DAY 25 - CHECK YOUR BAGS AT THE CURB
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Day 25 - starts at sundown Thursday
This evening will be our last prayer gathering before our trip to the Blue Earth next Wednesday evening at 5:06 pm. We have 6 more days.
Yesterday on Day 24 Don mentioned one of the guiding Scriptures for this group and I wanted to remind us here, of the second guiding Scripture ...
"We don't know what we should pray for as we ought..."Isn't that comforting? It should be!
Because, if we agree with this first half of this verse, then we will not attempt to depend on our ability to figure it out, instead we will turn to the Lord immediately.
and the second half is a promise it goes on to say...
The Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groaning(s) that cannot be put into words...Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God. Romans 8:26"
If it is true, that we do not know what we should pray for, then how do we ever get started?
I am so glad you asked... and so is God!
Henry Blackaby in his book Experiencing God says;
Henry Blackaby in his book Experiencing God says;
"Don't just do something! Stand there!"
We have used this guiding verse in Romans 8 to keep us from coming into a time of intercession with our own to-do list in tow.
We purposely set aside significant time to play worship music and soak in the presence of the Lord, we practice giving ourselves to Him during the first 30-45 minutes of our prayer gatherings.
We purposely set aside significant time to play worship music and soak in the presence of the Lord, we practice giving ourselves to Him during the first 30-45 minutes of our prayer gatherings.
We even have a saying that we have used to help people, drop the cares of the world, when we see that they brought them in with them, to the place of intercession.
Check all your baggage at the curb!
Coming to prayer should be like arriving at the airport. Drop all your baggage into capable hands, at the curb... enter his gates with thanksgiving, enter his courts with praise, ...and get on board (with the Spirit) we are ready to take off. He is helping us in our weaknesses...
As ambassadors of Christ - II Corinthians 5
We need to be free of the constraints and encumbrances of the world, think of it as exercising diplomatic immunity.
Waiting on the Lord is critical. Why?
"Because we don't know what to pray for! "
So why pretend that we know what to pray for?
Imagine boarding a commercial jet to go somewhere and as you pass the cockpit you notice the pilot's seat is empty. How foolish would it be to take the pilot's seat and attempt to start the plane and take off down the runway, without knowing how to fly a plane, where we are going, or even how to get there. Wouldn't it be far better to wait for a few minutes until the one who knows where we are going and how to get us there safely, comes to take over?
Our job is to give ourselves to the Lord for intercession, his job is to take us where we need to go.
So we get started simply by giving ourselves...
but if our heart and mind are still captivated by the cares of the world, the deceitfulness of riches, or the desire for other things, it will choke out His word and make it unfruitful in our lives.
We will have a hard time giving ourselves to listen.
We will struggle to hear what the Lord is saying.
And without hearing what He is saying, we will not really be praying at all! Because Prayer is a two way conversation.
but if our heart and mind are still captivated by the cares of the world, the deceitfulness of riches, or the desire for other things, it will choke out His word and make it unfruitful in our lives.
We will have a hard time giving ourselves to listen.
We will struggle to hear what the Lord is saying.
And without hearing what He is saying, we will not really be praying at all! Because Prayer is a two way conversation.
Ask the Lord right now to take you into His presence
Stop any effort to do anything, Just look toward Him.
Stop any effort to do anything, Just look toward Him.
Ask Him what is on His heart right now?
then wait, quietly, patiently.
Has He not heard you?
Is He not able to speak?
Then wait... not anxiously but with expectation, then wait some more.
In his time, He will guide you with his eyes. His eyes are watching constantly, they search to and fro all over the whole earth. The truth is He can direct you to pray for anything on the earth, once you are looking to him.
He may show you a picture of what he is seeing, or
He may bring a Scripture to mind and you will see how it applies to something specific.
The directions may seem simple at first, but obedience puts a honed edge on hearing God and disobedience dulls that edge.
become as a little child...Stop trying to prove that you already know what to pray for, after all...
"We don't know what we should pray for as we ought..."
God said so and He cannot lie.
The greatest joy comes from finding out after spending time in this kind of prayer that you have been partnering with Daddy God, covering things on the earth as he reveals them to you.
Thank you for this blog. It is good to read some 'instructions' for prayer... I feel that this is truth. Not our own wishlist (no matter how much of this list is for others that you want to pray for), but just seeking His presence. Thanks for the a.s.a.p. This will help me remind. Let Gods light shine bright trough us when we give up our lives in His hands! Blessings out of the Netherlands on DAY 25 - CHECK YOUR BAGGAGE AT THE CURB
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