Friday, August 27, 2010

Sweet P's -- Praying for those in fear

Sweet P's are: Prayers, Petition, Praise!, Courtesy of teawithtiffany.com

Each Friday, Tiffany (Tea With Tiffany) hosts a meme requesting that other bloggers join her in a round of sweet P's (Prayers, Petition, Praise!).

All week, I've been asking the Lord, "What shall I pray about? What can I say on behalf of those needing Your help? Who shall I stand in agreement with so that You are in our midst Lord?"

The truth is, I don't know how to pray. I have found during the past few weeks of joining Tiffany and other believers that it is first a privilege to pray for others but it is not something I want to take for granted; to be just uttering a bunch of nice sounding words. I believe what I say matters, but I also believe that what I say needs to line up with a genuine sincere heart that honors God as the strength of my life and the source whom I rely upon.

I find myself in front of my computer in the early morning hour, awakened from a peaceful sleep, an indication to me that it's time to pray. I'm appending my Sweet P's along with Tiffany and others in a offering to our Lord. I invite you to please join with us.

"O my God,

incline Your ear and hear; open Your eyes and see
" the many needs of those crying out, "save me!" All week, Your Holy Spirit has reminded me of the children of Israel standing on the banks of the Red Sea pursued by an enemy intent on destroying them. Right now, at this very moment Lord, there are others facing their very own Red Sea experience.

Their enemy may be unemployment, it may be sickness, it may be foreclosure of their home, it may be a failing marriage, it may be an abusive relationship, it may be a failing business, it may be an addiction, it may be legal problems, it may be low self-esteem, or it may be unconfessed sin. I don't know who their enemy is that pursues them but You are the Omnipotent God, You know who that enemy is and how long that enemy has been chasing them down.

Just as Moses spoke, I want to echo his words today by saying to those who are fearful, "Do not fear, Stand by and see the salvation of the Lord...The Lord will fight for you while you keep silent."

Cause us to remember that, "those who are with us are more than those who are with them." Send an army of angels to fight on behalf of those who've become weary from being pursued. Many of Your people are discouraged, tired, weak and sapped of any strength but I remember You declared that, "My grace is sufficient for thee: for My strength is made perfect in weakness." Let Your strength break forth O Lord as we acknowledge our weakness. We cannot defeat this enemy without You.

Open our eyes that we may see the glory of Your power and might. Just as You caused the Red Sea to swallow up the Egyptians, I ask You O Lord to swallow up this enemy right now by Your power and might. Do this Lord that we might rejoice and say: "I will sing unto the Lord, for He hath triumphed gloriously: the horse and the rider hath He thrown into the sea. The Lord is my strength and song, and He is become my salvation."

We declare that, "The Lord is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear?...My heart shall not fear..I shall be confident."

What is there that anyone can say, "This is too hard for God?" What can separate us from Your precious love? There is nothing too high or too deep or too wide that can cause a gulf between Your love and Your people.

You are our strong tower and mighty shield. I confess my faith in You my Lord and King. Thank You Jesus for moving in these situations and rescuing so many, for giving courage in the face of fear, for giving hope in the midst of our trials and for giving peace in the depth of despair.

Thank You Lord. I cannot praise You enough for Your goodness and grace. It is You O Lord, "who is able to do exceeding abundantly beyond all that we ask or think..." To You be glory, honor and dominion.

May our joy burst forth like the morning sun, exalting You as our Lord and Savior. We lift up our hands in adoration and praise in honor of the love You shower upon our lives. We depend on You in all things. Thank You Lord for hearing and answering our cry for help. Amen.

16 comments:

Denise said...

Praying with you, and for you.

Solid Rock or Sinking Sand said...

I'm praying with you also MTJ that our Holy and Almighty God reaches down and answers all of our prayers that are within His will. God's blessings too you. Lloyd

Tea with Tiffany said...

This prayer for those in fear is powerful. I lived in fear for far too long. I used to have anxiety attacks from my fear of what if's. Over the last 7 days as I've prayed and sought the LORD for freedom, He has answered. What a gift! I see life through new eyes now.

