Things Go Better With Prayer

Our society would have us believe that things go better with Coke. No things go better with prayer.  My understanding that great revivals and moves of the spirit have first been “birthed” through prayer.

Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Romans 12:12

I recently saw Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis with a friend and it was about how the enemy uses several different strategies or attacks on us to get us not to be an effectual believer.  One of the big ones that I find is that he continually tells me that my prayers do no good.  That is clear indication they are working, or he would not be trying so hard to convince me of that.  I can’t count the number of thoughts I have of what I do as far as reading my Bible, ministry, typing blogs, giving tithes and offerings, and prayer that what I do does not matter.    

In fact the biggest lie is that he tells me on a daily basis for the last five years that I should just give up in life and throw in the towel, because I am never going to get one request from God.  Man, have I heard that one over and over the last 40 years.  Most widows I meet, we know we had our day in glory on this earth already.

Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up hope. Luke 18:1

I ran into a single woman at a Bible study who told me that her brother-in-law died of cancer and she said, “Why pray since it does no good.”  This is a tare that Satan had sown in her heart.  The same thing happened to me since I was right there praying and my daughter prayed when my husband had a massive heart attack.  I recognize that was a tare or a no-win scenario that Satan sowed in my heart that I could not save my husband through prayer.  Same way with going through a divorce.  I fasted and prayed, but I could not change the outcome to save a former marriage.

It sort of reminds me of when Jesus died on the cross and even the son of God had mocking that “he saved others, but he could not save himself.”  So it’s a mocking of that I’ve believed in prayer, but this time it did not work.  It was an attack on my faith in believing in a loving and good God in my life, and also in the power of prayer.  These are tares in our life.  My husband never got the victory over being born with chronic asthma so we both knew he would have a short life, it was just shorter than any of us expected.

But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way. Matthew 13:25

Because Jesus prayed, “lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one” that sounds like Jesus would have us pray a safety prayer.  Jesus also prayed that the heavenly Father would not take us out of the world, but keep us from the evil one.  So that was two prayers; one for protection and one for deliverance.  

My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one.  John 17:15

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.' Matthew 6:13

James was killed and when the church prayed, Peter was delivered by an angel in prison. 

It was about this time that King Herod arrested some who belonged to the church, intending to persecute them. He had James, the brother of John, put to death with the sword. When he saw that this met with approval among the Jews, he proceeded to seize Peter also. This happened during the Festival of Unleavened Bread. Acts 12:1-3

So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him. Acts 12:5 

A good time to pray is every time we get in the driver seat or ride in a moving vehicle and on an airplane.  I think it would have been good if I missed my plane on the day of 9/11. 

My husband and I were boaters and there were a number of things that would go wrong when we were out trying to have fun like the wave runners would suck up a sock in water or a rock.  I like to stay away from beaches like Raccoon Lake because they have a lot of rocks or keep the wave runners farther out from the shore.  I also found certain maintenance on the trailers to keep the wheels regularly greased.  One of my friends wrote up a safety rules for me about boating to help with people to be more safety conscience and I have a check list.  My father was a pilot and before he took his private plane out he had a check list of things he checked out on his plane before he flew his plane. I believe the same thing can be true with prayer as far as us being more safety conscience and prayer is like a checklist.  

When we pray, we may get a “check’ in our spirit about going somewhere or doing something. 

There at times are “unforeseen” dangers.  One was my friend was driving very slowly through the park when we were leaving the lake because it was getting dark and he was concerned about hitting a deer.  As soon as we left the park a fawn ran into the headlights and put $1600 damage on my car.  I asked someone about that and they said that possibly that was a “warning” he did not pick up and we should have stopped and prayed.  No one was hurt only property damage since he was driving very slowly.  
It’s really hard to tell with some of these type of incidents because I had a dream that I hurt myself when I was a young Christian.  I prayed about it and then I fell through a plate glass window and I cut my hand and had to go have stitches.  I was pregnant at the time and nothing happened to the baby so maybe it would have been worse than what happened because I prayed.

One time we prayed before I sponsored a single’s event at Monroe Lake and I saw out of a the corner of my eye a person not yielding close to a merge of the highway near Bloomington, and I had to slam on my breaks or she would have ran into me when I had the right of way. Who cares who has the right of way – the purpose is to avoid collisions in life.  I had blogged previously how I have “hesitations” in life and those hesitations saved my life on the highway and at stop lights. 

I believe all Christians should take at least 15 minutes each day to pray, but there is no set rule, only examples in the Bible.  David prayed three times a day and so did Daniel.  The Lord dealt with me to take lunch breaks at times to pray. I’ve spoken to many other people who have been waking up in the middle of the night and this can be a “call to pray.”  Jesus was trying to get his disciples to watch and pray that they did not enter into temptation, but they fell asleep.  

Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak." Matthew 26:4

Evening, morning and noon I cry out in distress, and he hears my voice. Psalm 55:17

Peter saw a vision when he was praying before lunch and Daniel had visions also.

About noon the following day as they were on their journey and approaching the city, Peter went up on the roof to pray. He became hungry and wanted something to eat, and while the meal was being prepared, he fell into a trance. Acts 10:9-10

Now when Daniel learned that the decree had been published, he went home to his upstairs room where the windows opened toward Jerusalem. Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before.   Daniel 6:10

One time, I broke out in a deep moaning and travailing and crying with tears out of the blue.  Later, I found out my parents and my brother were in a near miss car accident where someone almost broad sided them so I believe that short 5-10 minutes was for them.  There have been occasions where I’ve broken out in this travail at times. 

In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. Romans 8:26

Other times, I’ve had a “prayer” burden which was an infirmity.  I walked into East 91^st Street Christian Church one Sunday, and immediately as soon as I walked in the door, I had a severe headache and the women’s bathroom at that exact moment was shut down for a medical emergency.  I believe I was picking up an intercession for that person.  

I rarely argued with my husband, but one night I got in an argument coming back from being out with his work friends at a restaurant.  I was talking to a friend at work and she said that her husband and her got in an argument at the exact same time at 7pm too on Friday night.  It’s rather interesting because I have found concentrated attacks across the city at the same time.  When I fractured my ankle missing the last step of my stairs, my manager fell down his garage stairs and injured his jaw, a woman at work fractured a bone in her foot hiking, and another man at work fell riding his bike and got hurt. 

When the stage fell down during the windstorm at the State Fairgrounds in the summer, at that exact time, I had a branch fall off a tree in Greenwood when I was driving, blocking my view of my windshield for  few seconds.  My friend called and I started praying for those people at the Fairgrounds.  I find that there are general attacks on people and so whenever any oppression or anything comes against me, I try to discern if it’s actually to pray for someone else going through an attack. I find spiritual attacks at times go across the city in general so as an intercessor, I like to keep other people covered.

It’s very similar to how Joshua was losing the battle until Aaron and Hur held up Moses hands, so I like to keep people lifted up through my prayers.  

So Joshua fought the Amalekites as Moses had ordered, and Moses, Aaron and Hur went to the top of the hill. As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning. Exodus 17:10-11

I don’t believe in using prayer as a cop-out if I need to do something.  In James, it talks about we are to feed and give people clothes so I realize that if I’m ministering to sick and starving children, than at times I’m the one that is supposed to be the hands and feet of Jesus.  Same with the sick, and it says to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, it does not say to pray for them.  

What I find, when I go minister to the sick or the widows and the fatherless is I still have to pray that God gives me wisdom to encourage them.  And when I feed the homeless and the those in poverty that God gives me his love and wisdom to minister to them.  When I was in the Christian missionary group out in street evangelism five days a week and some on weekends, the Lord blessed me with a good prayer mentor and we prayed for a good hour before we went to minister on the street or door-to-door evangelism and we found people were more receptive when we prayed

Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. James 1:27  

Peter went with them, and when he arrived he was taken upstairs to the room. All the widows stood around him, crying and showing him the robes and other clothing that Dorcas had made while she was still with them. Peter sent them all out of the room; then he got down on his knees and prayed. Turning toward the dead woman, he said, "Tabitha, get up." She opened her eyes, and seeing Peter she sat up Acts 9:39-40

One of the gifts that has helped me with praying was I asked to receive the infilling of the Holy Spirit about three months after I became a Christian and I was already water baptized.  I received this infilling of joy.  I did not receive tongues until about a month later.  Something was blocking it, and then for a while it sounded a lot like a baby babbling (learning to speak), but now it’s more of a language.  At times when I don’t know what to pray for in the understanding, I pray in tongues for people and ask God to intercede through me through that heavenly language.  I pray to myself in tongues.
We see where Peter prayed after they were new believers like I was that they would receive the Holy Spirit. 

When they arrived, they prayed for the new believers there that they might receive the Holy Spirit, because the Holy Spirit had not yet come on any of them; they had simply been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then Peter and John placed their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit. Acts 8:15-18

When Paul placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied. Acts 19:6

A benefit I found in praying in tongues it says in Jude that it builds up our faith, and it helps keep us in the love of God. I also find, I get tired faster in praying in my own language, and it’s easier for me at times to pray in the language that God gave me--I have more endurance to pray.

But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in God's love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life.  Jude 1:20-21

Anyone who speaks in a tongue edifies themselves, but the one who prophesies edifies the church. 1 Cor. 14:4

For anyone who speaks in a tongue does not speak to people but to God. Indeed, no one understands them; they utter mysteries by the Spirit. 1 Cor. 14:2

Common sense if I am edified, I can edify others.  If I am beat down in life, I am not very much help to others.

Pray without ceasing. 1 Thess. 5:17