October 09, 2005

Time for Prayer

Recently my inbox has been filled with prayer requests. Various people, various reasons, the request is the same, "Please Pray!" In a time when I myself have asked people to pray for my grandmother who recently broke her hip and is going through rehabilitation, this request for prayer has penetrated my heart even deeper.

I have been called an intercessor and as such I receive many prayer requests. In the past I have not been thrilled with this gift, one reason is that it wakes you up at night, literally. It seemed to be an inconvenience, an intrusion almost. I'm sure this writing sounds appalling to some but I am being truthful. Gratefully, in recent days, the Lord has revealed to me the honor, beauty and power of such a gift, one which I now embrace.

You see, it is so very easy to say, "I'll pray for you." It is always appropriate to go to the Lord with requests and petitions so it is an acceptable answer, but you have to check yourself and make sure you actually DO pray as you promised. We as Christians need to do as we say, let our "yes" be "yes" and our "no" be "no". (James 5:12) Too often we are not praying, for ourselves or for others.

It is time for prayer! That is were true power comes, from calling on our Lord and Savior and asking Him into the picture, unleashing His power into our circumstances, opening the door for the Holy Spirit to do His work. We tend to forget that we are fighting against Satan and this battle is done spiritually, not in the flesh. We in our selves have no power but when we call upon the name of JESUS CHRIST - watch out! Jesus is our advocate with the Father (1 Jn 2:1) and the Lord is our Healer (Ex 15:26), our Provider (Gn 22:14), our Comforter (2 Cor 1:3), our Strength (Ps81:1), He is a Forgiving God, (Dan 9:9), and He is The Almighty! (Rev 1:8).

Whatever the problem, whatever the circumstance, God Is The Answer. Today and everyday, take time to pray and see the power of the Lord unleashed!