The boy scouts have a motto that says…always be prepared. If you have ever been part of their organization you come to learn that the training and teaching of the boy scouts is to help you in life so that you are able to survive when you face difficulty. You learn how to start a fire without matches, how to set up a campsite in the middle of no where, how to cook a meal that you catch…basic survival skills. The reason the training is so important is because life is going to come at us with opportunities for excellence…or as we also call them; challenges. We must survive. The hopes of those that support them is that the advance training will assist those boys as they become men and learn to live life to it’s fullest.
Friday is Veterans Day and the nation will honor and remember those that serve or have served our country in its fight for freedom. A soldier must learn the art of preparation and use those skills in combat for survival. Flags will wave, emotions will run high and families will gather around the memories of loved ones while others pray for the expedient return of loved ones still at war. Fact is, modern life is war…we are always in a battle. A battle in our mind, our emotions, our spirit. Ro 7:23 - Show Context
But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.
John 17 is a great chapter to read to see how to pray. We also have the model prayer in Matt 6 to use when words allude us…(say it together)Our Father…This week as I read this chapter dealing with prayer, I looked up at the verses setting it up…16:29-33 READ
Jesus had been talking to them about the finality of his mission…about grief, weeping and mourning. He was teaching them how to ask and receive…how to target your prayer life in such a way as to actually hit what you are praying for. And the disciples were finally getting it…after watching the life of Christ in good and bad times, his responses, his words, his actions, they were finally understanding that he was really who he said he was. That kind of lifestyle and power can only come from God!
The people in our lives are looking for power. Real power. Supernatural power that enables and empowers us to act like Christ in every situation, especially the bad ones. JC said that in this world we would have troubles…bad seasons…days when nothing makes sense and people are just out of their mind. Days when we would think we would be all by ourselves, but just like he said, we ill not be alone, our father in heaven will be with us.
JC said, “in me you will have peace”; simply meaning that outside of a life centered in Christ, there will not be peace. He also said, “take heart! I have overcome the world”. My heart is filled with hope when I default to His power, His purpose and plan. I just have to get back on center again…get my bearings…level off this turbulence in my life. The way to do that comes in CH 17…always being pre-prayered. Read in NIV orNLT
The first thing JC does is pray for himself. We need to be spiritually healthy. We need our spirit to stay strong when our flesh is weak. Being healthy begins by loving who we are. God made us just like this for a reason. We may make some bad decisions but the very fact that we are making decisions now could be progress towards healing. Jesus was surrendering his life into the hands of his Father. He had been obedient in the face of the worst possible scenarios. He wanted to make sure that his connection with his father was good. When the conduit is flowing freely, power is unlimited. I notice this when I have special seasons of prayer and fasting together. My awareness of God in my life is stronger and there is a keen sensitivity towards the guidance that he is giving me. And usually in these times when my prayer intensity increases, things become exposed…brought out in the open…not just in my life but in those that are close to me. God wants to heal. He wants be to live in His abundance and be healthy. You see it’s not a selfish thing to pray for yourself. (place your hands on your chest and let’s practice what we are preaching)
Father, I thank you for the authority that you have given to me to bean overcomer in this life. Help my life, my language and my choices to bring YOU glory. I thank you for my complete well-being, for the plan that you have to make me more like you and bless every area of my life. I acknowledge my dependence on you for my wealth, my wisdom and my wishes. Direct my path and help me to be the success you desired me to be. I am strong in the power of your might and I can do all things through you right now. In Jesus name I pray…Amen.
The next thing Jesus did was to pray for those closest to him…the disciples. There are many people that come to mind when you think about loved ones, brothers, sisters, in-laws, out-laws, step-parents, etc. A good reminder is given to us to be consistent in prayer for the people in our lives. Jesus gave the disciples everything they needed to be complete in this life. He gave himself, his time, his words, his example. It was not His choice as to whether they would except it or not. He was obedient to deliver it. In fact whenever you dispense truth, there will be rebellion from those that have had their sight blinded by evil. Our prayer continues for their soul, their well-being, for them to be the persons that God had intended them to be for only then can they find joy at it’s fullest.
(again, let’s put to practice what He has shown us by example and pray for those closest to us.)
Father, I thank you for all the relationships that are in my life right now…for people that you have wrapped around my life. Let those connected to me receive the same blessings and power as I live my life in you before them. Let the Word and lessons from the Word that have meant so much to me have an eternal impact upon them as they discover Your purpose for their lives. May every evil thing that has been dispatched towards them be diverted. May every curse that has been pronounced over their lives by past experiences be broken and may they walk today in the freedom that is theirs in Christ Jesus. My prayer is that they would be a greater threat to the darkness of their day, than the darkness of their day is a threat to them. In Jesus name I ask these things…Amen
The final part of CH 17 shows us Jesus praying for those that will one day become believers, those that are in the world right now and working their way into a relationship with Christ. The reason that the church, the Body of Christ, exists today is to bring lost lives into a place where they are found once again…a saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. It’s our mission and it’s not an option. But to be successful in this part, you have to be well in the first two parts. Unfortunately most believers look more like the flyer that I saw that said…Lost dog…brown, one eye with a patch over it walks with a limp as back left leg is missing…left ear has been partially chewed off…answers to the name LUCKY! We need to get stronger…we need that old-time power that blew into the upper room like a mighty rushing wind.
"The Little Red Wagon. A symbol of childhood. It could be filled with a child’s hopes and dreams or weighed down with their burdens. Millions of American children need our help to pull that wagon along. Let’s all pull together."
—General Colin L. Powell, U.S. Army (Ret.), Chairman, America’s Promise
Jesus prayed some very specific things over those that were “destined’ one day to believe. And to close tonight our service dealing with being pre-prayered, I want us to stand and pray for them the prayer that Jesus prayed…
Father God,
20 "I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will F96 believe in Me through their word; 21 that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. 22 And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: 23 I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me.
24 Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory which You have given Me; for You loved Me before the foundation of the world. 25 O righteous Father! The world has not known You, but I have known You; and these have known that You sent Me. 26 And I have declared to them Your name, and will declare it, that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them."
Church, that is what it feels like to be pre-prayered…to walk into your day completely whole knowing that whatever things you ask for are going to be given to you because everything you are doing is being prompted and directed by the Lord.
