Power-Packed
Prayers God Always Answers!.
You are hurting, aren’t you?
You are stressed. I know I am. How do you know you are
worried and stressed?
42% of Americans experience these stress symptoms: anger, irritability, depression,
headaches, upset stomachs, poor eating habits or insomnia.
We all need God to intervene!
Jesus assures us that we can cast our cares upon Him. Why don’t we experience His presence and peace?
19th century pastor Charles Jefferson wrote, “Be kind to everyone you meet,
because everyone is fighting a battle.” Satan often taunts us with fear of uncertain futures or guilt and
grief from our pasts.
Where is God? I need Him to show up. And so do you!
Worshipful prayers don’t hit the ceiling, unnoticed by
God. Worshipful prayers grab God’s attention and change our hearts. Gazing at
our miserable problems and glancing at Him won’t get the job done.
We must gaze steadily at our Father and simply glance at
the difficulties that challenge us.
Let’s examine four
keys to power-packed praying:
1. Spiritual songs
2. Hymns
3. Psalms
4. Blessings
2. Hymns
3. Psalms
4. Blessings
Ephesians 5:19-20 reads,
“…Be filled with the
Spirit, speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the
Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord.” NIV
Paul teaches three ways to sing to the Lord:
- with psalms (Scripture),
- hymns (words about God’s character and work) and
- spiritual songs (spontaneous song inspired by the Holy Spirit).
Psalms, hymns,
and spiritual songs are deep prayers of worship sung
in the presence of the Holy. Blessing bows the heart in
surrender.
1. Spiritual songs are spontaneous
expressions of worship inspired by the filling of the Holy Spirit.
I began
playing the piano at three. The Holy Spirit gave me my first spiritual song. I
still remember playing my toy piano, chirping, “Little angel, little angel, little angel mine.” Jesus
revealed to me that I had a shiny guardian angel hovering over me, making me
feel loved and safe.
Countless
worship services, concerts and compositions later, singing and playing in the
Spirit has become my lifeblood. The passionate joy of the Lord explodes through
my fingers, my voice or baton. His anointing power electrifies and consumes me.
I don’t really care who hears or whether I falter. I just want Him near.
2. Hymns tell us who God is and what He does for His children.
My infant daughter Jessica died in my arms one bleak Saturday
night after suffering nine months of agony, gasping for breath. I needed to
grieve her loss. God gave me a hymn in that dark hour. I sang those precious
lyrics that Sunday morning:
“When peace, like a river,
attends my way,
When sorrow like sea billows roll,
Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say,
‘It is well, it is well with my soul.’”
Horatio
Spafford, a devastated father, composed those words as he mourned the tragic
drowning of his four precious daughters. He comforted millions by his “song in the
night.” (Job 35:10)
Hymns
remind us that our Christian brothers and sisters have lived lives of great
faith. They encourage us.
3. Psalms are Scripture songs of praise.
The five books of Psalms, written by ancient Jewish poets like
David, Moses, Asaph and Solomon are cries for help, laments over Israel, or
questions about God’s plan. The theme
in all of them is worship.
Even when the psalmist was crying out his questions or frustrations
to the Lord, he usually ended with a call to praise God in spite of his
circumstances.
Sing God’s very own words back to Him. God super-charges
Scripture songs. Teach them to your kids. Pray them before you sleep.
My pastor-husband Roger and I had a remarkable experience
worshipping God through the psalms. We met with one of our sound techs in the church sanctuary and
casually planned to record Roger reading selected psalms. Roger asked me to
accompany him on the piano as he spoke.
The more psalms Roger read and the more I “played in the spirit,” the more God’s glory came down. His presence was so palpable, we recorded every word and
note without a single retake. A hushed silence filled the air. I will never
forget the afternoon we spent with the Shepherd as long as I live. Our CD, “A Shepherd’s Journey” is played in hospitals, nursing homes, battlefields, and
mission fields. Psalms quiet and heal wounded hearts.
