5 things we should pray for!
We have celebrated another year that God had given us. Some of us struggled a great deal within this past year. We lost jobs, homes, cars, savings and 401k accounts. Because of these losses, we have become sad, depressed and faithless. Even as Christians, we may have stopped praying to God because we think he has betrayed us. But God has never left us or betrayed us, because he loves us unconditionally. God also asks us to pray without ceasing, which means we should be in constant communication with Him – in good times and bad. We may not understand why these things are happening, but now that the coming year is here, what should we be praying for in the coming year?
1. Pray for wisdom. In the book of 1 Kings 3:9-15, Solomon was David’s son, who was a man of God’s own heart. When Solomon became king, God was pleased because he built a temple for him that he wanted. Instead of Solomon asking for riches and honor, he asked for a discerning heart to govern his people and to distinguish between right and wrong. God was so pleased with Solomon’s request, that he granted him great wisdom, as well as riches and honor, even though he didn’t ask for it. Solomon’s story gives us a great example of wisdom, because we need to recognize what’s right and wrong in our lives. And by doing so, when we are doing wrong, we can pray to God to get our lives back on track. God can also give us wisdom when reading his word. Once we receive wisdom, we receive understanding. When Jesus came to save us, he gave us the knowledge of truth. And that truth can only come from believing in the Son of God. Psalm 119:97-100 says, “Oh, how I love your law! I meditate on it all day long. Your commands make me wiser than my enemies, for they are ever with me. I have more insight than all my teachers, for I meditate on your statutes. I have more understanding than the elders, for I obey your precepts.” When we read God’s word and follow his law, we will have better insight in our lives and our families lives as well.
2. Pray to overcome demonic barriers. Satan is a very powerful spirit. He was created as the most beautiful angel of them all. He was so beautiful and full of himself, that he wanted to be God. And he convinced other angels to follow him and become his demons. We all know that God cast him and his demons out of heaven and gave him permission to roam this world. And because of this, he seeks to devour God’s people. Satan is busy doing his evil deeds, everyday – all day. He’s even using these hard, economic times to continue to do so. His goal is to convince us that we need the material possessions that we have and wants us to destroy ourselves and others if we lose them. But Satan is a liar and the biggest manipulator! Ephesians 6:10-18 says, “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand… And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.” This scripture clearly tells us that our fight is always with the evil spirits, which we can not see. God also has to give Satan permission to touch or affect our lives. Why? Because God wants us to always depend on him, especially through hard and difficult times. Our faith in God enables us to rebuke Satan and his ways. Being in constant prayer with God will allow God to give us the strength to endure. Satan’s job is also to try and trap us into doing his will and not the will of God. He tries to tell us we don’t need God, that God’s not there for us or God doesn’t love us. But don’t believe his lies, because that’s his job. God wants us to come to our senses and escape from the trap of the devil, so we won’t do his will, but God’s.
3. Pray for strength to overcome temptation. We all should know the story of Adam and Eve being tempted in the Garden of Eden. In Genesis 3:1-6, Satan persuaded Eve to eat fruit from the tree of knowledge so she and Adam would be like God, knowing good and evil and gaining wisdom. After this act of great temptation, sin entered the world. Jesus said to his disciples in Luke 17:1 that, “Things that cause people to sin are bound to come, but woe to that person through whom they come.” Jesus lets us know that we are going to be tempted, but to be careful and not tempt others to follow us and sin as well. We are to also be careful in being tempted away from God. By worshipping idols, such as: money, cars, houses, jobs, people, etc, these things can pull us away from God and focus all of our attentions on seeking these worldly possessions. God already promised us that he would take care of our needs, so if we put Him first in our lives, these things we will have. Another big temptation we as humans face are temptations of the flesh and/or adultery. God warns us against this, because it can or will destroy families. Proverbs 6:25-29 says, “Do not lust in your heart after her beauty or let her captivate you with her eyes, for the prostitute reduces you to a loaf of bread, and the adulteress preys upon your every life. Can a man scoop fire into his lap without his clothes being burned? Can a man walk on hot coals without his feet being scorched? So is he who sleeps with another man’s forty days and nights, he became hungry. Satan came to Jesus and told him to turn stones into bread, so he could eat. But Jesus said in Matthew 4:4 that, “Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.” Then Satan took Jesus to the highest point of the temple and told him to throw himself off and allow the angels to catch him. Then Jesus said in Matthew 4:7, “It is also written: Do not put the Lord your God to the test.” Then again, Satan took Jesus to a high mountain and told Jesus that if he worshipped him, he would give him all the kingdoms of the world. Then Jesus said in Matthew 4:10, “Away from me Satan! For it is written: Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.” Then Satan left. God in human flesh, allowed himself to be tempted by Satan, so he could understand what we go through and how we feel. But God also gives us examples of how he handled Satan and we are now empowered to do the same! Stay in constant prayer to defeat temptation from the devil. And in doing so, he will flee from you and you will be blessed.
