The Lord of prayer

The Holy Spirit must be Lord of our praying if we want God to move in our lives and in the lives of others.

Wesley Duewel, author of Mighty Prevailing Prayer, says that without the Spirit filling us, we will pray weakly.

Duewel echoes many other writers and Christian leaders over the ages when he says we must surrender command of our lives to God and seek regular filling of the Spirit if we are to pray with power.

He notes that the Spirit draws us to pray.  Because of the Spirit within us, we are sometimes prompted to pray for people out of the blue, without knowing what the problem is.  Often, we find out that we have prayed at a critical moment in a friend's life.

The Holy Spirit also teaches us to pray.  He shows us what to pray for as we spend time with God.

"The Holy Spirit teaches you the love of prayer, the wise and appropriate content of prayer, and how to pray in the Spirit."

Duewel says that Spirit-filled people realize when they are praying for their own desires and not God's. "There comes an inner hesitation, a gentle restraint of the Spirit."

"As you delight yourself in the Lord, you begin to understand more and more clearly what pleases the Lord and what is his will.  The Holy Spirit, your loving teacher, will help you to know God's will, rejoice in God's will, and pray for his will."

The Holy Spirit plants within us his own love for people, his concern for them.  This becomes our burden of prayer.  We want to pray for these people.

"You can love, by your prayer, people who avoid or resist you.  You can love people anywhere in the world by your prayer."

Of course, the Spirit also gives us prayer power.

"Ask God to place his prayer burdens on your heart," Duewel says.  "He has specific prayer assignments for you."

As well, the Spirit "multiplies" our faith - grows our faith.

"He multiplies faith by giving you a new revelation of the greatness and power of God, by giving you a vision of how God longs to act on your behalf, and by impressing on your heart particular promises of God."

What an incentive to seek more of God through the Holy Spirit!

Praying like Jesus

Jesus is the ultimate intercessor - our example in how to pray for others.

The disciples were impressed so much by his prayer life that they asked him to teach them how to pray.

Dick Eastman, author of Love On Its Knees, says that intercessors need the "clarity of vision" that Jesus had - he was on earth to do the Father's business.

"Our eyes must focus on those issues that are closest to the heart of God," writes Eastman.

"Who specifically has God asked me to pray for today?  What nations or groups will be touched by my time with God today?"

As intercessors, we must believe in victory as we pray the way Christ prays for us.  We must persist in praying the way Christ prayed for people while he was on earth.

We must also have clear goals, Eastman says, just as the apostle Paul said in 1 Corinthians 9:26: "I run with a clear goal before me."  We must ask ourselves what Jesus' priorities are.

Eastman, a noted prayer warrior and missions leader, suggests several priorities we should keep in mind:

• Jesus was committed to suffering in order to reach his objective - bringing many into the kingdom of God.  We intercessors must be prepared to weep with those who weep and bear the weight of praying for others;
• Jesus was committed to carrying out his duties for the Father.  At the very top of his duties was the redemption of mankind - and evangelization should be high on our list, too;
• Christ was bent on mission - reaching people everywhere with the good news.  Praying for missionaries at home and abroad is vital;
• Jesus refused to give up despite many obstacles and threats.  We, too, must be prepared to endure in prayer, no matter what;
• Jesus cared about people.  Like Jesus, we must desire to be with others - and to reach out to others with the good news;
• Jesus was ready to sacrifice himself for us.  We must be ready to sacrifice ourselves for others in prayer;
• Jesus seized opportunities to reach out to others every day.  So must we as we pray for others daily; and
• Jesus never ceased his labours until his death on the cross - and he continues to intercede before the Father in heaven.  We also must continue interceding for people to come to the Lord - until our task is done.

As I review these points in Eastman's book, I realize how far short of the mark I am as an intercessor.  Where is the intensity that Jesus had?  Where is the sacrifice?  Where is the conviction and commitment?

And yet that is where Jesus drew his strength and power as he communed with the Father.  May it be mine - and yours - too.

Passionate prayer

Wesley Duewel says passionate intercessory prayer "is the highest, holiest and mightiest effort of which a child of God is capable".

"It is God's chosen way to bring heaven's power, heaven's resources, and heaven's angels into action on earth," Duewel says in his book Mighty Prevailing Prayer.

Duewel is not talking here of a perfunctory prayer rising no higher than the ceiling.  He is calling on us to pray with determination for others and for the advancement of God's kingdom on earth.

"Prevailing prayer", as he calls it, is the way God carries out his plan for our world before Christ returns.

Indeed, the former missionary and author says that "God seeks people to prevail in prayer."

"God's cause creeps forward timidly and slowly when there are more organizers than agonizers, more workers than prevailing prayer warriors."

We know that Jesus is interceding for us in heaven (Hebrews 7:25), Duewel notes.  And so is the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:26).

Duewel says the Holy Spirit also is "responsible for involving you and enabling you to be a partner in God's strategy of intercession."

That may take a while to sink in.  God is recruiting us to work with him.  There is no higher calling than that.

I'm excited as I read Duewel's words.  Prayer is more than mouthing a few conventional phrases at mealtime.

Praying is as important in the spiritual world as leading an army in wartime. It can have a major impact on God's work to push back Satan's empire and expand God's kingdom on earth.

There are some familiar examples of prevailing prayer in the Bible.  One is Abraham's conversation with God before the destruction of Sodom in Genesis 18 and 19.  God eventually destroyed Sodom but not before agreeing to Abraham's plea to spare the city if sufficient righteous men were found there.  Unfortunately for Sodom, there weren't.  Yet God did agree to save Abraham's nephew Lot.

Another is Moses pleading with God not to destroy the rebellious Israelites after they produced and worshiped a golden calf as their new god (Exodus 32).  God agreed although he struck many down first.

In Acts 4, the young church in Jerusalem is faced with severe persecution and the believers react by calling on God to help them preach the gospel boldly.  God gives them the power they requested and the church grows.

It is an inspiring thought: We are warriors for God - taking enemy ground - when we pray.

Practice waiting

Waiting is a fine quality for prayer warriors.

That's because God moves according to his schedule - not ours.

I have noticed that prayer requests I made several years ago are being answered now.  It is an encouragement to me to see that God was active when it seemed he had forgotten my requests.

"If we are to cultivate a living, vibrant relationship with God, we must learn to wait," writes Lynne Hammond in her book The Master is Calling.

Hammond has noticed that some people who pray miss God's guidance and direction in their lives because they feel they have to do something the moment they pray.  They do not have the skill of waiting.

"They don't understand that sometimes God doesn't want us to do, he just wants us to be."

She says that there are times God "just wants us to get comfortable in his presence".  In those times, we are aware of our great need for him and his promise to fill us with his love.

"Wonderful things happen during those quiet times," Hammond writes.  "God moves on our hearts."

She notes that God works as we wait in faith, quoting Isaiah 64:4: "For since the world began, no ear has heard and no eye has seen a God like you, who works for those who wait for him."

God strengthens us as we wait in his presence. 

Hammond says she was preparing a talk for church that evening, but her daughter asked her to accompany her to the shopping mall to buy something for school the next day.  She dropped her plans, went to the mall, found a seat and closed her eyes and immediately entered the presence of God.  She received the strength she needed for the evening meeting.

God also drops thoughts into our minds as we wait.  Someone I know spends time every morning just basking in God's presence.  Later in the day, he receives nudges from God that help him deal with problems and concerns on his mind.

Hammond acknowledges that it isn't easy to learn to wait in God's presence. But the benefits are great. 

As the prophet Isaiah said: "You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you." (Isaiah 26:3)

Waiting is worth practicing.