Thank you for standing in the gap for those who need this prayer.

And thanks for your well-thought out comment on my blog about bloggers and where you want your heart to be.

May GOD grant you much JOY today. The joy of the LORD is our strength.

Peggy said...

Thank You Lord for MTJ and the humble way of approaching prayer uniting us against FEAR that we bind, no matter what the circumstance and we release
COURAGE, BOLDNESS, and STRENGTH in YOU alone, not in our might, or words (prayers) but by Your Spirit!!! OUR CONFIDENCE LIES IN YOU ~ Praise GOD!

Blessings MTJ...
I so love coming here and watching that beautiful scene open in your header and watch Him flow from your heart and sincere words, I especially liked this part before your prayer:

"I believe what I say matters, but I also believe that what I say needs to line up with a genuine sincere heart that honors God as the strength of my life and the source whom I rely upon."

AMEN to a wonderful WORD to the Almighty on the behalf of many!

Thank you for praying that we be delivered from FEAR in Jesus Name.

Mari Nuñez said...

To him be glory, honor and dominion, Amen!

I am so glad I found yo blog, I have enjoy reading it.

You have a new follower. I have two blogs, my christian one is Living In God's Grace.

Blessing,
Mari

Karen said...

Amen! Praying the Word...so powerful!

I loved the reminder in this line..."You know who that enemy is and how long that enemy has been chasing them down."...victory in Him!

Mya said...

Hi, The email program is not working properly on my computer so I can not look up your address, and the email that was sent to me does not have your email on it either, so I am contacting you through your blog - which by the way is interesting.

You sent an email to David of
Taize..." Do not have the answers but it came to me - thought you should know that David may or may not have received your note.

Cyberspace is always full of surprises.

Kim@stuffcould.... said...

So glad I found your blog through the Sweet P's, will need to do this post next week
kim

Lily said...

Today we received some devastating news. I am trying to cope with suffocating fear as a result. I am not normally a fear-filled person, but today, today I am terrified. Thank you for this timely prayer in my life.

Jan Parrish said...

This prayer spoke right into my spirit. Thanks you so much for participating.

I believe you have the gift of intercession and the enemy is lying to you that you don't know how to pray. Eloquent and moving.

Sharon said...

This was a wonderful prayer, MTJ - one that really spoke to me, because I am a person who really battles fear. I was reminded of 1 Peter 5:8 - "...watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour."

Scary, right? But a couple of weeks ago, our pastor gave a really interesting insight. He read somewhere about how lions hunt. He said the old, slow lions "camp out" downwind of the prey - and they make a lot of noise - they roar! The young lions hunt upwind of the prey, and they are silent stalkers. Then he made the point that the devil was just an OLD lion, with a lot of roar, but no bite for the believer. So, he said, "Run toward the roar!"

That's what I want to do - run toward the roar - tell the devil, and all the things he sends my way to chase me down - in the power of the Holy Spirit, "I AM NOT AFRAID!!"

Blessings to you - and thank you for this word today.

Mike and Debbie said...

Well, I must start out by saying I disagree with your statement that you don't know how to pray. Ha! Praying God's Word is the most powerful and effective form of prayer we have...and you just did it beautifully!! Thank you for sharing this prayer that touches the needs of so many.

Wanda said...

His word is His will and when we pray according to it we know that He has heard us. Your prayer was such a blessing and I receive it for myself and agree with you for the many others that are facing Red Seas today.

Anonymous said...

Brother MTJ, for someone who says... The truth is, I don't know how to pray.
You do a pretty good job at it! That was a wonderful biblical prayer.

God bless you

Your Brother in Christ, ~Ron

MTJ said...

Everyone: Thank you for allowing me to be a part of this army of prayer warriors. I find encouragement and strength among your ranks as I read many of the prayers you lifted up to our Lord. I shall endeavor to pray in faith using each of you as my example. Thank you for sharing your walk of faith with me.

Annesphamily said...

I am praying for you today. I am so grateful to be part of this praying warriors. Anne