Category: Prayer series

Covid 19 and Where we Stand

There’s so much to say when it comes to corona, but I’ve had to step back and ask myself what God is saying. Really there are many things that have happened in the world since January and I have been asking and seeking God’s mind concerning where we stand as his creation and his people. On a personal level and on a Global level God has been at work shifting things, showing us some, concealing somethings in his infinite wisdom and also prompting us to deep prayer.

If there is anything I know that’s happening for sure in this season is that God is requiring deeper, longer and more earnest prayer, worship and praise from us.

What I also know with certainty is that God has called us to be a light and a voice of hope and peace, most especially at a time like this. We can allow the disruption of this pandemic to distract us and put us in a defensive zone or we can use it as a platform to be more active about our spiritual practices and more vocal about our Christian Faith. It will always be my prayer that people will not die, but live long and full lives and that when they do die they die peacefully without suffering and wake up to everlasting life in the arms of the father. Unfortunately, people die and suffer everyday, Corona or not, and it is important that regardless of how or when we die we make the very important and significant decision to  make Jesus Christ our Lord and saviour before we do.

Death is the reality of life, but more real is the Faith we have in God while we live, which promises a life spent with him in eternity. There are only two choices, life or damnation and we continuously pray that people get saved and know the love of the Lord here and more so in death.

What to Pray

The focus of our prayers should be that God’s sends salvation for our mortal bodies, especially for those who have been affected and are vulnerable to the effects of the virus. But we should also pray that more people will come to the saving knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. A cure and knowledge of the cure to Corona could save many lives, but it couldn’t save a single soul. Only knowledge of Jesus Christ and acceptance of this knowledge will save your soul. Let’s not get so distracted by the pandemic that we forget the pandemic of sin brought to the world through two humans, that is still corrupting and killing not only souls but lives at an alarmingly fast rate. The effects of this pandemic is very real and I do not take it lightly at all, but more than anything it has woken me up to the reality of finite state of the human race and how fragile and delicate this life is. It is precious and fragile and we should take it very seriously and use it to build a legacy of godliness that is guaranteed to out live us no matter how long we live.

I sense that God is wanting us to pray for mercy and wisdom first for ourselves and also for the leaders of our various nations. 2 Chronicles 7: 14 comes to mind, which says that “if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and turn from their wicked ways I will hear from heaven and heal their land”. Scripture shows us time and time again that the key to healing and restoration whether for our bodies, filed of work or anything associated with us, is prayer offered up in humility and genuine repentance from evil. Our generation needs this mercy more than ever before. Daniel prayed for the captivity of Israel to be turned around and their lands to be restored, He prayed earnestly for 21 days and in that time he prayed for mercy for himself and for all of Israel. His prayer for mercy on behalf of Israel worked and brought the captivity of Israel to an end. It was the will of God then and it is the will of God today that we pray. Joshua Selman said that “Prayer is the highest form of humility before God”. This is very true. When we pray we refuse to lean on our own understanding, we declare to God that we need him and that we want him. When we add repentance to our prayer we surrender control and prove that our heart and action is in line with our words. Repentance enables us to draw near to God with our hearts and not just our lips (MARK 7:6). It also enables us to align our actions and heart with his will; genuine repentance leads us to seek out the will of the father (Matthew 6:33, Luke 12:31).

We must also pray for judgment over the corona virus and the spiritual forces that are propagating the activity of this virus. The scripture informs us that we are not fighting against flesh and blood enemies but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places (Epesians 6:12 NLT). The NKJV calles the evil spirits in the heavely places – spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavely places. Spiritual beings require, physical beings to effectively operate on this world. This is why when God redeemed us from sin and death he needed to come in human form live and die like us to restore us back to God. God had to reason and negotiate with Mary, Joseph (Jesus’ Parents) and Zacharias and Elizabeth (John the baptist parents) for his redemption plan to be fulfilled. God as a spirit being is always looking for who is available to be his physical vessel on earth. He is gentle and waits for us to let him in before he can use us. He will never use us without our willingness to be used for his good purpose. The enemy is not so. He will use whoever is vulnerable and susceptible to his evil suggestions and specially delights in those who openly and actively invite him to accomplish his evil work in through them. These are the people we must place under the arrest of the power of the Holy spirit. People have been spotted actively spreading the virus through unsanitary means, even after they found out they had the virus. Deliberately not complying with the advice of health professionals, going out in public places and contaminating public spaces. These are hosts of wickedness. People who have signed themselves up to the plots of the enemy. They may think they are doing the right thing for whatever reason, but they need to be restrained by spiritual means.