4. Finally, blessing God is a critical key in worshipful praying.
Blessing
the Lord is not easy. David cried in Psalm 34:1,
“I will bless the Lord at all times. His praise
shall continually be in my mouth.” KJV
David,
fleeing from Saul, feigned insanity before King Abimilech to save his own life.
In David’s most humiliating, terrified moment, he vowed to bless the Lord
constantly.
Job lost
everything, and in the midst of his grief, he cried to God in Job 1:21-23:
“Naked I came from my mother’s womb, naked I’ll return to
the womb of the earth. God gives, God takes. God’s name be ever
blessed.” MSG
Blessing God requires humility,
discipline and complete surrender.
My Mom and Dad knew how to bless God in every circumstance
and He rewarded them richly. My parents grew up in poverty.
Mom was the only child of an East Texas dirt farmer. Her
philandering Dad married and divorced her heartbroken Mom three times.
My Dad’s parents eked out a meager living. My granddad was a
wounded vet, limping and gasping for air his whole life. When Dad was a child,
he had to work to support his family.
I grew up in a cracker box house while my parents started a
tiny construction business. Mom and Dad loved Jesus.
Faithful churchgoers, they tithed every penny they made and
gave to God’s work until it hurt. I always heard them bless the Lord in every circumstance. They
never complained.
After sixty-seven years of marriage and a lifetime of
thankfulness, my parents have given millions of dollars to Christ’s work. Dad,
now 87 years young, declares, “Everything in my life, EVERYTHING, belongs to
God. Now, who needs my money today?”
Bless the Lord. Sing to Him. Ignore the
sound you make. Just make a joyful noise. Close your eyes. Picture Christ in
the manger, at the cross and on the Throne. Pray worshipful prayers that reach
God’s heart and transform yours.
Would you want God to change your
life?
God has made it possible for you to know Him and experience
an amazing change in your own life through a relationship with His Son,
Jesus Christ, and have eternal life.
Say the following prayer:
“Father God, I confess I am a sinner
and my sins have separated me from You.
I am truly sorry. I now want to turn
away from my past sinful life and live a new life pleasing to You.
Please forgive me, and help me avoid
sinning again.
I believe that Your son, Jesus Christ
died for my sins, was resurrected from the dead, is alive, and hears my prayer.
I invite Jesus to become the Lord of
my life, to rule and reign in my heart from this day forward. Thank You that
according to Your Word, I am now born again.
Please send your Holy Spirit to help
me obey You, and to do Your will for the rest of my life. I promise to study
Your Word – the Bible.
Use me for Your glory.
In Jesus' Name I pray. Amen.”
RELATED POSTS:
.
Arise Prayer Warriors!
http://puricarefiles.blogspot.com/2016/05/arise-prayer-warriors-men-ought-to-pray.html
Arise Prayer Warriors!
http://puricarefiles.blogspot.com/2016/05/arise-prayer-warriors-men-ought-to-pray.html
.
How
important is praying for others?http://puricarefiles.blogspot.com/2016/05/how-important-is-praying-for-others-why.html
A Prayer for Healing
“Knowing You”
(All I once held dear)
(All I once held dear)
Graham Kendrick
lyrics
All I
once held dear, built my life upon
All this world reveres, and wars to own
All I once thought gain I have counted loss
Spent and worthless now, compared to this
All this world reveres, and wars to own
All I once thought gain I have counted loss
Spent and worthless now, compared to this
Knowing you, Jesus
Knowing you, there is no greater thing
You're my all, you're the best
You're my joy, my righteousness
And I love you, Lord
Knowing you, there is no greater thing
You're my all, you're the best
You're my joy, my righteousness
And I love you, Lord
Now my
heart's desire is to know you more
To be found in you and known as yours
To possess by faith what I could not earn
All-surpassing gift of righteousness
To be found in you and known as yours
To possess by faith what I could not earn
All-surpassing gift of righteousness
Oh, to
know the power of your risen life
And to know You in Your sufferings
To become like you in your death, my Lord
So with you to live and never die
preachitteachit.org
And to know You in Your sufferings
To become like you in your death, my Lord
So with you to live and never die
preachitteachit.org
No comments:
Post a Comment