Intentional prayer. Explosive power
Posted by Donnie Crawford on Tuesday, July 8, 2014 Under: Teaching
Pray Up Cybercafe
Intentional prayer. Explosive power
Intentional - Done on purpose. Deliberate. Done in a way that is planned or intended.Synonyms - deliberate, calculated, conscious, intended, planned, meant, studied, knowing. willful, purposeful.
Praying intentionally can be learned from the bible and the prayer of a man named Nehemiah.
If you will, turn in your bible to Nehemiah chapter 1 please. Take a minute to read his prayer starting in verse 4.
As you read Nehemiah's prayer, you can feel the tenderness of his heart, the brokenness he feels for his country and the fact that he's preparing himself for action.
Nehemiah's first response is to take action by falling to his knees with his heart open to what God desires him to do.
How often do we find ourselves taking action with an open heart to God's will?
His second response was to focus on others instead of himself. He hurt for his people and prayed for them.
How often do we find ourselves asking, "What can I do, God?" Shouldn't we be looking toward the benefit of others and praying for them?
His third response was to take responsibility. He says, "We have sinned against you, God. It's our fault we're in this mess we're in."
How often do we find ourselves blaming or asking why instead of accepting responsibility? It's a huge thing to be able to go to God in prayer and take responsibility for how we got to where we are.
His forth response was to focus on a promise instead of the pain. He didn't tell God how bad things were, but instead he spoke of the promise God had given him and his people. He rested on God's promise.
How often do we find ourselves in prayer telling God how bad things are or are getting? When we really should be stating and standing on the promises we have been given by God.
Finally brothers and sisters, we see Nehemiah found joy because his first response was to go to God. When he came up from his knees, he was joyful because he knew God was going to complete a work.
How often do we find ourselves getting up off our knees and finding joy in the fact that our first thought was to go to God? Joy that our first thought was God?
Nehemiah prayed intentionally and he saw the exposive power of God. Intentional prayer will always bring explosive power because we find ourselves in the will of God. We find ourselves doing what God would have us to do and we find ourselves right were God wants us, right by His side.
These are five things that one needs to focus on when one is praying intentionally and expecting something explosive to happen.
1. Take action in prayer with a heart open to God
2. Look to benifit others
3. Take responsibility
4. Focus on a promise
5. Respond with Joy
Here at Pray Up Cybercafe we pray intentionally and we know the answer from God is going to be explosively powerful.
We are helping one another, One prayer at a time.
Pray Up Cybercafe
In : Teaching
Tags: intentional prayer explosive power