Do you ever pay attention to how you pray and what you pray for? If you were God, would you answer your prayers? True prayer flows from a place of abandonment. It’s never selfish or rigid. It’s passionate and poetic. Why? Because it comes from a place of knowing the One to whom we offer up our heart’s deepest desires. Not only for ourselves but for others. God already knows the place from which our words or prayer flows. The language of lovers, a language the enemy cannot decipher. Deep calls to deep, intertwined affection for the giver and the receiver. We know each other, we’re not strangers. That’s how authentic prayers flow.
There should never be a struggle to pray. But there’s an overwhelming sense of reverence and awe of the One to whom we pray that sometimes takes our words and breath away. Have you ever felt that way? His presence will do that. You’re kneeling, yet your knees are weak as though you’re standing. His love will do that. Have you ever experienced that? The joy of knowing oneness, hearts and souls locked in a spiritual, outer worldly embrace. Have you known that?
When you’re in that place, prayers that win emerge. Words flow freely. Worship flows uninhibited. Heaven pauses to listen, angels learn from the redeemed, who He really is. It doesn’t matter where we are, nor does it matter who’s listening. Lovers aren’t aware of anyone else, just the one they’re with. God enjoys oneness, He enjoys fellowship. That’s why He visited with His first children, always in the cool of the day, a time when all work had ceased, no distractions just the enjoyment of Father with His children. We are capable of creating that experience with Him everyday. The apostle Paul found those moments even in a prison cell. Nothing could dampen his spirit. Nothing could prevent the prayers he prayed from winning the answers he sought.
This passage has always caught my attention, and I pray it does yours too. There are prayers and then there are PRAYERS. I’ll share the one from Ephesians and another from Colossians, to close out this short message today. I hope you’ll be encouraged to fall in love with praying, notice I didn’t say prayer. When you pray there’s an object of your affection. It’s a personal intimate moment with the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Yet your affection is for an audience of ONE. How sweet it truly is! Prayers that win, no matter the need, be it personal, world events, family situations, spiritual or social, intimacy is key. Heaven draws near to hear what we’re about to say. The angelic dispatch team stands at the ready. Every little detail in our requests, matters to Him. But selfless prayer gets His attention.
Use these examples as an opportunity to break free from shallow praying. Every Word is intentional and purposefully presented before the Father. You can hear Paul’s heart for the individuals, as well as His heart towards the God he loves and serves. They cannot be separated. Oneness with Christ and His church, flows through every word. We too can pray from this place, prayers that win. Are you ready?
“So I kneel humbly in awe before the Father of our Lord Jesus, the Messiah, the perfect Father of every father and child in heaven and on the earth. And I pray that He would unveil within you the unlimited riches of His glory and favor until supernatural strength floods your innermost being with His divine might and explosive power. Then, by constantly using your faith, the life of Christ will be released deep inside you, and the resting place of His love will become the very source and root of your life.”
“Then you will be empowered to discover what every holy one experiences—the great magnitude of the astonishing love of Christ in all its dimensions. How deeply intimate and far-reaching is His love! How enduring and inclusive it is! Endless love beyond measurement that transcends our understanding—this extravagant love pours into you until you are filled to overflowing with the fullness of God!
Never doubt God’s mighty power to work in you and accomplish all this. He will achieve infinitely more than your greatest request, your most unbelievable dream, and exceed your wildest imagination! He will outdo them all, for His miraculous power constantly energizes you. Now we offer up to God all the glorious praise that rises from every church in every generation through Jesus Christ—and all that will yet be manifest through time and eternity. Amen!”
Ephesians 3:14-21 TPT
“Since we first heard about you, we’ve kept you always in our prayers that you would receive the perfect knowledge of God’s pleasure over your lives, making you reservoirs of every kind of wisdom and spiritual understanding. We pray that you would walk in the ways of true righteousness, pleasing God in every good thing you do. Then you’ll become fruit-bearing branches, yielding to His life, and maturing in the rich experience of knowing God in His fullness! And we pray that you would be energized with all His explosive power from the realm of His magnificent glory, filling you with great hope. Your hearts can soar with joyful gratitude when you think of how God made you worthy to receive the glorious inheritance freely given to us by living in the light. He has rescued us completely from the tyrannical rule of darkness and has translated us into the kingdom realm of His beloved Son. For in the Son all our sins are canceled and we have the release of redemption through His very blood.”
Colossians 1:9-14 TPT
See also:
David’s prayer: 2 Samuel 7:18-29; 1 Chronicles 29:10-20
Daniel’s prayer: Daniel 2:20-23, 9:4-19
Nehemiah’s prayer: Nehemiah 1:4-11
Hezekiah’s prayer: 2 Kings 19:15-19
Jesus’ prayer: John 17
”Come into My glory! Expect a supernatural encounter in your life, for heaven’s gates are open to you, and the joy of My presence awaits..”
From “I hear His whispers” by B. Simmons
“Father, I want these whom you have given Me to be with Me where I am. Then they can see all the glory you gave Me because you loved Me even before the world began!”...Jesus
Written by permission of the Holy Spirit
W. Tennant
May 3, 2021
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