I believe that these are some of the foundational prayers that we need to pray at this time. We must be vigilant and keep our spiritual armor on. Our weapons of warfare are not carnal – we don’t use fists, knives or guns to fight our most dangerous battles we fight in the spirit with the weapons of praise, worship and earnest prayers. We fight from a place of Victory because we have already won. We skip right to the celebratory praise, worship and thanksgiving part because we are people of Faith and firm hope. We sing hymns and sound out our songs of the spirit. And we continue in this spiritual attitude because we know that all things will work together for good.

January in Summary

I have spent the better part of January praying and waiting on God for what he has for me. I don’t have all the answers but, I have made a conscious choice to make sure that I am in a place where I can get the answers and directions, I need to ensure that I end up in the place where God has destined me to be. I can’t achieve the dreams God has given me by myself. I need the interference of someone who knows better and someone much stronger than me to help me get to my desired destination. My natural self is prone to discouragement and inconsistency. Without his divine assistance I will lose strength and momentum along the way. Because I know this, I have given myself over to prayer and supplication and focused more on receiving what I need to excel this year and the decades to come.

With the month rapping up I have confidence that God has my back because I have taken out time to make the necessary sacrifice that will enable me to excel this year. Of course, there is the requirement for ongoing, supplication further down the road, but for now I know that it is time to begin the journey and take that first step in Faith. Faith that God has heard your prayers and that he is with you and won’t let you take steps in the wrong direction. You can only have this assurance if you have really spent time in surrender to God in prayer.

Another thing I have been more deliberate with, which I will certainly continue to practice is reading the word and praying it back to God. The Bible in one-year plan on YouVersion has been a great resource in maintaining this. The plan gives you 4-5 chapters in the new and old testament to read daily and encourages you to write your thoughts and take away points at the end of each daily reading. It is spilt up in monthly portions so you can catch up here with February, if you would like to join. You are also able to invite others to join you with your daily reading habit and turn it into a group bible study. It’s also a great way to get your family members involved and keeps you accountable. It is a very useful and helpful tool if you are seeking to develop discipline in this area of your spiritual growth.

Finally, I’d like to encourage you to review yourself each month. How did your January go? Did you pray more like you said you would? Did you stick to your goals? Did you commit your goals into the hands of the Lord and trust him? Did you write down the words and instructions you received from him? Are they in line with the Word? Which scripture spoke to you the most this month as you read the word?

As you continue to ask yourself questions that evaluate your journey into 2020, think of what you can do better or differently in February and set yourself small targets to do things that will further develop your spiritual life. Yes, I am asking you to prioritise your spiritual goals above every other goal. This is what Daniel and his friends did. Their spiritual goal was to please God and worship him alone and to fulfil the requirements of the law of God even if that meant going against the customs, norms and legal decrees of the Land. Instead of their health, education, careers and finances declining, they flourished, prospered and excelled in all that they did. I strongly believe that if you prioritise your spiritual goals and do what is said in the scriptures you will also begin to experience flourishing in your finances, relationships, career, health and wellbeing. This is what God wants for us and what he is willing to give us.

Prayer and Hearing God

In my last post I touched on the process of practicalising our worship through thanksgiving, using my stuck in traffic scenario.

Firstly, I’d like to add that worship is a deliberate act expressed through behaviours and gestures and not a spontaneous moment lead by feelings and emotions. It is a [practical] lifestyle not an occasion or event or a segment within a church service. Importantly, it is a form of prayer to God, which Jesus highlights in Luke 11:2. (Our father who art in Heaven hallowed be your name.)

