Crunch Time Prayers
“To Him who is able to
do exceedingly, abundantly above all that we can ask or think.” (Ephesians
3:20).
Cindy Hartman is a
crunch-time prayer.
Some time ago, she
walked into her house to answer the phone and was confronted by a burglar. He ripped the phone cord out of the wall and
ordered her into a closet. Cindy dropped
to her knees and asked the burglar if she could pray for him. “I want you to know that God loves you and I
forgive you,” she said.
The burglar, shocked
by her response, apologized for what he had done. Then he yelled outside to a woman in a pickup
truck, “We’ve got to unload all of this.
This is a Christian home and a Christian family. We can’t do this to them.” As Cindy remained on her knees, the burglar
returned the furniture he had taken from her home. Then he took the bullets out
of his gun, handed the gun to her, and walked out the door. She never underestimated the disarming
effects of prayer.
J. Sidlow Baxter re-emphasized
a productive approach toward prayer when he said, “Men may spurn our appeals, reject our message, oppose our arguments,
attack similar challenges with such divine determination, whether it be against
our neighborhood enemy or our spiritual enemy;
it comes from a practiced lifestyle.”
Much like a stealthy
sports veteran who has polished his or her game to a fine art through
innumerable hours of sometimes tedious practice, the crunch-time prayer
reflexively responds under pressure to an all-powerful God “who is able to do
exceedingly, abundantly above all that we can ask or think.” (Ephesians 3:20). But prayer that is practiced does not stem
from panic, but from a faith-based assurance of God’s love and plan. (1 Peter 5:7)
In the wake of many
national tragedies in the past few years, we are reminded of our corporate and
individual vulnerabilities toward heartache in a fallen world. None of us is exempt. While as a nation we often try to pad our
lives with groundless hope and idealistic independence, our foundations are far
more fragile than we like to believe.
One of our great presidents said, “Sometimes it seems necessary that we
should be confronted with perils which threaten us with disaster in order that
we may not get puffed up and forget Him who has much work for us yet to do.”
As we move closer to
the celebration of our Independence Day of July 4th, we remember our
forefathers’ desire to see God in every aspect of our government, education,
and religion. It has been replaced with
a gradual encompassing attitude of opposition.
And yet while many would purport their humanistic views, millions
around our nation continue to gather at churches and places of worship to
express our constitutional belief in prayer.
God’s salt and light is penetrating the blandness and darkness of the
enemy’s clutches through humble intercession for our nation.
As we celebrate this
weekend, we remember the celebrational and motivational impetus for all
believers to keep our nation’s leaders, moral issues, families, young people,
and spiritual enlightenment in focus.
Let us touch on several points of prayer to unleash His power upon our
nation:
Praise- For His unceasing and faithful love for us. (Psalms 68:19)
Repentance-
Release our personal and national sins
that hinder the flow of His blessing.
(II
Chronicles 7:14)
Thanksgiving- For His sovereignty in life’s varied
circumstances.
(I Thessalonians 5:18)
Petition-
For His will in our requests toward Him. (James 4:15)
Terry Risser
Reflections:
1)
Mention an area above that God might want to
stir in us today? (Praise, Repentance, Thanksgiving, Petition)
2)
Take time to express your dependence on Him
today.
COnsider reading the Word today:
Copyright 2014- Terry Risser
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