February 28, 2017 WWJWMTD by Steve the son of John

…And Pray

A prophetic & theological word

What to pray? That is the question! I have humbled myself (step 1) and now God asks me to pray. Step number 2…”if my people would pray.”

2 Chronicles 7:14: If my people who are called by my name will humble themselves, pray, seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and I will forgive their sin and heal their land (NEV).

So often we see our ‘prayers go answered’. That is tragic yet a constant reality for so many Christians. It does not have to be like that. ‘Effective prayer’ does have three parts: positioning oneself to pray, aligning oneself with Christ in prayer, and of course, what to pray. Scriptures give wonderful examples about prayer and the three parts of effective prayer.

If there were an underlining theme to effective prayers I would say it is, “Keep prayers simple and not all prayers should be about you.” Here are the explanations to the three parts of effective prayers.

One, position oneself to pray and receive answers to your prayers. To position oneself in order for God to listen and respond to your prayers comes from Matthew 5:3, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.” We all want heaven on earth and God through Christ has given it to us. But, God is not in the ‘giving business’ unless you are in the position to receive. God it looking for people of need—honestly searching for help, not for selfish reasons but reasons that support ‘Godly motives’.

For God to listen and respond to us we must be a Matthew 5:3 person. A person who is poor, i.e. a person who is broken and contrite—a person in constant repentance and humility; seeking God not for selfish motives but understanding that our best motives are always as ‘filthy rags’ to God. We are not worthy but God loves us in all our weaknesses, failures, and corruptness. It is only having a repentant heart and in brokenness of spirit that God comes to us—in listening and answering our prayers.

Two, aligning oneself with Christ so God’s will is accomplished in all we do, you must be a Matthew 5:4-5 person. God is looking and wanting His people to be people who ‘stand in the gap’ for others. So often we pray more for ourselves and only allow 10% of our prayers to be directed to others around us. God taught me this lesson years ago—put others before oneself.

God asked me to take care of a tremendous number of individuals, but my response to God was, “But God, who is going to take care of me?” I thought the burden was too great—I could not take care of so many people. You know what God said back to me, “I will. I will take care of you Steve if you take care of those I have placed around you.”

I repented immediately for my lack of faith, which was a lack of humility and understanding God’s great love for me. God wants me to take care of others

1st and He will take care of me—that is how it works. I mourn—I pray, I cry-out, I intercede through the Spirit of Christ for others—for God to take care of them. As Jesus prayed and told His Father, “I have kept those you gave to me”; I likewise ‘keep and take care’ of all those God brings into my life.

I need to be meek, “Blessed are the meek.” If I place others above and ahead of myself through prayer then God sees and responds. God wants me to be like Him—others 1st.

Three, what to pray is just as important as #1 & 2. We must pray correctly, that is why Jesus gave us the Lord’s Prayer and why we have the Bible. I suggest that one build the following points into one’s prayer life:

ü Pray scriptures. I suggest you find verses in the Bible to pray over others and yourself. Say the scripture out-loud and with feeling. The 100 days of Prayer and Intercession by Otis and Sue Davis is a good place to start. (You can find these articles about praying scriptures in my blog, www.wwjwmtd.com.)

ü Pray in humility and brokenness by always asking God for a spirit of repentance and forgiveness when praying for others. We all need forgiveness everyday in every situation.

ü Pray simple, short prayers. I have learned that it was the short and often the awkward prayer that got answered not the professional or formal prayer.

ü Pray often, pray while alone, and pray instantly! Do not make yourself the center of your prayers—this is why Jesus said go into your closet to pray. Keep your ‘prayer life’ between you and God or with only your spouse or close friend. Community prayers are often for show rather than connecting with God…so be humble and broken.

Praying, like faith, is effective only if one is humble. So do not think that God is only listening to the educated or flamboyant person. God is on the side of the ‘poor in spirit’. Be like Jesus—give everything to God in prayer and receive everything from God in gratefulness and humility through your three step prayer life.

facebook.com/wwjwm2d Twitter.com/wwjwmtd http://www.wwjwmtd.com

WWJWMTD

What would Jesus want me to do?

Dr. Steven J. Wentland www.wwjwmtd.com

This e-mail, including attachments, may include confidential and/or proprietary information, and may be used only by the person or entity to which it is addressed. If the reader of this e-mail is not the intended recipient or his or her authorized agent, the reader is hereby notified that any dissemination, distribution, or copying of this e-mail is prohibited. If you have received this e-mail in error, please notify the sender by replying to this message and delete this e-mail immediately.