The beautiful thing about prayer is not only that God hears us but he also speaks to us. It is a conversation between you and God and not a monologue directed at God or soliloquy spoken out into the atmosphere. Hearing from God is the most exciting thing and also one of the main things that keep you coming back to the place of prayer. Unfortunately, people don’t wait to experience that part.

I have found that as I have grown in my Faith and continued in prayer I hear God better and much quicker and I get answers through the most unexpected mediums, sometimes almost instantly. It was not always like this. I sometimes still find that I have to seek and wait for my answers, but more often than not I enjoy a well paced flowing conversation with God  more regularly that I used to. So what changed and how did I get here?

I’ll use my experience of today as an example. So, I’ve been mulling over some information I got at work and I was wondering if I should pursue the idea. I muttered a few prayers while eating my yogurt and left it knowing that I would get directions about what to do next. On my way back to my desk I looked through my Instagram feed (praise God for Instagram) and the first post I saw said this “You get in life what you have the courage to ask for”, in bold black colours. In the caption it had Matthew 7:7. This was the answer I needed. To confirm this (out of the mouth of one or more witnesses will God confirm his word – 2 Corinthians 13:1), I saw another scripture based post taken from Romans 8:31, which says if God be for us who can be against us. This was a clear direction as to what I needed to do. I knew it was God because it spoke directly to my situation and what wasn’t sure I was meant to do and it was also confirmed. I instantly felt the courage and the opportunity for me to ask opened up.

Even before I prayed whilst eating my cherry yogurt I sensed God telling me not to be afraid, to take the plunge and not allow fear to get in the way of my progress. My prayer was only a continuation of the conversation that was already taken place in the spirit (the heavenly realms) and I was apart of.

About ten years ago I didn’t have this experience and if I did, I was too unaware to have noticed it. The more your spirit engages in the conversations of the Spirit, the more you learn to assimilate the conversations of heaven and pick up the signals that are being transmitted to you.

I can hear God better and quicker now because for a long time I deliberately listened out for God, trying to distinguish his voice from the many other voices I was exposed to.

Practical Worship

Situations such as heavy traffic are designed to test and strengthen your godly character.

You wake up in the morning get dressed, feeling good, looking like heavy bling and then you get out of the house only to discover that traffic has built up outside your house and you can’t get out of your road let alone into town to catch your train. You try to walk and catch up with the bus in front, but the driver refuses to open the door, mouthing something like he is in the middle of the road and not at the bus stop. Then he turns the other way, brings out his sandwich and takes a hearty bit.

When you prayed this morning, you were not given the update about traffic making you late for work. Maybe if you had been informed you would have set out much earlier and arrived ontime. Maybe even a little earlier to impress your manager. But you’re not impressed. In your head the verse of the day is ringing, “This is the day that the Lord has made, I will rejoce and be glad in it”. So you force yourself to smile and not join in with the building crowed that is murmuring and complaining about the situation.

It’s hard, but you know you have to give thanks in all things. So, you internalize a prayer of thanks. You think about it and role over it in your mind until you are able to verbalize it and formulate it into words. Slowly but surely you realize it isn’t such a big deal and you find yourself thanking God you were not in the car crash that caused the traffic in the first place. Your thanksgiving some how made you see the bigger picture. That maybe your safty is more important than being on time to work. That your punctuality was given in exchange for your perfect peace and protection. That providence wasn’t sleeping when it heard your prayers sending the presence of God ahead to make rough paths plain.

Sometimes something as trivial as traffic can be big enough to cause an obstacle to your worship, but “I will enter his gates with thanksgiving in my heart, I will enter his courts with praise”.

This is worship in Practice.

Psalm 118 and Prayer: Thanking, Asking, Declaring

God in his word commands that in all things we must give thanks (Ephesians 5:20). This can be really challenging when we are faced with problems for which we need solutions, and needs we desperately want met. The Psalmist, I think, is brilliant in how he combines thanksgiving with petitioning and declaration. He combines praise with his petition and declarations, based on his confidence in God, with thanksgiving to God. The Psalmist shows a God-awareness and a God-consciousness, that sets God’s will and omnipotence at the center of his prayer and the situation he finds himself in.

