Praying People 2

Morning friends, today I am continuing on from yesterday’s post Praying People:

WORSHIP

Our prayerful confession of God’s name is part of our WORSHIP of God which literally means – giving worth to HIS NAME .

Our response to the name of the Lord is to worship Him (Psalm 66:2) and to give thanks, praise and bless Him (Psalm 100:4) and to lift up our hands to Him. (Psalm 63:4)

Worship changes the atmosphere when you speak out and give voice to the praises of God and Jesus.

Praise and worship should naturally be part of prayer times as it is the pathway of praise & worship which leads us into God’s presence.  

If you find it difficult or awkward at first to praise and worship on your own or even in a small group then perhaps start off by reading a Psalm of praise, put on worship music, watch or listen to a YouTube music video or read aloud the lyrics of a worship song.  

You’re not expected to be a musical superstar – make a joyful sound to the Lord – it doesn’t have to be note perfect. It’s worship of the heart that is music to God’s ears.

You will soon find and start to initiate your own Worship of God and become freer to express yourself in Worship.

Psalm 103 encourages us to “Bless the Lord O my soul: and all that is within me, bless His holy name” and in Psalm 99 “Let them praise Your great and awesome name – He is holy”

REPENTANCE

As we worship God and read His Word then we can be led into times of repentance.

When praying it is important to ask God to reveal by His Holy Spirit areas of our lives where we have sinned and are not right with Him. Taking time in prayer to allow God to search our hearts.

Psalm  51 v 10 “Create in me a clean heart, O God and renew a right spirit within me”.  

Repent of anything the Lord reveals and receive and thank God for his forgiveness and cleansing by the precious blood of Jesus Christ.   Remember this is conviction not condemnation. We should repent of sin (including sins of omission, bad attitudes etc) then receive forgiveness through Christ and move forward.

We want our prayers to be effective and the bible teaches us that it is the “ fervent prayers of a righteous man which are effective” James 5:16

Solomon’s Prayer

I encourage you to read Solomon’s prayer to God in 2 Chronicles Ch 6 v 12-42.

Right at the start of his prayer, Solomon demonstrated a humble attitude before God by kneeling down before all the people and lifting his hands up towards heaven.     Kneeling before God in prayer and lifting up our hands to heaven demonstrates submission to God as mentioned in yesterday’s post.    

Solomon did this before “all the people”. He was the king but he wasn’t too proud or embarrassed in front of the people to adopt this humble posture before God.

Solomon starts by confessing who God is verse 14 “LORD God of Israel, there is no God in heaven or earth like You, who keep Your covenant and mercy with your servants who walk before you with all their hearts”.

Then Solomon asks God to hear and answer the prayers which the people will make in the temple.

Solomon points to the responsibility of the people to seek God for mercy and the importance of repentance and confession of God’s name (v24 & 26) as part of this.

An incredible answer came to Solomon’s prayer:

When Solomon had finished praying fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices and the glory of the Lord filled the temple” Ch 7 v1

Oh to experience the glory of the Lord manifest amongst us.

Do you desire God’s fire and glory to fall and for revival to come. If we desire the fire of God to fall on us and ignite us then we must acknowledge that revival has to start in each one of us.

Am I, are we, willing though to sacrifice time in prayer and seeking God to see revival in myself/us, my/our family, my/our church, my/our community, my/our nation, the nations.

If the answer is yes, particularly in these troublesome times, then let us seek God, asking God to increase our hunger and desire for Him, actively seeking His Will to be done, for an urgency to development in us and that the Holy Spirit will be poured out upon us in power and fire.

John the Baptist said of Jesus “He shall baptise you with the Holy Spirit and with fire”.

Let’s not forget that promise. Jesus baptises with fire.

Let’s pray:

I pray today that you will know God and the Lord Jesus Christ in a new and deeper understanding. That you will have a deeper revelation of who Jesus is and the power which is His.

I pray that the eyes of your heart will be opened.   That your spiritual eyes will be opened.   That you will have a deeper and more intimate relationship with Jesus Christ from this day forward.

I pray that fire from heaven will fall upon you and the power of the Holy Spirit. That you will be filled with the power of the Holy Spirit and will go out and do great works by the power of His holy name, Jesus Christ of Nazareth. Let the fire fall and let your heart be aflame with love and revelation of Jesus and the power that is in Him. Never tire of doing His good works and walk in His footsteps forever and ever. Amen”