It has always been difficult for me to spend great lengths of time in prayer, and sometimes it’s been a cause of discouragement. On the other hand, God has graciously taught me about prayer and dependence on him throughout the day.
Where should our focus be in the final hours leading up to the election? Certainly we should be trusting God and seeking his sovereign will for tomorrow’s outcome.
1. Pray for open doors.
“Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving; praying at the same time for us as well, that God will open up to us a door for the word, so that we may speak forth the mystery of Christ, for which I have also been imprisoned (Colossians 4:2-3, NASB).
2. Pray for boldness in witness.
“And pray on my behalf, that utterance may be given to me in the opening of my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel” (Ephesians 6:19, NASB).
3. Pray ...
Lord, high and holy, meek
and lowly, Thou hast brought me to the valley of vision,
where I live in the depths but see Thee in the heights; hemmed in by
mountains of sin I behold Thy glory. Let me learn by paradox
that the way down is the way up, that to be low is to be high, that the
broken heart is the healed heart, that the
contrite spirit is the rejoicing spirit, that the
repenting soul is the victorious soul,
that to have nothing is to possess all,
that to bear the cross ...
Lord, I am no longer my own, but Yours. Put me to what You will. Rank me with whom You will. Let me be employed by You or laid aside for You, exalted for You or brought low by You. Let me have all things. Let me have nothing. I freely & heartily yield all things to Your pleasure and disposal. And now, O glorious and blessed God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, You are mine and I am Yours. So be it.
Amen.
This article originally appeared in the Summer 2011 issue of EPM's quarterly newsletter Eternal Perspectives.
Note ...
One night, in Central Africa, I had worked hard to help a mother in the labor ward; but in spite of all that we could do, she died leaving us with a tiny, premature baby and a crying, two-year-old daughter. We would have difficulty keeping the baby alive. We had no incubator. We had no electricity to run an incubator, and no special feeding facilities. Although we lived on the equator, nights were often chilly with treacherous drafts.
In light of the 112th Congress opening today, here is the prayer that opened the First Continental Congress on September 7, 1774. May we be encouraged to pray that our leaders will have the same dependence upon God as these men did during very difficult times.
Check out this video produced by a company I really respect, Chick-fil-A. I think it’s very moving. It reminds me of the divine appointments God gives us daily. It also encourages me to pray, even if briefly, for many people I see in passing and do not know.
There are no prayers like the Puritan prayers, as you know if you’ve read The Valley of Vision. This is something we’ve bought copies of for friends and pastors. This morning Nanci read one to me that she especially appreciated. I wanted to share it with you. Hope it touches you as it did us.
Some of you liked the story and six quotations about prayer from my earlier blog. So here’s six more, followed by a story.
The first two quotes come from two Puritans:
Richard Sibbes said, "God can pick sense out of a confused prayer."
Thomas Watson said, "The angel fetched Peter out of prison, but it was prayer that fetched the angel."
Abraham Lincoln said, "I have been driven many times to my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had nowhere else to go. My own wisdom, and that of all about me seemed insufficient for the day."
This ...
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