God Wants to Hear My Voice in Prayer
March 3 – Today meditate on: God Wants to Hear My Voice in Prayer
When You Pray For Others
Job 42:10, “And the Lord turned the captivity of Job and restored his fortunes, when he prayed for his friends; also the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before.”
“How do I respond when God does not answer as I expect?
Do I accept His answer willingly or grudgingly?” —Oswald Chambers
Have you arrived at the place in your time of prayer that you forget yourself and your requests and instead intercede for others? Have you arrived at the place where you have received the heart of God concerning others?
In Isaiah 54:2, it says, “Enlarge the place of your tent, and let the curtains of your habitations be stretched out.” What this is saying to us is to “enlarge” the scope of our prayers to include neighbors, friends, those in government positions, those in desperate need of a touch from God, those who have not heard the message of salvation, etc., instead of just focusing on our family and needs. It’s a big world. Jesus said that as a disciple of His we are to go into all the world – our city, state, the U.S., and then the world. If God has not called us to do this geographically we certainly can do it in prayer. We can decide to “stand in the gap” between earth and heaven interceding for others. Sometimes it can be the difference between life and death for them. We won’t necessarily know why we’re praying for them but we can be obedient to the Holy Spirit’s prompting to pray for a person, leaving it in God’s hands.
If you have not received all the healing you feel you need, forget about yourself and “pour” yourself out in praying for others. Start praying for them and your healing might come. As we forget about ourselves, pray for others, and fast–God’s way–then our seemingly huge problems will disappear as we see the mighty hand of God working for others and on our behalf. We have to fight selfishness and self-centeredness all the time. Get your eyes off of yourself and onto the Provider, Healer, Shepherd of our souls. Our Shepherd who leads us continually and provides “a table before us in the presence of our enemies” of fear, anxiety, frustration, panic, etc.
Just the time you think you’ve got problems, listen to someone else’s problems and yours will shrink in comparison into nothingness before God. We don’t have problems–we have opportunities to see the mighty hand of God working.
Pour out your heart to God. Ask Him to help you, this day, “deny yourself” die to self–selfish wants, desires, self-pity, etc. Stop saying “I,” “I,” “I,” and say “Jesus, Jesus, Jesus.” The God who created the universe and created you loves and cares and provides for you. All you have to do is ask, obey His Word and receive His help. We must be holy for God is holy. Live as He wants you to live. Jesus never prayed the problem, He prayed the answer.
Prayer: “Lord Jesus, help me have a heart for those who are hurting, wounded, alienated from You, and those who have not heart the Gospel. Help me to see people the way You see them, lost and in need of a Savior.” (NS)
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