Confidence and Calling
Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. Elijah was a human being, even as we are. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. – James 5:16-17
Yesterday, we began talking about how to pray powerful prayers. We discussed how the first thing you need to pray with power is a connection to a burden. If you missed yesterday’s devotional, I would encourage you to go back and read it. But for today, I want us to discuss two other things we need if we’re going to pray powerful prayers.
The second thing we need is a confidence to hold. If you want confidence to know what God is going to do, it will only come out of extended time alone with Him. You can have peace in your heart about God’s plans when you spend time reading His Word and talking to Him and listening to Him through prayer.
There are times when God will give you confidence as you pray the very first time about a burden. He could speak to you immediately. But He could also take His time. And when we have spent a lot of time in the presence of the Father, we can confidently trust Him and His timing, regardless of how He chooses to answer our prayers.
Finally, the third thing we need to pray powerful prayers is a call to follow. As you pray and spend time with the Lord, He will not give you this confidence to hold onto and then just let you go. Sometimes, we misunderstand that intercession is just for us. In reality, God is planning to use the intercessor to take a step, to be part of the resolution of the burden.
That is what God did with Elijah. Remember, God rarely calls someone to pray without asking him to follow. Don't think that prayer is just an activity that you do and then you are finished. Most of the time, God calls intercessors into action. So if we’re asking God to do something in our lives, we need to be humble, bold, and willing enough to realize that we might be part of His answer to our prayers.
Yesterday, we began talking about how to pray powerful prayers. We discussed how the first thing you need to pray with power is a connection to a burden. If you missed yesterday’s devotional, I would encourage you to go back and read it. But for today, I want us to discuss two other things we need if we’re going to pray powerful prayers.
The second thing we need is a confidence to hold. If you want confidence to know what God is going to do, it will only come out of extended time alone with Him. You can have peace in your heart about God’s plans when you spend time reading His Word and talking to Him and listening to Him through prayer.
There are times when God will give you confidence as you pray the very first time about a burden. He could speak to you immediately. But He could also take His time. And when we have spent a lot of time in the presence of the Father, we can confidently trust Him and His timing, regardless of how He chooses to answer our prayers.
Finally, the third thing we need to pray powerful prayers is a call to follow. As you pray and spend time with the Lord, He will not give you this confidence to hold onto and then just let you go. Sometimes, we misunderstand that intercession is just for us. In reality, God is planning to use the intercessor to take a step, to be part of the resolution of the burden.
That is what God did with Elijah. Remember, God rarely calls someone to pray without asking him to follow. Don't think that prayer is just an activity that you do and then you are finished. Most of the time, God calls intercessors into action. So if we’re asking God to do something in our lives, we need to be humble, bold, and willing enough to realize that we might be part of His answer to our prayers.
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