A Call to Prayer – for Ourselves

April Cassidy standing in front of a creek with a white bridge and azaleas blooming in the background

IMG_1078

 

Most of us, even those of us who claim Christ, are living in spiritual poverty, and we don’t even realize it. We have the truth in our hands, but we are not living out God’s Word and seeking Him passionately above all else. We are operating in our own strength, not the power of God’s Spirit. We are holding a little half of a teaspoon in our hands, and we are afraid to ask for more than a drop or two of spiritual riches, when God has redeemed and adopted us as sons and daughters and our Lord Jesus Christ has given us access to ALL of the spiritual riches and power of heaven. It is already ours if we are in Him. We already have total access. We have Niagra Falls 10 feet away from us, and we are too timid to ask for more than a drop or two of God’s Living Water once a week. Let’s run and get the biggest containers we can find – and hand them to God and ask Him to fill them to the brim with His Living Water, power, truth, and  love.

It’s time for a change, y’all. 🙂 God is calling all of us to a much deeper, much stronger faith in Christ. He is calling all of us to a more intense level of fervent prayer and unshakable trust in Himself. He is calling me, personally, to go much deeper, and I am REALLY excited about it! I have so much more to learn, to explore, to understand, and to appreciate.  I have much room for growth.

We can’t give what we don’t have. Before we can pray mightily for others, we must pray first for ourselves and experience God’s power ourselves.

Let’s be still on our faces before the God of the universe who made the heavens, the stars, the galaxies, and who created chemistry, biology, physics, marriage, family, love, truth, artistry, music, language, and beauty. Let’s seek Him with all of our hearts, minds, souls, and strength in fervent, persistent, passionate, Spirit-filled prayer. Let’s wait on Him together. Then, let’s do what He directs us to do by His power, for His glory, and for His kingdom. Let’s be the extension of our Head, Jesus. Let’s be sensitive to every impulse He sends to direct us in doing His will.

Let’s go as deep as God will take us each day. Let’s pray for the biggest possible sized faith a believer in Christ can possess. We know that faith the size of a mustard seed can move God to move mountains. So, how big can our faith be? What is the maximum size? I have no idea. But, let’s ask for THAT! Let’s pray that God will empower us by His Spirit to live holy, lives. Let’s pray that God will work mightily in our midst. We have access to Jesus and everything He is and all that He has. And we are living in spiritual rags, our souls are starving to death. NO! This should never be!

I know we haven’t had many examples of people with powerful faith who know how to pray and shake the heavens. That’s ok. God can bring some examples into our lives from Scripture and from church history. And He can bring some mighty prayer warriors into our midst, too. Let’s seek the deep things of God together. Let’s hunger for spiritual meat and not be satisfied with milk alone. Let’s desire God far above everything this earth has to offer.

LET’S PRAY!

Almighty God,

You are the Creator of heaven and earth. You alone are God. There is no other. You possess all majesty, glory, honor, authority, power, love, and truth. You are Real Love. You are Real Life. To know You through Christ is to be spiritually alive both now and forever. You went to insane lengths to make it possible for us to access a relationship with You. You allowed Your one and only perfect Son to die in our place on the cross. You destroyed death and sin through Him. If we are in Christ, we died that day in Him to this world and our sin. We are no longer slaves to sin! You bought our freedom. We now belong to You. We thank and praise you for this priceless gift!!!

Open our minds to begin to fathom exactly who You really are according to Your Word, the Bible. Help us begin to understand what an immense sin debt we each owed You and the crazy, outlandish, lavish grace, mercy, and forgiveness You have given us that we don’t deserve at all. You gave us this Gift because of who You are, not because of who we are. We deserved hell. We deserved condemnation and punishment at Your hands. We sinned against You – the only God there is. You are eternal and perfectly righteous. And You cannot tolerate one speck of sin in Your presence. You cannot ignore sin or gloss over it. But You loved us so much that You couldn’t watch us be separated from You with no hope of reconciliation. If there was another way for us to be made right with You, Jesus prayed that You might provide it. There was no other way, or You would have spared Your Son. Thank You for the priceless, precious gift of Jesus and His death for us. Help us to begin to wrap our minds around who You are, who Jesus is, who we are and the unspeakably glorious gift You have offered to us.

Help us to experience and access all that Jesus has already done for us on our behalf. We can’t obey You in our own strength. We can’t live for you in our own power. We can’t even have faith in You apart from You giving it to us. Help us to see that the work is finished. We don’t have to try harder. We just need to receive what Jesus has done for us and rest in Your provision, Your love, Your sovereignty, Your mercy, Your promises, Your Word, Your forgiveness, and Your wisdom.

We pray today for ourselves and our own walk with You and we come boldly before Your throne of grace to find mercy and help in our time of need to ask You for:

  • a clear understanding of how repulsive all sin is in Your sight
  • hatred for our own sin
  • grief over our sin and others’ sin – godly sorrow that leads to repentance and freedom from worldly sorrow that leads to death
  • Your agape love for all people in our lives
  • BIG faith in Christ
  • ever increasing trust in You 
  • a realization of any idols we may have – that we might see the things we are trusting in more than we trust You or the things we want more than we want you, that we might repent
  • an all consuming passion and desire to know You more, to have more of Your Spirit, Your presence, Your will, Your power, Your mind, Your heart, and Your vision
  • a willingness to lay down all that we have and all that we are before You in full submission
  • the power to freely forgive others as we have been so freely forgiven by You
    the power to evaluate each thought and take them each captive for Christ
    an incredible amount of love for Your Word
  • a deep, abiding hunger and thirst for Your righteousness
  • Your power to forgive
  • us to live holy, Spirit-filled, God-honoring, Christlike lives daily
  • us to live in the victory over sin that Jesus has already graciously and abundantly provided
  • openness to Your correction, discipline, instruction, and rebuke through the Bible, Your Spirit, and others
  • ears that hear Your Word and Your Spirit very clearly
  • hearts that are eager and willing to do Your will and to obey You in all things
  • the power to humble ourselves before you and to be free from all pride
  • a burning longing and desire to spend time alone with You in Your Word and in prayer, where we beg You to change our hearts, to prune us, to refine us, to sharpen us, and to transform us to be more and more like Jesus – even if it is painful and costly
  • eyes to see the treasures and resources of heaven at our disposal and eyes to see the true value of those things compared to the lack of value of earthly things
  • hearts that long for more and more of You and that care less and less for worldly things
  • Your wisdom to discern lies from the Truth
  • Protection from the evil one who would seek to steal, kill, and destroy us, our loved ones, our families, our friends, and everyone around us
  • a longing to abide in You constantly and to have Your Word and Your Spirit abide in us

In the Name and power of Christ Jesus,

Amen!

RELATED:

Why Doesn’t God Answer My Prayers?

Prayer Day – Praying from an Obedient Life

Prayer Day – Praying with Respect

Prayer Day – Consecration

Prayer Day – Am I Holding Anything Back?

Prayer Day – A Living Sacrifice

Prayer Day – Materialism

Prayer Day – We are IN CHRIST if we are believers