Prayer Initiatives

Intentional Focus in 2020 Requires Prayer and Planning

Late last year during November and December the Lord started speaking to my heart to stop “scatter praying”. I had to stop and meditate on what that even meant. It dawned on me how many times we use responsive prayer. By that I mean we pray in response to a need brought to our attention. I am not saying we don’t pray for others on a regular basis, just that most of our prayer not premeditated and intentional.

I asked Him to bloom that out to me in a greater measure. In doing so I realized there were several things and people that keep coming to my heart time-after-time. I got a notebook and started making pages for each person, event or subject that concerned my heart. Under that page, I will over the coming year write down what is on my heart about each thing, then find Scripture verses to meet the need. With that done, now I can focus as often as I need to on those things written down. They are before my eyes as often as I want them to be. It is working so far. I started out with a fairly long prayer, then add to them as often as those people or events come to mind. By focusing deliberately it has helped me release the concern to His heart and declare the Word of God over each situation.

I pray you think about doing something similar. We can see the hand of God move when we all agree with the Word of God over our situations. God bless you richly in your prayer life this year.

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The Sacrifice of Praise includes a Contrite and Broken Heart

Thesis #26: “The New Apostolic Epoch” By: P. Douglas Small

11/10/19

We offer sacrifices of praise, like the Hebrews, while we ignore sacrifices of contrition and brokenness – of sin and trespass.

The ear that hears the rebukes of life will abide among the wise. He who disdains instruction despises his own soul, But he who heeds rebuke gets understanding. The fear of the Lord is the instruction of wisdom, and before honor is humility.

Proverbs 15:31-33 – NKJV

The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, A broken and a contrite heart— These, O God, You will not despise. (Psalm 51:17 – NKJV)

The sacrifice you desire is a broken spirit. You will not reject a broken and repentant heart, O God.

(Psalm 51:17 – NLT)

Prayer: “Lord, the sacrifice you desire from us is not living a perfect life, but, being a worshipper who lives to bring praise and honor to Your Name. One of the ways we worship you is by being repentant and living our repentance every day. Only You could fix the “brokenness” in us caused by sinful disobedience. We humbly confess the great need sin caused in us! We pray Your forgiveness continues to work toward us because we continue to need it! We ask that You forgive us and receive us as Your needy children. With a contrite heart, we repent before You and trust that You will receive us and use us for Your glory here in the earth today. In the Name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior we pray, Amen!

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Reverence God in Prayer

Thesis #25: “The New Apostolic Epoch” By: P. Douglas Small

Rather than persistently, intentionally, reverently invoking God’s Presence and inviting Him into the experience of worship, we assume His Presence. He is, at His own house, in a worship event in His Name and for His honor, in many – perhaps most – Evangelical-Pentecostal worship events, rumored to be present and taken for granted. His Omnipresence (God is everywhere) is substituted for the welcomed, quickened, and dynamic sense of His presence. There is no invocation, no coming before His holiness in a conscious and reverential sense.

1 Kings 8:1,5-10,14 – NKJV:

Now Solomon assembled the elders of Israel and all the heads of the tribes, the chief fathers of the children of Israel, to King Solomon in Jerusalem, that they might bring up the ark of the covenant of the Lord from the City of David, which is Zion.
Also King Solomon, and all the congregation of Israel who were assembled with him, were with him before the ark, sacrificing sheep and oxen that could not be counted or numbered for multitude.
Then the priests brought in the ark of the covenant of the Lord to its place, into the inner sanctuary of the temple, to the Most Holy Place, under the wings of the cherubim.
For the cherubim spread their two wings over the place of the ark, and the cherubim overshadowed the ark and its poles.
The poles extended so that the ends of the poles could be seen from the holy place, in front of the inner sanctuary; but they could not be seen from outside. And they are there to this day.
Nothing was in the ark except the two tablets of stone which Moses put there at Horeb, when the Lord made a covenant with the children of Israel, when they came out of the land of Egypt.
And it came to pass, when the priests came out of the holy place, that the cloud filled the house of the Lord,

14) Then the king turned around and blessed the whole assembly of Israel, while all the assembly of Israel was standing.

1 Kings 8:1,5-10,14 – NKJV

Prayer: Lord, we count it the highest honor and privilege that You would honor us with Your Presence anytime. The fact that You are “omnipresent” – with us all the time – should give rise to a commanding consciousness, to always revere and worship Your Holy Presence!

