Hello WoW! followers and visitors, I’d like to spend some time focusing on prayer for the next few posts. After all, as prayer warriors and victorious overcomers, prayer should be an important feature in our lives.
CC0 Image courtesy of Manfred Antranias Zimmer (Pixabay.com)
Be prepared. You’re up against far more than you can handle on your own. Take all the help you can get, every weapon God has issued, so that when it’s all over but the shouting you’ll still be on your feet. Truth, righteousness, peace, faith, and salvation are more than words. Learn how to apply them. You’ll need them throughout your life. God’s Word is an indispensable weapon. In the same way, prayer is essential in this ongoing warfare. Pray hard and long. Pray for your brothers and sisters. Keep your eyes open. Keep each other’s spirits up so that no one falls behind or drops out.
Ephesians 6:13-18 The Message
The following is taken from the UCB Word For Today* devotional, written by Bob and Debbie Gass.
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DIFFERENT TYPES OF PRAYER (1) – Extract from: 19 November 2015
In scripture there are many different kinds of prayer. Let’s look at some of them and see what we can learn:
1) The prayer of surrender
When Paul met Christ on the Damascus Road he prayed, ‘Lord, what wilt though have me do?’ (Acts 9:6 KJV). That’s like signing your name to a blank cheque and saying, ‘Here I am, Lord, do with me as you please. I hope I like what you choose, but even if I don’t I’ll do it anyway; Your will be done, not mine.’
You’re deciding to voluntarily follow God rather than trying to get Him to follow you. As a result He will do the work that needs to be done in you, so that He can do the work that He desires to do through you.
2) The prayer of commitment
The Bible says, ‘Casting the whole of your care [all your anxieties, all your worries, all your concerns, once and for all] on Him’ (1 Peter 5:7 AMP). As long as you keep trying to control everything, your stress levels will keep mounting. But once you learn to hand things over to God, you’ll wonder why you spent even a single day worrying.
3) The prayer of intercession
The prophet Ezekiel writes, ‘I looked for someone… who would… stand before me in the gap on behalf of the land’ (Ezekiel 22:30 NIV 2011 Edition). ‘The gap’ is the distance between what is – and what can be. And when there’s a ‘gap’ in someone’s relationship with God due to a particular sin, as a believer you have the privilege (and responsibility) of placing yourself in that gap and praying for them.
(to be continued)
*Free postal copies of The UCB Word For Today (UK and Republic of Ireland only) are available from:
FREEPOST RLTX-ABUL-GRAR, United Christian Broadcasters, Westport Road, Stoke-on-Trent, ST6 4JF
For the email version please sign up at: UCB
Women of Warfare! (WOW!) 