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Prayers
of Specificity
(8/12/03)
Hi
Jim,
Thanks for the emails and helping me to keep informed about some
things I wouldn't otherwise learn.
I have received several emails from you with requests for prayer
for some person, event or action.
I have a suggestion to you and your email audience that might be
highly beneficial and effectual. Scripture says the effectual
fervent prayers of a righteous man avails much. I've found
that when I ask for others to pray, I also include specific subjects
and words for them to pray---and the results are often phenomenal.
For example, during last year's Hayman fires within a couple of
miles of my home, the weather forecasters said we were going to
have strong winds blowing the fire in our direction with gusts to
40 MPH. I immediately sent out an email request for prayer
to several dozens, specifically asking the Lord to 1) block the
wind, 2) to stop the wind from blowing the fire this direction,
3) for calm winds to prevail, and 4) to preserve homes and
structures----because without this, the entire town of Woodland
Park would have been in peril---it was already 90% evacuated of
about 10,000 residents.
That afternoon and evening, the 40 MPH winds did blow----the winds
blew all around us---but only about six to ten miles away---in an
arc----you could have put a compass on a map at our home, drawn
an arc six miles around us, and the winds outside that arc were
gusting 40 MPH and more 360 degrees around us, causing the sheriff
to evacuate a tri-city area, the Air Force Academy, and northern
El Paso (Colorado Springs) areas----but winds here were less than
1/2 MPH----a hanging rope was barely moving in the very mild breeze,
and no structures were lost that night----so I sent out another
email with specifics to thank and praise the Lord for His goodness,
mercy, hearing and answering the specific prayers.
I could give hundreds of examples of the same types of prayer requests
of specifics with specific requests and specific results.
This is one way that we can know that the Holy Spirit is at work
and is one way that others will receive the testimony about Jesus
and the work of the Holy Spirit.
Folks your age and mine, and the exposures we've had in various
churches concerning requests for this or that prayer----like "pray
for Aunt Susie"---type of thing may be good, but when Dr. Paul
Yonggi Cho, pastor of the largest church in S. Korea, was a young
fledgling minister, he wanted a bicycle---and prayed for months
for a bicycle. Finally, he was getting exasperated and asked
why the Lord hadn't heard and answered his prayers. The Holy
Spirit asked him, "What kind of bicycle do you want?"
Then, he began to think----one with large knobby tires for the mud
trails to visit folks in the outback, a basket to carry fruits and
gifts, a book rack on the back, lights on front and rear, fenders
to catch the mud, and bright red new paint with chrome bars.
Within a week, he got a new red bicycle, knobby tires, racks on
front and rear, lights and fenders.
He learned that he needed to pray prayers of specificity, if he
wanted God to answer them----otherwise, if he just prayed for a
bike and received some old bike, how would he have responded to
God? Would he have been as thankful? Would he have appreciated
it as much? Would he have really known it was from the Lord
in direct answer to prayers? How would he have known these
things?
The same for praying for someone's salvation. We might pray
for years for someone's salvation without any results. But
when we pray Scriptures, these are powerful prayers. Especially,
corporately---any two or more in agreement about specific requests.
So how can this be applied to prayers for someone's salvation?
We know that Scripture says, nobody comes to the Lord, except the
Holy Spirit draws them. We know that nobody comes to the Father
except through Jesus Christ. We know that folks are saved
by believing on the name of Jesus Christ. Scripture tells
us that we must repent and ask forgiveness of sins. We know
that evil spirits, early teachings (in Dr. Laura's case and others),
false teachings, erroneous beliefs are prevalent in the hearts and
memories of Jews and others. We know that the devil tries
to thwart the works of the Lord, of the Holy Spirit, and our prayers---so,
sometimes, without spiritual warfare to come against these evils,
answers to our prayers may be hindered.
So, in Dr. Laura's case, we can specifically say something like:
Friends, please pray for Dr. Laura's salvation; pray that the Holy
Spirit will draw Dr. Laura's heart, mind, will, soul to Christ.
Pray that she will know and accept Jesus Christ as her Messiah who
has already come and that the bondages of false teachings, false
beliefs, and misrepresentations of Jesus Christ through Judaism
will be negated by her eyes being opened to truth. Pray that
she will repent and ask for forgiveness of sins, invite Jesus Christ
to come into her life to become Lord and Savior. According
to Matthew 18:18, we bind the work of the evil one and loose the
power and anointing of the Holy Spirit in Dr. Laura's life, family,
home, business, and pray that she will be an effective witness to
other Jewish folks as well, to bring them into the knowledge of
Jesus Christ, in accordance with Romans 10 and 11. Holy
Spirit, please show Dr. Laura that ritualism will not and does not
save one's soul. Then, Holy Spirit, we ask You to allow Dr.
