Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Compelled to Pray

Friends,


I am so excited right now about what God is doing in my church, in my life, and in the lives of people all around me. I feel like more than anything else today, God is calling us to pray- to truly seek Him and let Him know that we're open and ready to answer His call. He wants to reveal things to us, but first He wants to make sure that we're ready to respond. He wants surrender and willingness to move in step with His Spirit in our lives.


 I am inviting you to spend whatever time you can today in focused prayer. Here are some prayer points to consider:



  • Pray for an awakening in our churches- that people would authentically respond to God with their entire lives, but also by displaying outward expressions of worship when we meet corporately. That they would be able to release what is holding them back and embrace the freedom that only Jesus can give.  "Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom." 2 Cor. 3:17
  • Pray for our church leaders- that God would really stir their hearts this week for the people He has entrusted to them and also that they would be driven to their knees in prayer for the lost people of their communities. Ask God to empower them to fulfill His kingdom work in our communities- that they would truly understand and use their gifts, talents, and abilities to lead us toward Him confidently ."As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace: whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ.To Him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen." 1 Peter 4:10-11
  • Pray about your own heart. What kind of shape is it in today? Are you feeling whole? Are you feeling broken? What sins or offenses are interfering with your relationship with God? Repent and ask God to fill you with His love. He wants you to be free from your past and open to what He is doing in the present and in the future. Distractions abound, but so does His grace and His ability to free you.  The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed,"  Luke 4:18
  • Pray for an outpouring of God's power on our entire world. It's a huge request, but we have a huge God! Pray that our generation would truly rise up and be concerned about justice and mercy in our world. So much of who we are and what we do is about our own needs, our own concerns, our own families. There is an entire world that is hurting and in need of God's love and mercy. We are the ones who carry His name, love, and mercy to the waiting world. Ask Him to equip you and to begin to show you ways that you can participate in the global calling of the church. I know for me, God has really been speaking to my heart about the millions of orphans around the world. Whether He wants me to support this cause financially, with prayer, or by actually adopting, I do not know, but I'm open and asking Him to show me what He wants. I invite you to do the same. “Thus says the LORD of hosts, Render true judgments, show kindness and mercy to one another,do not oppress the widow, the fatherless, the sojourner, or the poor, and let none of you devise evil against another in your heart.” Zechariah 7:9-10
The neediness of our own hearts and in the world around us is almost overwhelming to consider, but we have to remember that the God we serve is so great, so mighty, and so in charge, that nothing is too big or too impossible for Him. What He wants is willing people to do His work and though He does not need our prayers to do what He needs to do, I think He wants them- He wants to know that we're in step with His ways and work before He entrusts such important work to us. We've got to feel what He feels, love what He loves, and do what He does if we are going to make a difference. Let's seek Him today and see what He will reveal.


Make me to know your ways, O LORD; teach me your paths. Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all the day long.Remember your mercy, O LORD, and your steadfast love, for they have been from of old.Remember not the sins of my youth or my transgressions; according to your steadfast love remember me, for the sake of your goodness, O LORD!Good and upright is the LORD; therefore he instructs sinners in the way. He leads the humble in what is right, and teaches the humble his way.All the paths of the LORD are steadfast love and faithfulness, for those who keep his covenant and his testimonies.
Psalm 25:4-10




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