If you want to see the power of God at work in your life begin to pray for others. Intercession is prayer on behalf of another. We need intercessory prayer for this people. Do you love this people enough to pray for them. We do not need any more marches and other public displays for the enrichment of those staging them. We need leaders who are willing to go before God and plead for this people, just as Moses went before God and pleaded for his people. That is the true nature of prayer. Because this is a hidden calling it removes false love and pride, but it brings forth great fruit. Because it is not inclined to pride and boasting, it touches Gods own heart. The Word speaks of Job, and how it was not until he prayed for his friends that his blessings came. The LORD restored Job’s losses two-fold when he got out of himself and sought the well-being of others.[1] Get out of yourselves and pray for these young people. Pray that the LORD God will have mercy on us and return us to His holiness.
When you do pray deeply you must be ready for the silence. God always answers prayer. It is just not always how or when we would like, but He always answers. God answers my prayers in three ways: yes, no, and wait. The hardest one for me is wait. It is at wait that the true saints continue to pray more fervently while the “so-called” saints bring out their own plans. Do you not know that there is growth in wait, wait fosters a closer connection to God. Remember when you first met your spouse or best friend. There was always conversation. We could not stand the uncomfortable silence. Then you reach a level of comfort where that uncomfortable silence became comfortable. No one has to speak constantly and there is no discomfort or awkwardness. In some rare instances, there is a connection that does not require speaking on many issues at all, you just know. There is peace, an understanding that was not there before. No one has to say anything you just know. God so wants that level of comfort with us. If you are truly in His will you will not have to keep asking, you just know.
Prayer is for the developing of our relationship with God just like everything else we are called to do. Prayer begins as our feeble attempt to reach out to God through our will and desires. It usually begins with a lists of needs to be filled like a prescription at a pharmacy. It usually begins with me doing most if not all of the talking and little if any listening. It often begins as something we do infrequently and for short periods. For many of us, it is from a fear of not doing it right. If your heart is pure and your goal is the seeking of God, there is no wrong way to pray. If you are faithful in your heart, God will lead you into the type of prayer that He seeks. For many though, due to their hardness of heart they refuse to heed the leading of God. They know better than God how to pray.
Mature prayer changes from my laundry list of needs to a changing of my will. Instead of me praying a few minutes in the morning or before bed like a child we pray as though it were the breath of life. We will always be in prayer in some form. For some the need for speaking at all will disappear. They will develop such a closeness to God that the level of communication changes. They will present themselves boldly before the throne and utter not a word. The Spirit will pray for them. The apostle Paul spoke about how the Spirit prays for us because we do not know what to pray. The Spirit makes intercession for us to the Father.[2] The Christ spoke of God being a spirit and those who worship Him must do so in spirit and in truth.[3]
Those praying to God for solutions will not last long in prayer. That is not the purpose of prayer, it is to bring a oneness with the Father and in that oneness are all the answers to all the questions. Are we seeking God in our prayers or are we seeking a rubber stamp on our own plans and agendas? How do we respond when God does not respond to our prayers as we believe He should? Prayer is never a destination we arrive at, it is a lifelong journey. As our journey continues our prayer life should exhibit changes. It should grow and mature as we grow and mature. We should not spend time with God because we have to, but because we want to.
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