Laura to be a witness about Jesus Christ to her huge audiences,
for Your glory and honor, in Jesus' name.
To stress my point even further, I'm sometimes aghast that some
folks ask me, "Ron, will you please pray for my headache?"
I reply, "No, but I'll pray for you to be HEALED of the pain----if
I pray 'for' your headache, it might simply get worse."
Not everyone knows "how" to pray---not everyone knows
"what" to pray----even fewer know how to "pray effectively"
(and this includes the majority of professing believers).
So, when we ask folks to pray for something, we may see few results.
We KNOW that God hears ALL our prayers, but often He doesn't always
answer them, especially when we put all the onus on Him to interpret
what we mean.
Further, when we take the extra couple of minutes to type specific
prayers to pray, you and I will often get all kinds of believers
to pray those specific prayers, including folks who don't know to
pray specific Scriptures. Yes, it requires you and I to think.
Aren't we supposed to know what to pray and how to pray effective
prayers? So, why not type them out for others to read and
pray?
There are lots of different types, styles, qualities, makes and
models of bicycles out there----perhaps as many as the varied prayers
that our "general" prayer requests elicit---and if one
person prays for something for Dr. Laura one way while another prays
differently, what results or answers can we expect from the
Lord?
But, if we pray prayers of specificity----when we pray Scriptures---when
we pray according to His will (as stated in Scripture)---and when
two or more are in agreement praying the EXACT SAME PRAYERS
of specificity in accordance with His Word (which we then know is
in accordance with His will), THEN we will see and realize more
answers to prayers.
I'm not saying prayers of specificity are "always"
a necessity for God to hear and answer prayers, because I've known
God to hear and answer very wonderfully and magnificently when someone
was alone and simply said "God, help!!!" (One such
example was a person in dire straits, facing a divorce, husband's
death by disease, which would have meant loss of job and income,
and had no rope to tie a knot to hang onto----and God not only heard
and answered her prayers, but did so in some really phenomenal ways
with some really wonderful results, healing her husband of ALS [Lou
Gehrig's Disease], healing their marriage, saving husband's job,
and a host of other wonderful things---true miracles over the
next few years, including the neurosurgeon's doing all kinds of
new and wonderful surgical procedures, tying new knots
for brain aneurisms, and other wonderful things, by the
power of the Holy Spirit operating in his life---it was a Roman
Catholic family, the wife of which had just heard her priest teach
on prayer---that true prayer is "dialogue", not merely
monologue or one-way communication. The wife heard the voice
of the Holy Spirit for the first time in her life---followed by
many wonderful answers to prayers.)
Far too often, we speak/write the adverse things (such as the negative
things about Judaism, ritualism, emptiness in Dr. Laura's life)
(in contrast to the teachings of Charles Capps "The Power
of the Tongue"), without actually stating what we might want
others to pray or what we might want in answer to prayers.
It might require a few more words typed, but I'm firmly convinced
that corporate prayers of specificity with Scripture quotes are
some of the most powerful prayers we may pray---especially when
combined with praying in the Spirit.
This is a mere suggestion, Jim, and I think you know and probably
practice these things---but far too many do not. If implemented
and practiced regularly, often, as second nature and a way
of life, I firmly believe you will see even more signs, wonders,
miracles, and answers to prayers than we already have to date---and
thus, more "praise reports" in direct answer to prayers.
As retired military men, we can come up with one, two,
three, four specific things to pray for without thinking of
counting cadence for marching troops or pilot checklists, right?
But if our "co-pilot" (two or more in agreement) gets
the "checklist" right, we might expect to actually "fly"
(have prayers answered), right?
May the Lord continue to bless you and yours.
Ron White
----- Original Message -----
Subject: Pray for "Dr. Laura"
Dear
friends:
The popular talk show host, "Dr. Laura" Schlessinger,
a convert to Judaism about ten years ago, now says that she no longer
practices Jewish rituals. She senses an emptiness, and envies her
Christians friends and the way they talk about knowing God through
Jesus. She says she has received loving support from Christians
but not from Jews. Her story is at WorldNetDaily: http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=34015
Anyone without Christ in their lives has an emptiness which cannot
be filled by anything or anyone else. It can be filled by Christ
alone. Ritualism and legalism are only a temporary salve, which
does not last, and are only a delusion.
It sounds to me like the Holy Spirit is wooing her. Let us pray
for Dr. Laura's salvation.
Jim
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