Storming the gates...



One of my favorite preacher-people is Bill Johnson...He says "Wake up each morning and ask 'what are we going to today, Lord?' then go to bed each night with blood on your sword".

If anyone is up for some pain here is a prayer challenge inspired by my friend Elizabeth...

For lent one year she took the "pray for your enemies" scriptures and applied them to herself... Everyday she prayed for Osama Bin Laden. She said it was very hard to do this.

Here is the challenge:

-Select one person. It can be someone you know or someone you don't know but that you have issue with (like Elizabeth did with Bin Laden).

- Each day for one week, pray for them. If no one comes immediately to mind, ask God to bring someone to mind...

Here are the guidelines:

1 - Pray with the heart and mind of Christ (2 Corinthians 10:5). Remember there isn't a person we lock eyes with that Jesus didn't die for...His heart is love. He is love first and foremost - it is what everything He does flows from. The love we have inside us as believers is a love unknown/inaccessible to mortal man. It is God's kind of love (agape) and is only available to those who love the Lord. WE HAVE IT, brothers and sisters...we just gotta tap in. :)

2 - Set aside judgment of the person you are praying for (no matter what they have done, God loves them. If this is hard, confess to God how you feel about the person and ask for His thoughts on it. Ask him to show you something he loves about them.

3 - (optional) Write out your prayer or say it out loud - not just in your spirit. There is power in the spoken word. Then write anything you "hear" from God...Many times he will show you areas where you could pray for them...Maybe against fear or for a health issue, etc. If you know the person, maybe ask them if there's anything you can pray for them about.

4 - Have fun storming the castle! You don't have to weep and travail or be pious. Just talk to God about the person and see what He says and how you can serve this person in your prayers.

5 - Come share your experience in the comment section and invite others to take the challenge.


Comments

Kelly said…
The kids and I have been doing this for our soon to be president. I must admit praying for someone you don't particularly care for changes your heart towards them.
10:13 AM
Helen Ann said…
Yes, it does...Virgie and I were talking about how praying for someone produces a certain amount of "intimacy" with them...Not the romantic kind of course, but the heartfelt kind...And that is probably precisely why Jesus challenges us to pray for our enemies.

the prez-elect is one of those on my list as well... :)
11:01 AM
Kelly said…
I would agree. I remembered another situation where this has worked. There is a woman in our neighborhood that has hated us since we moved in. We have had a couple of run ins with her and they were pretty ugly. After the last one God told me to pray for her. So I told the kids we were going to do just that. We haven't had a problem with her in months. And I pray someday she can find the peace of Christ. I guess God knows what He is talking about!
11:18 AM
Helen Ann said…
Isn't funny how he knows how these things work? Why do we think we know better? :)
2:21 PM
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