We repent before You this day, asking Your forgiveness for our failure in never ceasing to remember You with our praises, adoration and thanksgiving! You are our God, this day we declare Your name before any who hear and all who listen! May we never forget the love you extended to us when we were hopelessly trapped in sin, bound for hell, lost without YOU!

May each one of us who value our relationship with You, seek to recognize the markers of Your Presence, both within us and in our surroundings. May we live in such a way that others can see You through the lives we live before them.

In the Name of Your Son and our Savior, Jesus of Nazareth, we pray! Amen!

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What is Worship?

Thesis #21: “The New Apostolic Epoch” By: P. Douglas Small

“Prayer’s primary purpose is transformation.”

We have reduced worship to its ingredients – music, praise, extended hands, vibrant and joyful song, and a positive good news message. In all that, we miss true worship. Worship is, as the word suggests, a declaration of value – worth-ship. It is the worth of God that elicits true worship. And that requires exposure to God, and to His Presence – that God be seen and revealed. Our humanistic version of worship obscures God and fixates instead on our worth. All that we are and bring to worship pales in comparison to the incomparable and sovereign God. It is a candle against the sunlight, a breath against a storm. Such contrasts foster humility, so absent from contemporary worship (1 Chronicles 16:25-29; Psalms 99, 100; Revelation 4:8-11)

25) For the Lord is great and greatly to be praised; He is also to be feared above all gods.

26) For all the gods of the peoples are idols, But the Lord made the heavens.

27) Honor and majesty are before Him; Strength and gladness are in His place.

28) Give to the Lord, O families of the peoples, Give to the Lord glory and strength.

29) Give to the Lord the glory due His name; Bring an offering, and come before Him. Oh, worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness!

(1 Chronicles 16:25-29 NKJV)

Psalm 99:1-9

01)The Lord reigns; Let the peoples tremble! He dwells between the cherubim; Let the earth be moved!

02) The Lord is great in Zion, And He is high above all the peoples.

03) Let them praise Your great and awesome name— He is holy.

04) The King’s strength also loves justice; You have established equity; You have executed justice and righteousness in Jacob.

05) Exalt the Lord our God, And worship at His footstool— He is holy.

06) Moses and Aaron were among His priests, And Samuel was among those who called upon His name; They called upon the Lord, and He answered them.

07) He spoke to them in the cloudy pillar; They kept His testimonies and the ordinance He gave them.

08) You answered them, O Lord our God; You were to them God-Who-Forgives, Though You took vengeance on their deeds.

09) Exalt the Lord our God, And worship at His holy hill; For the Lord our God is holy.

(Psalm 99:1-9 NKJV)

Psalm 100:1-5

01)Make a joyful shout to the Lord, all you lands!

02) Serve the Lord with gladness; Come before His presence with singing.

03) Know that the Lord, He is God; It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.

04) Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, And into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name.

05) For the Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting, And His truth endures to all generations.

(Psalm 100:1-5 NKJV)

Revelation 4:8-11

08)The four living creatures, each having six wings, were full of eyes around and within. And they do not rest day or night, saying: “Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, Who was and is and is to come!”

09) Whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to Him who sits on the throne, who lives forever and ever,

10) the twenty-four elders fall down before Him who sits on the throne and worship Him who lives forever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying:

11) “You are worthy, O Lord, To receive glory and honor and power; For You created all things, And by Your will they exist and were created.”

Revelation 4:8-11 NKJV

Prayer: O God, keep us on task in our worship of You.

You said in the Bible that “…the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” (John 4:23-24 NKJV). With all our heart, soul, mind and strength, we believe that time has come!

Your worth and value to us can’t be spoken in a single day or even at a certain time. It can only be lived by demonstrating our loyalty, our devotion and our own personal faith in Your sovereignty over our lives!

We can, and we do, give you thanks, as our creator, as the creator of the whole earth! May our worship be birthed from knowing You, not from doing what we think is the right thing to do in our worship of You. You have made Yourself known to us through the Word of God and by the Holy Spirit. Guide us each day to know You better and better, that we can make you known to others through the testimony we live before them. Lord Jesus, we want to know You! And experience the mighty power that raised You from the dead. WE want to suffer with You! We want to share in Your death, so that one way or another we will experience the resurrection from the dead! (Taken from Philippians 3:10-11 NLT)

In Your Name Jesus, we pray! Amen!

