Category: Prayer

A Prayer for Focus

by Innermost Being, posted in Prayer

I am studying Priscilla Shirer’s book Fervent: A Woman’s Battle Plan for Serious, Specific, and Strategic Prayer. Priscilla believes that Satan is behind spiritual struggles and recommends that people of faith write specific prayer strategies to counter Satan’s attacks.

Strategy 2 – Against Your Focus

He [Satan] disguises himself and manipulates your perspective so you end up focusing on the wrong culprit, directing your weapons at the wrong enemy.

Priscilla Shirer

A PRAYER FOR FOCUS

Heavenly Father, before I bring my need, I bring a humble and contrite heart. I fall short of your glory and righteousness. You have shown me what is good, yet I know I am not the person you want me to be.

Lord, I have felt every degree of anger from mild annoyance to irritation to anger and rage. I get annoyed with people who don’t behave the way I think they should. I get angry at people who act selfishly and abuse and oppress others. I have blamed others for my problems and carried the heavy weight of resentment.

Father God, I know that Satan loves to instigate hatred and discord. He loves to see your people fighting and tearing each other down. Surely, he delights when I do not produce the fruit of your Spirit, when I am not patient and kind and gentle and in control of my emotions.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

Galatians 5:22-23

Father God, I pray that in my anger, I will not give the devil a foothold. Rid me of all bitterness, rage and anger, insults and slander, and every form of unkindness and ill will. Help me to be kind and compassionate to everyone, forgiving others, just as you forgave me. May my words be wholesome, helpful and uplifting.1

Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.2

Father, thank you for all that is good and delightful and beautiful in this world. I pray that your kingdom will come and your will be done on this earth as it is in heaven.

Amen

*****

1. See Ephesians 4:26-32

2. Psalm 51:10 (ESV)

A Prayer for Renewed Passion

by Innermost Being, posted in Prayer

Priscilla Shirer, author of Fervent: A Woman’s Battle Plan for Serious, Specific, and Strategic Prayer, believes that Satan strategically attacks people of faith. In Fervent, Priscilla recommends that we write specific prayer strategies to counter Satan’s attacks. While I attribute spiritual struggles to my own weaknesses, I see the value in praying strategically.

Strategy 1 – Against Your Passion (“the fuel in the engine of your purpose”)

He [Satan] seeks to dim your whole desire for prayer, dull your interest in spiritual things, and downplay the potency of your most strategic weapons.

Priscilla Shirer

*****

A PRAYER FOR RENEWED PASSION

Heavenly Father,

Before I bring my need, I will bring my heart. I want to know You. I want to find You – in every season, in every moment. More than anything I want, I want You first.1

Lord Jesus, I confess that sometimes I am so dismayed, so discouraged by the ugliness of this world, that I don’t want to expend energy on spiritual matters.

Lord, I know that Your power is made perfect in my weakness. In my weak moments, in my bleak moments, remind me that You are with me. In every season, in every moment, You are my God. You will strengthen me and help me. You will uphold me with Your righteous right hand (Isaiah 41:10).

Lord Jesus, You gave me my passion for truth and justice and love and mercy. You gave me my purpose in life – to love You with all my heart, mind, soul and spirit and to love others as You first love me. You are the reason for my joy. You are the reason for my hope. I hunger and thirst for your righteousness. Thank you for loving me despite my weaknesses. Thank you for giving your life for me.

Father God, when I am dismayed, when I lose my passion, renew a steadfast spirit within me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit (Psalm 51:10-12).

Amen

*****

Photo by Ben White on Unsplash

  1. Lauren Daigle’s song First reminds me to seek God first before I bring my needs

Praying Strategically

by Innermost Being, posted in Prayer

A few weeks ago, I began to study the book Fervent: A Woman’s Battle Plan for Serious, Specific, and Strategic Prayer, by Priscilla Shirer. Priscilla writes that prayer is “a key part of your offensive weaponry against a cunning foe who prowls around and watches for your weakness, your vulnerable places, for any opportunity to destroy you.” The purpose of her book is to develop specific prayer strategies to counteract Satan’s attempts to discourage believers from praying.

