Prayer Changes Me

Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4: 6, 7)

I am sure that those of you who have followed my posts must have realized that I appear very controversial on the surface. But you must also have realized that that controversy is due to the fact that I want to go deeper than the usual statements and assumptions. It is all too easy to say something, but it is a totally different thing to speak about something you have experienced or are pursuing.

There are too many clichés in our Christian lives yet there is very little to show for our so open confession.

But that may need another post if it is not already addressed in one already posted since I post what God prompts me. Let us now talk about prayer.

Prayer changes things is a cliché. But is that true? Yes and no. What do you mean? I know someone is wondering.

The reality is that God intends for prayer to change me and prepare me for His changing of the things. A prayer for God to change things is a selfish thing. A prayer that only changes things can be very injurious to the one who prays.

I think that is the reason Jabez’ story appears in Chronicles, the book with enough genealogy to dazzle most. He appears, prays, is answered and disappears again. What happened after his prayer was answered? Why don’t we read of who he begat? Where did his family disappear in all that genealogy?

I suspect that his life lost spiritual relevance after his prayer was answered. He simply disappeared from the spiritual radar.

By the way the same happened to Hezekiah after he was added fifteen years after his very bitter prayer. The only thing he was able to produce was Manasseh, the most wicked king and the cause of the exile. All his exploits were attributable to his fourteen years before that prayer.

Hannah was different. She prayed for years in the same manner as we do. ‘Oh Lord that I may hold my own child’. She must have prayed that enough times.

But eventually her prayer transforms her request. ‘I just want to get rid of the shame of barrenness. Just let me bear a son and you can have him for all I care’. By that she transformed herself to God’s partner and prayed for an even better child, a son who was to be mightily used of God as a prophet and judge. That prayer had put God in her debt. No wonder she was given other sons and daughters.

That is what I want us to do. I want us to pray prayers that will change us. And by the way you realize that this is what Christ taught. A look at some of His commands helps us understand this.

But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; (Matthew 5:44)

Loving enemies is a human impossibility. In fact doing all those things Christ is ordering is humanly impossible. Prayer is the only way to do it.

I once met a robber who on realizing that I recognized him knocked me and left me dead. Somehow God revived me though the nurses were wondering loudly why I was not yet dead as that blow was enough to kill as even the skull had dented. I was put on observation, probably to ensure that I was not already dead.

I was advised to take the legal route to get the criminal to justice. But God had another order. He asked me to let go and trust Him. But He also gave me another order, pray for that young man.

Of course you cannot pray for God to punish him under those circumstances. But I grew slowly by slowly until my heart softened toward him. The pain and bitterness gradually eased until my heart was changed toward this young man who had ‘killed’ me.

Three years later we were having a youth camp and I was the one who was on the pulpit. I then see this same young man walking toward the pulpit. He walks to where I was and asked to receive Christ. I was surprised that I felt very nice when he was walking toward me, as if it was my brother or someone like that. I do not even remember whether there had been an altar call or not.

The same thing has happened to me many other times after that groundbreaking experience. You see it is impossible to hate someone you are constantly praying for. It is impossible to continue being bitter against someone who is constantly in your prayers.

And that is the challenge I want to throw to us. I want us to pray positively.

Let us pray for the evangelization of the world.

Therefore said he unto them, The harvest truly is great, but the labourers are few: pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth labourers into his harvest. (Luke 10:2)

But this prayer is not harmless. It has the capacity of making you one of the laborers. I know because it happened to me. Transformative prayer starts the transformation with the one who is praying. Like Hannah, agree to join God’s team if that is the way your prayer will be answered.

As an example pray for the terrorists. You see praying for peace is many times very selfish. Pray for them to encounter the love of God. Pray that God will send laborers to them too.

Pray for these schoolgirls who are being forced to convert to Islam and their captors that God will reveal Himself to them. Again pray that God will release and pour His love in their direction. At least you realize that Christ died for them too.

Pray that God makes you all that He has purposed. Pray that He makes you what He wants you to be. Pray that He reveals Himself to you in a way you will understand. Pray that He shows you what He expects of you. Pray that He changes you to become what He had in mind when He created you. Release yourself for His exclusive use.

Pray also for me. Dedicate a moment to lift me to the throne in heaven. Even a flash prayer as you are in the middle of your hustle is still one I will appreciate. But above all pray as God leads you.

Some of you might not be agreeing with some of the things I post. But God understands. I might be an enemy to some though I do not know it. But pray for me anyway. In fact that is what you should do with even more fervor if what I have shared here makes sense to you. Then you will connect me to God in a way that will answer your prayers for Him to be glorified in my life.

I will not give you any prayer request at all. I just want you to just pray. Let the Lord Himself give you what you ought to pray for. Let Him give you the time you require to spend praying for me.

Of course you know that the greatest challenge in my blogs is personal spiritual responsibility and connection. And that is the reason I want you to connect to God on my behalf. Then God will give you the next instruction as He has purposed.

But my prayer is that God will become as real to you as reality itself. I pray that you will be able to hear God even as He has created and saved you to. My prayer is that you commitment to God will stop being through proxies and brokers, however anointed and connected they appear to be.

I will close with my favorite verse in these times.

My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: (John 10:27)

May you be able to accurately hear that voice and follow Him wherever He is going.