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Let us worship God with a pure heart

Thesis #20: “The New Apostolic Epoch” By: P. Douglas Small

Seeing God’s love and ignoring His holiness, we design positive and nurturing worship services free from conviction of sin, actually making people comfortable in sin, and simultaneously placing them in a worship event with a holy God – such actions are blasphemous.

“…that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word,….” (Ephesians 5:26 NKJV)

“Because we have these promises, dear friends, let us cleanse ourselves from everything that can defile our body or spirit. And let us work toward complete holiness because we fear God.” (2 Corinthians 7:1 NLT)

Prayer: Lord, let the intent of our worship be to come before You so that we may experience Your unequaled love that causes us to feel accepted, Your healing grace that works the miracle of cleansing salvation in our sinful hearts and Your convicting Presence that calls and prepares us for a life of holiness. We desire to get “better” Lord, at being Your children and living as Your servants in this world. We accept the challenge of making this world a better place because we are here. Come by Your Spirit and lead us on in our journey through this world to become a better people because we know and obey You! In the Name of Your Son and our Savior, Jesus Christ we pray! Amen!

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Prayer brings Christian growth and development

Thesis #19: “The New Apostolic Epoch” By: P. Douglas Small

Last week: “Love affirms, but God’s holiness challenges us. Prayer centers us in God’s love, but, then His Presence exposes us to His holiness – and moves us by grace and consecration, into deeper levels of His likeness”…

This week:

…Prayer, then, is the basic context for Christian growth and development, not preaching, not left-brain discipleship programs.

The assumption here is that there is more growth in discipleship through prayer than any other personal effort. I agree with the assumption! I have personally grown more in my faith and my relationship with God from taking my Bible, opening it and reading it, and praying my way through what I read, to understanding and practice. What happens in a church worship service is of little consequence if it does nothing to command the way we live our lives outside of that worship experience. Prayer is more about personal change than any other practice in the Christian faith. When you pray, it is just you and God. One on one! There should be no distractions, no hindrances to hearing Him as you commune with Him and He with you in your session of prayer. With the Word of God before you, the Holy Spirit within you as your guide, through your prayers, and your own personal hunger for righteousness, for holiness…you will grow in your relationship with God!

Let’s pray: “O God, You are my God! I want to be your disciple, so I read Your Word and pray for understanding to apply what I read. I ask, Holy Spirit, that You would put a deep, abiding hunger in our hearts now, for more of the Scripture and for more of close encounters with the Father!

Lord, we have found this world to be a confusing, messed up place and we don’t want to be it’s next victim! So, with all our heart, soul, mind and strength, we turn to You, asking that you be our daily guide through the Bible so that each day we live is used to honor and glorify You before others. We will do our best to honor the appointment with You in prayer, each day, keeping it above all others.

We love You Lord, and desire Your Presence within, to heal us and prepare us for Your use in this world and for our future with You in heaven! AMEN!

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The Holiness of God Challenges Us

Thesis #18: “The New Apostolic Epoch” By: P. Douglas Small

Prayer Thesis number 18 by Doug Small says this:

“Love affirms, but God’s holiness challenges us.”

Contemporary Christians narrowly see the dominant feature of God’s nature as love – and not as holiness. Prayer centers us in God’s love, but then His Presence exposes us to His holiness – and moves us, by grace and consecration, into deeper levels of His likeness.

20) “But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit,

21) keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.” (Jude 20-21 NKJV)

Prayer: O God…You are a holy God! We acknowledge your unequaled “holiness” in this prayer today. I pray that reverence for You will grow in our hearts as we live between the tension of Your holiness and Your love. May a healthy sense of fear take shape in us as you wow us with grace and with the experience of Your Presence! You chose to redeem us from the curse of sin through the blood of Your slain Son. The value you placed on our redemption is beyond our knowledge to perceive. Not many fathers would give the life of their son to save anyone. But You did! The measure of this kind of love is incomprehensible to us! All we can do is “thank You”, which seems so small, so insignificant, by comparison. But, we pledge to do it – as insignificant as it may seem to us – for the rest of our lives. “Thank You, again”, for redeeming us. We hope our lives are a “melody” of living witness to Your saving love, healing grace and your awesome Presence through the power of the Name of Your Son, Jesus Christ of Nazareth! Amen!