The Powers of Darkness

Priscilla believes that most people either overestimate or underestimate Satan’s influence and power. As a result, they either experience undue fear of Satan or they are unaware of his schemes and are open to every attack.

I have never been one to say “the devil made me do it.” I tend to attribute spiritual struggles to my sinful nature or to weaknesses of my character. Having said that, I do believe that Satan is real and that his dark powers are actively working in this world. Jesus said that the devil is the father of lies (Luke 8:44). The apostle Paul wrote that our struggle is not against people but against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil.

Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 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.

Ephesians 6:11-12

I have always felt safe from Satan because I belong to God. Satan cannot destroy me! But have I been underestimating Satan’s power to manipulate me? Priscilla asked a probing question:

When you can’t seem to respond to spiritual stimuli with the same optimism and obedience as you once did, why do you think it could only be attributable to your bad character?

Priscilla Shirer

When I get discouraged by the brokenness of this world, when I lose my spiritual zeal, is it because I am too lazy or too easily distracted? Or does Satan know exactly how to curb my enthusiasm, how to silence my voice?

The Power of Prayer

While I continue to wrestle with the question of whether I am vulnerable to the machinations of Satan, I believe in the power of prayer. God moves in mysterious ways – through the Spirit who helps us in our weakness. I don’t always know what I ought to pray for. The Spirit may nudge me to pray for a specific person. The Spirit may nudge me to pray for a cause. The Spirit may nudge me to pray for courage or wisdom or guidance. The Spirit puts the right concerns on my heart at the right time.

In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.

Romans 8:26-26 (NIV)

In my last post, I shared how I had been questioning whether I was praying too much about my worries. Yet I knew that the concerns on my heart are in line with God’s will. Priscilla wrote something that I needed to hear:

When you bring your concerns and fears and irritations to the Lord in prayer, you’re aligning your weakling spirit with the full force of God’s Holy Spirit.

Priscilla Shirer

Priscilla also shared some wisdom from her grandmother. Her grandmother wrote her prayer requests in a spiral notebook and prayed over them every morning. When Priscilla asked her why she wrote her prayers in her notebook, she said, “So I won’t forget.”

Write it down so you won’t forget.

Make a daily appointment to pray.

Pray with all kinds of prayers and requests (Ephesians 6:18).

Keep on praying.

Take it to the Lord

by Innermost Being, posted in Prayer

One Sunday, my pastor said something to the effect that he spends a lot of his time in prayer telling God about his worries. I know the feeling. As soon as my head hits the pillow, I briefly give thanks and then start unloading my worries about the distressing things I hear in the news. I pray for people who are being deceived. I pray for justice. I pray that the wicked will be held to account. Night after night, I pray about my worries.

My pastor’s comment gave me pause. Should I unload my worries on God when I know that I should not be anxious about anything?

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4:6-7

Sometimes when I pray about my worries, it sounds as if I am ‘splainin’ to God all the terrible things that are happening in this world. Why do I feel the need to tell God what He already knows? He knows there is injustice. He knows the wicked are getting away with corruption and deception. He knows people are suffering. He knows people are hurting. He knows, He knows. 

He knows
He knows
Every hurt and every sting
He has walked the suffering
He knows
He knows
Let your burdens come undone
Lift your eyes up to the one
Who knows
He knows
-- Jeremy Camp

Thankfully, we don’t have to carry our burdens alone. When we pray about the things that trouble us, we take our worries exactly where we should – to the Lord. Jesus wants to lighten our burdens. He wants to bring us peace.