God’s place is always meant to be at the center of our lives, problems, hopes and aspirations. This God consciousness should influence our perspective causing us to defer back to God. After many points of thanksgiving and declarations he adds a sacrificial offering to his prayer, which he binds with cords to the horns of the alter.

The horn of the alter is the might, strength and power of the alter. Every alter has a horn. By tying his sacrifice to the horn, he makes God his source of strength and power.

He secures the backing of God when he proclaims that he will destroy the nations  against him (his adversaries) in the name of the Lord. He makes the name of the Lord work for him through this act of binding.

This sacrifice is a living sacrifice, because he does not ask for it to be burnt or pierced in the manner in which sacrifices were made. Implicitly, the psalmist himself is the sacrifice. This is a prophetic act as the concept of presenting our bodies as living sacrifices is not totally established until after Christ. Our ability to be a living sacrifice is based on the crucifixion, death and resurrection of Christ. The psalmist prophetically speaks in anticipation of what will be possible through Christ Jesus, the stone the builders rejected.

When we tie ourselves, our bodies and our souls to the alter we make God the source of our strength and power and because he can never run dry he must supply us with the strength we need.

For he will supply all your needs according to his riches in Glory. (Philippians 4:19)

What great news that our power supply is connected to the omnipotence of our God! The more we demand the more He supplies. Just like this Psalmist let us resolve to build on our demand daily, so he can supply to us daily, according to our need.

So, when we Pray,

  1. we pray with awareness and confidence that God is holding our lives and is listening to us.
  2. we pray with hearts filled with thanksgiving and appreciation on our lips.
  3. we pray making declarations based on his words and promises to us – in sync with God’s heart.
  4. we pray with the earnest fervency of all our faith, knowing that we are willing to make the sacrifice for what we are asking.
  5. we pray for the Holy Spirit because he is our supply
  6. and when we pray we pray daily.

Psalms 118    

(Praying in Thanksgiving, in praise, declaration and prophecy asking but always thanking God.)

1Oh give thanks to the Lord, for He is good!

For His mercy endures forever.

2Let Israel now say,

“His mercy endures forever.”

3Let the house of Aaron now say,

“His mercy endures forever.”

4Let those who fear the Lord now say,

“His mercy endures forever. “

 

5I called on the Lord in distress;

The Lord answered me and set me in a broad place.

6The Lord is on my side; I will not fear.

What can man do to me?

7The Lord is for me among those who help me;

Therefore I shall see my desires on those who hate me.

 

8It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man.

9It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in princes.

 

10All nations surrounded me,

But in the name of the Lord I will destroy them.

11They surrounded me, yes, they surrounded me:

But in the name of the Lord I will destroy them.

12They surrounded me like bees; they were quenched like a fire of thorns;

For in the name of the Lord I will destroy them.

13You pushed me violently, that I might fall, But the Lord helped me.

14The Lord is my strength and song,

And He has become my salvation.

15The voice of rejoicing and salvation is in the tents of the righteous;

The right hand of the Lord does valiantly.

16The right hand of the Lord is exalted;

The right hand of the Lord does valiantly.

 

17I shall not die, but live, And the declare the works of the Lord.

18The Lord has chastened me severely, but he has not given me over to death.

19Open to me the gates of righteousness;

I will go through them, and I will praise the Lord.

20This is the gate of the Lord, through which the righteous shall enter.

21I will praise you,

for you have answered me, and have become my salvation.

22The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone.

23This was the Lord’s doing; It is marvelous in our eyes.

24This is the day the Lord has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.

 

25Save now I pray, O Lord;

O Lord, I pray, send now prosperity.

26Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!

We have blessed you from the house of the Lord.

27God is the Lord, And he has given us light;

Bind the sacrifice with Cords to the Horns of the alter. 

28 You are my God, and I will praise you.

You are my God, I will exalt you.

29Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good!

For His mercy endures forever.

 

New King James Version   © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.