Prayer – Do we actually follow through?

Let me ask you this question:

When someone asks for prayer, do you really take the time and energy to go to the Throne of Heaven and pray on their behalf?  

This is probably the biggest pet peeve I have within the Christian community at large:  They don’t follow through when they say "I'll pray for you". (I'm speaking to myself as well.)

Christians are supposed to be known for their prayers.  We ask for prayer in our small groups, in Sunday School, in the worship service, with our close friends and even on social media.  Did you know that perhaps only 1 in 20 people who say they will pray for you, actually do just that- pray.  I don’t mean the prayer of: “Oh Lord, please bless – so and so – as they are in need.”  Or “Lord, we don’t know how to pray, so just bless – so and so”.

I know that we have learned some bad habits over the years, even decades with regards to prayer.We tend to take prayer for granted. I’d like for us to get rid of those bad habits and be able to truly come before the Lord of Hosts as one of His children - setting aside time just to pray for that person(s) that asked and go before the Throne of Grace on their behalf. You know, Just Do It!

Think about it, in our family, we ask each other for things. We tend to watch out for each other. We care deeply (usually) for each other, so that when something is awry we can help out in some way. We praise each other. We thank each other.  It should be the same in the “Family of God”, and even more because we have that Power of prayer as an access point to the Father.

James 5:16 NIV

Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.

1 Peter 3:12 NIV

For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer, but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”

Let me just encourage you to follow through on what you say you will do.  If a person is requesting you join with them and pray for “whatever”, and you say you will pray for them, then - PRAY for them.

Take the time and energy to go before the God of Heaven, who gave us breath and life, to pray for that brother or sister in Christ.  You know what will happen?  Not only does the person who asked for the prayer get blessed, but your relationship with the Father grows deeper and more intimate. That is just an added bonus!

You don’t have to be a “Super Pray-er/ Intercessor” to pray for someone.  Just take the time to sit before the Father. Talk with Him as you would a friend or your earthly parents. It’s a conversation – and a two way one at that! He doesn’t need to hear all the mumbo-jumbo of religious talk.  He wants to hear your heart. If you pray for someone, it should come from your heart. Then, quietly listen for His answer. He will answer, if we allow Him to. 

It just takes a little follow through.

Believer’s Prayer

There are quite a few "stock" prayers that believers use in their lives. You know, the “Hail Mary” that the Catholic Church uses, the Serenity Prayer and "The Lord's Prayer" to name a few that  Christians use in different times of their lives.  Did you know that there are quite a few different prayers in the Bible, besides the Lord's Prayer?  I'm sure you know this.  But one struck me to my core. It is in the book of Acts.

Sovereign Lord, you made the heaven and the earth and the sea, and everything in them. 

You spoke by the Holy Spirit through the mouth of your servant, our Father David:

Why do the nations rage and the people plot in vain?

The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers gather together

against the Lord and against his Anointed One.

Indeed Herod and Pontius Pilate met together with the Gentiles and

the people of Israel in this city to conspire against your holy servant Jesus, 

whom you anointed. They did what your power and will had decided beforehand 

should happen. Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to  

speak your word with great boldness. Stretch out your hand to heal and perform

 miraculous signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus.   Acts 4:24-30

Let's look at this for a moment.  They begin by acknowledging that God is Sovereign.

Sovereign (noun)

1. a monarch; a king, queen, or other supreme ruler.

2. a person who has supreme power or authority.

The believers acknowledged his authority as supreme power.  He "made" or created the heavens, earth and the seas and all that is in them. 

Then they pray: 
"You spoke by the Holy Spirit through the mouth of your servant, our Father David..."

The Holy Spirit spoke through the mouth of King David!  Yes, that is Old Testament. Yet, it seems the Holy Spirit was at work even then.  Remember, David was “a man after God’s own heart”.  He was the one that God anointed to be King of Israel after Saul.

Why do the nations rage and the people plot in vain?

The kings of the earth take their stand

and the rulers gather together

against the Lord and against his Anointed One.

Here David was speaking of himself, but apparently the believers took it to a different level and attributed this to the Lord Jesus, as the “Anointed One”, which He was.  The prayer continues to talk about the government leaders, unbelievers and the religious leaders of the day that had plotted against Jesus to crucify him on the cross, which was part of the plan that he and Jesus had talked about beforehand. God knew and Jesus knew what needed to happen in order for creation to be bought back from Satan.