What A Friend We Have In Jesus

What a friend we have in Jesus
All our sins and griefs to bear
And what a privilege to carry
Everything to God in prayer

Oh, what peace we often forfeit
Oh, what needless pain we bear
All because we do not carry
Everything to God in prayer

Have we trials and temptations?
Is there trouble anywhere?
We should never be discouraged
Take it to the Lord in prayer

Can we find a friend so faithful
Who will all our sorrows share?
Jesus knows our every weakness
Take it to the Lord in prayer

Truly it is a privilege to have a faithful friend like Jesus. We can take everything to the Lord in prayer – all our sorrows, worries, struggles – everything.

Lord Jesus, thank you for bearing the weight of my sins, for sharing the burden of my daily struggles, and for giving me the peace that surpasses all understanding. You know my every weakness and I confess that I need to be more disciplined about prayer. There is trouble everywhere.

****

Photo by Ben White on Unsplash

A prayer for discomfort

by Innermost Being, posted in Prayer

I’ve been feeling uncomfortable with myself lately because I am too comfortable. When people were going back to work and businesses were reopening, I stopped thinking about the pandemic everyday. I had adjusted to my new normal. I work from home five days a week in my quiet little corner office. My husband and I have been able to hike or run outside and enjoy the peacefulness and beauty of nature. I’ve even been able to go back to church wearing a mask.

Outside my bubble, people are still getting sick, people are still dying, people are still unemployed, people are still struggling financially. Doctors and nurses are still working really hard and risking their own health to save lives. Teachers and parents are worried about the safety of returning to school. People are still denying the deadliness of this disease and resisting efforts to slow the spread of the virus.

Also outside my bubble, there have been racial protests across the country and ongoing discussions of the uncomfortable reality of systemic racism and injustice. I read about white fragility to better understand how and why whites deny and perpetuate racism. I admit that I am privileged by my whiteness. That makes me uncomfortable. It is also uncomfortable to admit that I have been ignorant about the suffering and struggles of people of color. I have a heart for justice and would like to make a difference. But how? For me, it starts with facing the discomfort of the complicity of silence.

While I grapple with my feelings of discomfort, my church has been studying the life of Moses. One week, the pastor spoke about all the excuses Moses made about why he was not the right person to speak to Pharaoh. Who am I that you would send me? What will I tell them if they ask me ‘what is his name?’ What if they don’t believe me and won’t listen? But I’ve never been eloquent. I am slow of speech and tongue.

I am inspired by Moses because I can relate to his reluctance to speak. As an introvert, I am also slow of speech and tongue. It takes too long to formulate my thoughts into words. I worry about how people will respond to me. Will they even listen? Speaking out about uncomfortable topics takes courage. Speaking out means I have to get out of my comfort zone.

Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.

Joshua 1:9

As much as I dislike being uncomfortable, I pray for discomfort. I want my heart to break for the things that break the heart of Jesus.

I have struggled to find the words to express what I’ve been feeling. A few weeks ago, I saw an unattributed prayer on Facebook that was called a Franciscan blessing. A blogger said that this prayer was written by a nun, Sister Ruth Marlene Fox. Her words beautifully express my internal struggle and reframe the struggle as a blessing.

A Non-traditional Blessing

May God bless you with a restless discomfort
about easy answers, half-truths, and superficial relationships, so that you may seek truth boldly and love deep within your heart.

May God bless you with holy anger
at injustice, oppression, and exploitation of people, so that you may tirelessly work for justice, freedom, and peace among all people.

May God bless you with the gift of tears
to shed for those who suffer from pain, rejection, starvation, or the loss of all that they cherish, so that you may reach out your hand to comfort them and transform their pain into joy.

May God bless you with enough foolishness
to believe that you really can make a difference in this world, so that you are able, with God’s grace, to do what others claim cannot be done.

I have been blessed with a restless discomfort. I want to seek truth boldly and to love others deeply even if it is painful. I want to work for justice and equality for those who have been oppressed and exploited. I want to comfort those who suffer and to transform their pain into hope and joy. And yes, it may seem foolish to think that my words can make a difference in this world, but with God’s grace and guidance, they can.