4. Pray to strengthen others spiritually. We all go through trials and tribulations. Some are worse than others. When bad times happen, we should build on our faith in God who strengthens us even more. In order for us to give strength spiritually to others, we must have strength ourselves. And we can only receive this strength by reading the word of God and becoming closer to him on a daily basis. Psalm 18:32 says, “It is God who arms me with strength and makes my way perfect.” And Isaiah 33:2 asks, “Oh Lord, be gracious to us: we long for you. Be our strength every morning our salvation in time of distress.” We have to remember that people are observing our actions. When we do hypocritical things we can push people away from God, rather than pulling them towards God, because of our actions. We are to be Christ-like, by letting our lights shine for all to see. God knows we are not perfect, but once we accept Christ in our lives, we are to flee from sin at all times. Abraham was the father of us all, because of his faith. When he became about one hundred years old, his wife Sarah couldn’t bare children because of her old age as well. But because Abraham believed God and didn’t lose faith, he and Sarah were able to have a son. For Romans 4:20-21 says, “Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised.” So whenever we face hardships and our friends and family do as well, pray to have God strengthen our faith, so we may be an example to others.
5. Pray God’s will to be done on earth. As stated before, Satan’s job is for us to do his will, not God’s. But his will also seeks to destroy us. He paints a perfect picture and gives us what our heart desires, good or bad. And he tells us that nothing is bad for us. He also tells us it’s OK to kill, steal and destroy and to devalue life. He doesn’t want us to believe that we will spend eternity alive with God. He wants us to live with him for an eternity in hell. God has always given us a choice. And he wants our choices to include him. God knew us before we were born and he knew his purpose in our lives. We just have to figure it out. There’s been so many books about how to live your best life, what’s your purpose, how to find your purpose and so on, but God never meant for this to be a big secret. He will tell you what his will is for your life if you only ask. We are also busy thinking that material things and money is God’s will to make us happy. But God never promised that. He actually said to give up everything if it’s hindering you and follow him. His will is for Christians to lead non-Christians to Him in order to be saved. God has given all of us at least one gift. My gift is writing. And I have chosen to use my gift to write articles and books with the purpose of leading people to Christ. I didn’t always know this and discovered it after years of searching for my purpose. So if you find that you are never happy, have a empty void or always searching for something, it’s God you’re looking for. Nothing else will fill this void. God made us this way and he only hopes that we choose him. If we choose our own plan and not God’s, our lives will be miserable. Isaiah 30:1 says, “Woe to the obstinate children,” declares the Lord, “to those who carry out plans that are not mine, forming an alliance, but not by my spirit, heaping sin upon sin.” Jesus also gives us a clear example of God’s will, when the Jews asked him how he was able to teach without studying? John 7:17-18 says, “If anyone chooses to do God’s will, he will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own. He who speaks on his own does so to gain honor for himself, but he who works for the honor of the one who sent him is a man of truth: there is nothing false about him.” We will gain wisdom by doing God’s will through his word. If you are still seeking and searching for God’s will, pray and ask God to reveal it. Once his will is revealed, don’t stop – keep persevering. Because Satan’s job is to try and stop you and destroy you. Hebrews 10:36 says, “You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised.” This is eternal life. Which is God’s will on earth and in heaven.
God had to come to earth to die for us, so we may live again with him. When Adam and Eve created the first sin, they separated us from God and death was the punishment. God loved us so much, that he decided to stop earthly sacrifices and give us the best sacrifice of all – Jesus Christ! He had to do this, to fulfill his promise to us. So if we pray for wisdom, to overcome demonic barriers, for strength to overcome temptation, to strengthen others spiritually and for God’s will to be done, then I believe that God will bless us, in the New Year and years to come!
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Wanda L. Ball~