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Prayer engages a Holy God

Thesis #17: “The New Apostolic Epoch” By: P. Douglas Small

Prayer Thesis number 17 by Doug Small says this:

“Prayer engages a holy God, and its primary purpose is our transformation.”

In relationship with God, through prayer we transform: From deadness to life. From guilt to justification. From sinfulness to holiness. From independence to dependence. From rebellion to submission. From unloved to unconditionally loved. From isolation to fellowship. From being a cosmic orphan to becoming a child of God.

Prayer: O God, You are my God, my Savior and the Father of my eternal hope. I give you thanks for Jesus Christ, my constant companion on this journey of life. Thank you for sending the Holy Spirit to me to impart the wisdom of God, the joy of serving God, and the gifts of power and unconditional love to serve your interests through my life upon this earth.

Thank you for your transforming power that is constantly at work in my imperfect life. Every day is a gift from You! Help me, lead me, in living each day for Your glory, Your honor. Teach me Your ways, show my Your paths. Give me the grace to walk each day in them!

Grant to me that I can be a blessing to others in need of Your comfort and grace every day I live. I do – and I will – forever praise You all the days of my life!

These things I humbly pray and request in the Name of Your Son, my Savior, Jesus Christ of Nazareth!

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Prayer is God moving in us to move with Him

Thesis #16: “The New Apostolic Epoch” By: P. Douglas Small

Prayer then, is the process whereby God moves us to move with Him. God is the Sovereign, the center of prayer. He moves, and by prayer we are both awakened and enabled to move with Him, participating in His purposes.

(Song of Solomon 2:8-9 – NKJV)

08)The voice of my beloved! Behold, he comes Leaping upon the mountains, Skipping upon the hills. 09)My beloved is like a gazelle or a young stag. Behold, he stands behind our wall; He is looking through the windows, Gazing through the lattice.

Lord, we are weary of the “waiting”! We so desire for your Presence to come, to join us, to move us along with You into the center of all You have for us. We see the need all around us – need that can only be met when You are with us and when you go before us to prepare the way.

We curse the darkness that holds many against their will. We lift up our voices to You, asking for a release of the Holy Spirit upon us and upon the people of the churches in cities across this nation and around the world. We solemnly plead, in the name of Jesus, our risen Savior, that you begin it right here, right now, in us today! Sweep across this land with a tidal wave of conviction to topple the strongholds of sin and lawlessness. Change the hearts and minds of those bent on destruction and evil. Raise us up in might, in power and through grace make us ministers of rescue to those floundering, dying in sin.

Come, move us to the place where You are at work, in the places where evil holds individuals captive against their will. Where abounding sin needs to be broken by an outpouring of grace. Raise us up O God of heaven! Make us flaming firebrands here on the earth, calling people to repentance and faith in Jesus Christ for the salvation of their souls.

With broken hearts, we humbly request these petitions in the Name above all other names, the Name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, the Savior of all who call upon Him! Amen!

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Prayer for the United States of America

July 7th 2019 by Judy Buck

“Let’s pray for our Nation”

All praise honor glory and power be unto you Oh Sovereign Most High God. You are the one who tears down nations, plants nations and builds them up. You have not come to destroy us but to give us life and that more abundantly.

We honor you for creating and sustaining our nation the United States of America. We celebrate the work of your hand as you have called this Nation to be a light of the Gospel to our Lord Jesus Christ. Father, as we put ourselves in remembrance of our forefathers and mothers, we first honor those who have loved you and served you in this nation and around the world. We also put ourselves and remembrance and honor all of those who have served in the armed forces those who have risked their lives or have lost their lives to protect this nation and the rights for which it stands. In remembrance of all those who have served as overseers and the government workings of this nation we also honor and remember their sacrifice and service. Father we come before your presence asking that we, as your people, will be strengthened by you and given grace by you to do our part to fulfill our destiny purpose and call for this nation. May your fame go out from us to our communities states and nation to bring glory and honor to you.

We ask you Father that you continue to give us righteous nation who serves and honors you and its in all its ways that you will continue to overshadow and protect us and keep us.

Truly Father we are blessed by you in this nation. As we celebrate the independence of our nation this Fourth of July May the colorful display of fireworks put us in remembrance of the colorful rainbow of promises that you have given unto us as your children!

In the precious Name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ the Anointed One. Amen

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