission TOGETHER. Jesus will bless our obedience to unify and share His love.

   Jesus modeled how we should love God and our neighbors throughout His life on earth. The gospel pages are full of His love, His prayers, and the many ways He cared and shared the message of the Kingdom of heaven. I want to invite you on a “90-day Journey Through the Gospels: Prayer-Care-Share with Jesus” devotional study of the gospels. Simply click the banner on our website and subscribe to the 90-day journey and you will receive a reminder by email or text every day to read a chapter of the gospels and a short prayer-care-share devotional based on that chapter.

   Begin 2017 saturated in the supremacy of Christ. Take courage and let Him wash worry and weariness out of your life. Be filled with His Spirit and follow in His footsteps of sharing love, hope, and grace. I challenge you to share His love and message with all of your “neighbors” by the end of the year 2020.

Love is a verb…let’s get moving!

    Kathy B.          

To begin your “90-day Journey Through the Gospels: Prayer-Care-Share with Jesus” visit at LOVE2020.com.

4 Things To Help You Pray When You Are In Distress

Sometimes in life things do not go as planned. We are trying to serve God and life seems to be going backwards instead of forward. Maybe the wheels seem to be coming off of a close relationship. Maybe we face a sudden health or financial crisis. It may be that we feel like God is calling us to do something and right now it just looks like we are banging our head against the wall.

There is a story in the Bible that might give you some encouragement. We read the story of a person like King David and we forget the journey that he went on to get there. He is anointed as king; so in other words it was God’s plan for him to be king. He kills Goliath and becomes a great warrior. He is friends with the king’s son and marries the king’s daughter.

But then life seems to turn to shambles. The king is trying to kill him. How would you feel if the military of your country was trying to capture you? He is on the run and must leave his close friend and wife behind. Then he gets the idea to go to the Philistines and hide there. Ultimately this would be a good plan, but the first time he goes to the king the only way to get out of there alive is to pretend to be crazy. I think that qualifies as a bad day.

Yet there is encouragement for us in this story. At the time that this is happening David writes Psalm 34 which gives us a backdrop for how to deal with these times in our life. It is even cool because each verse starts with a different letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Now there is way more in this chapter than we can cover here but let me give you 4 things to help you with your prayer life during these times.

Turn your attention to who God is no matter what is happening.

It is easy during times of distress to lose perspective. David begins this psalm with praise to God. Throughout the psalm we are reminded that even in the difficult times of our life God is still in control of the universe. He is still on the throne and worthy of our worship. This will help us adjust our view of our current struggles.

Check your heart for any issues you need to deal with in this moment.

David is not for a moment suggesting that people should blame themselves when they are in distress. Rather he is encouraging people to keep their heart soft and pure in a situation that can easily turn a person bitter. We want to align ourselves with a holy and awesome God in these situations.

Bring your needs to God without reservation.

I love the language this psalm used to describe our prayer to God. “The righteous cry out,” “Seek the Lord” “the poor man cried” is all language of not holding back. When you are in distress that is not the time for religious posturing and pious pretense. David encourages an all out bringing of your brokenness to God.

Trust God to answer your prayer.

One of my favorite parts of this psalm is that God is trustworthy and involved with His people. Such great promises are for those who pour out their heart to God. “He delivered me from all of my fears.” “Taste and see that the Lord is good.” And on and on it goes. When we focus on Him, keep our heart clean and bring our need to God we can trust Him to involve Himself in our situation. Will you go to Him today?