A GOOD WAY TO START PRAYER:
“LORD, WHAT DO THEY NEED THE MOST?”
When I’m scrolling on
Facebook, I try to answer as many requests for prayer as I can. I do pray each
time, but I can do better. How? By asking the Lord every time, what is it they need the most? He knows, and I don’t! I
can speak my personal prayer language
(speaking in or with tongues), but I also like to be able to get detailed specifics
on what to target. Sometimes a person needs a body part repaired, sometimes they
need for me to rebuke the fear. Sometimes prayer is needed for the doctor to
get revelation in the middle of a surgery.
One of the preemie twins (weighing in at just
a little over 4 lbs) was having open heart surgery. The mother of the little
girls asked for prayer. I texted back that I’d pray. Then I went on to check my
other texts, posts, and e-mails.
A few minutes went by, and I caught
myself, “Carolyn, you need to pray NOW!” It’s way too easy these days to go
through e-mails, social network posts, texts, etc. and take the messages in as
mental information without really engaging and DOING something about them. When
it comes to prayer, we need to change
this bad habit.
Prayer is a very powerful force God’s given us.
It gets things done, and we need to take
it seriously. Jesus tells us: “I say unto you, What things soever ye
desire, WHEN ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them” (Mark 11:24). WHEN we pray we are to believe – right then, not later,
not pray and hope there will be an answer, not pray and wish, but focus enough
when we pray – focus on the answer – the end
result. If we ask the Lord what the person needs the most, that gives us
a huge head start! Then when we pray, we know we’re praying for what the Lord
wants most. Then it’s easier to believe for the best results.
Too much praying has been, “If it be your
will.” If we spend time in the Bible, then we won’t have to say “if” all the
time, because we will know what God’s will is.
When we pray for someone, it’s a serious
matter. It means something. It is not casual or frivolous, or just words or
thoughts in the air. According to God’s written word, prayer can heal, get
people delivered from devil spirits,
alter weather conditions and many more things. It’s powerful and effective.
Jane and I prayed about the baby’s heart
surgery. We knew in our spirits as we began to pray, what was most important to
the Lord in the situation. We believed what the Bible says about children being
a blessing (Ps 127:3-5). We also believed in God’s ability to work through the
surgeon’s hands. We knew that the parents were standing in faith for the little
girl to live and grow strong. We knew that the Bible says if two agree in
prayer, God will do it (Matt 18:19). We knew that our main focus in prayer was
that the little girl would live. So, when we prayed together we were persuaded
God would answer – and He did. She went through the surgery with flying colors,
had a speedy recovery and all the tubes were taken out in only a few days.
Prayer works. But every once in a while, we
need a reminder of how we can make our prayers more effective. The next time someone asks for prayer, we stop a minute,
pay attention, ask the Lord for their most important need. And when we get His answer,
(usually the first thing that pops into our minds) we pray and believe.
Let’s make this the most exciting year of
prayer ever.
Love, Carolyn
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