These believers have acknowledged who God is, what He has done and now they ask:

Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable

your servants to speak your word with great boldness.

Stretch out your hand to heal and perform miraculous

signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus. 

This prayer excites me to my core!  In the midst of persecution by government officials, unbelievers and even the religious folks, they pray a prodigal prayer with such energy.  They want this! In spite of “all odds against them”, they want to do what Jesus did and more.
I have prayed this prayer. I changed it a bit with regards to government officials, etc. to make it relevant to my world today.  This is one powerful prayer, if you want to spread the good news of Jesus Christ. You go in His name, with His authority because He said that we would do signs, wonders and the miraculous. If we want the world to change and for those around us to know Jesus, we must pray this prayer!

 Then we can show the world who Jesus is.

He is God.

He is Power.

He is Love.

The World Lost a Laughing Genie

The entertainment world lost a very talented man on August 11, 2014.  He was only 5 years older than me.  I remember watching the TV show, Mork and Mindy and thinking, this guy is NUTS!  He was crazy, crazy good.  I mourned when that show went off the air.  It was so entertaining and he was so fascinating.

Then, we saw him in movies. Movies with heart and soul. “Good Morning, Vietnam!”, “Garp”, Dead Poet’s Society”, “Mrs. Doubtfire”, “Hook”, “Good Will Hunting”, “Alladin” and many, many more.  I could be transfixed with a character that he played so beautifully that I’d forget where I was. He made me laugh until I had tears rolling down my face and cry just as hard. 

In so many of the characters he played, he gave to us a glimpse from the very depths of his soul.

This man, who had struggled for years with depression, succumbed to it.  This makes me angry.  Depression is not the person’s fault.  It is not necessarily societies fault.  It can be caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain and it can be caused by demons or both.   Either way, it is heart wrenching.

My own husband suffers with depression.  I have found that prayer helps. Actually, prayer helps him more often than not.  We’ve had breakthroughs oft and on in this journey.  I celebrate the breakthroughs and war on when standing before God on behalf of my sweet husband while the enemy attacks.  To be honest, those are hard battles.  The enemy loves to whisper in the subconscious of the one suffering.  The spirit of depression is subtle. It can go in hiding for a while, then BAM! It will strike when no one is looking. 

I quit my job last year because I didn’t want to leave my husband alone.  He cried a lot.  He had been out of work for two years prior and he was emotionally beaten down.  He wanted to work. He wanted to participate in our income.  He finally got a job April 2013. We saw that it was straight from God. It was amazing.  However, he still cried every morning before going to work.  I cried after he left as I prayed for healing for him.  In the 14 months since that time, there were emotional breakthroughs.  I have such a wonderful prayer support group. We keep kept pounding the courts of heaven on behalf of my husband.  He’s worth it. He’s a child of the Almighty God.

My husband was laid off again the end of June this year, 2014.  He was handling the layoff quite well.  I was skeptical, so I kept praying a hedge of protection over his mind and thoughts.  He’s done alright.  Once the job rejections began again, his self-worth started to deteriorate and the whispers of the enemy began once again. How could I tell?  Because of the type of statements he would say that weren’t from himself. 

I have rebuked the spirit of depression more times than I’d like to say here.  I’m still in a battle for my husband. I will not quit.  I may be fatigued and a bit worn, but I have a loving Heavenly Father that loves me and my husband.  He is giving me the strength and hope that I need each day.  I have a wonderful group of Praying Warriors that I know I can count on for support. You can’t deal with it by yourself. After a while, one gets to feeling isolated, so the support I have is wonderful.

I only wonder, if Robin Williams had had a support system that would have prayed and contended for him in the courts of Heaven what would have happened.  God loves Robin. I know in my heart that God is saddened that Robin felt he couldn’t keep going.  God created him for a purpose; a purpose higher than what we could even imagine.  To make people laugh.  He gave Robin the gift to make us laugh. I thank you Robin for using that gift. I will celebrate your life and the purpose God gave you. 
Nanu, Nanu.