Prayer Beyond Our "Personal"
"Then if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves,
if they will pray and seek me and stop their evil ways,
I will hear them from heaven.
I will forgive their sin, and I will heal their land."
(2 Chronicles 7:14)
Prayer is our communication with God through adoration and submission. Prayer is an essential part of Christian living, where, as people called by God's name, we enjoy the privilege of pouring our heart out to the Lord, and we know we are heard! We know that God will answer our prayers, according to His will and in His time. A lot of times, as we pray, our prayers are about us, and us alone! Seldom do we remember to step beyond our personal likes and needs and pray for the rest of the needs around us. We are frequently limited within the prayer boundaries that are limited by our "personal territories."
Today, I am encouraged in the Lord to remind ourselves of the important call that every believer of Christ Jesus has to faithfully receive these days. It is a call to pray for each other. It is an invitation to break personal territories and move beyond in our prayer life; a calling to pray vigilantly for things beyond our personal needs. We find the great calling to step beyond our personal boundaries of prayer in 2 Chronicles 7:14. This invitation of great privilege comes from God, the maker of heaven and earth.
God claims our participation in His great mission by calling us "my people, who are called by my name." Isn't it, first of all, so enabling and promising to realise that God invites us into this ministry of prayer by calling us His own; making us people who are called by His name? It is, indeed, so wonderful. And with such privilege and claim comes the need to humble ourselves before the Lord.
2 Chronicles 7:14 immediately reminds us of humility. God's children, with all the glory and honour God has crowned us with as His children, must learn to humble ourselves before the Lord. We exist by God's love and grace alone, and when we are preparing ourselves to minister as a prayer warrior, we need to first kneel down before the Lord our God.
As we begin to pray, it is again important that we seek the Lord. It may not just be a prayer, but seeking the Lord with all that we have, with all our mind, with all our spirit, and nearing His holy presence with a heart of submission and adoration. The yearning to find the Lord's presence through prayer is important.
And then, as the people who have been called by God's name, we are called to stop our evil ways and make the life-changing decision to strive and do our best to choose a holy life above evil ways in this life of million temptations. The above mentioned important points can be the characteristics of a prayer warrior. All these are vital to be part of our lifestyle of prayer. It is also important that we remember that this great call to this great mission of prayer begins with a conditional "if"; the verse is a promise of blessings - an answered prayer.
What are the promised answers for the prayer of those people who are called by God's name, who humble themselves, who seek the Lord and who stop their evil ways? The answers and blessings are threefold. God promises in the same verse (2 Chronicles 7:14) through His words "I will hear them from heaven. I will forgive their sin, and I will heal their land." That's the promise given to the prayer of people who seek the Lord in prayer with the important demands.
What interested me the most is God's answer to such a dedicated prayer life having the healing of the land at the centre of it. The greatest answer to the prayer of a dedicated group of people is to witness the healing of their land. Meditating on this great promise, I find the greatest calling too. The calling to pray for needs beyond our personal borders is prominent here. Our prayers should stretch beyond our personal needs. We need to begin to pray for our neighbours. We must remember the needs in the society in our prayers. We must keep our villages and cities in our prayer. We need to keep the governments and rulers. We need to keep the church and its progressing work. We must be prayer warriors, called by God's name, who stand for our nations and their peace. There is a lot more that can go on this long list; a few can be more relevant to us and some of them less. But the call is the same for everyone; a call to take our prayer beyond our personal territories.
Today, as we continue to serve God, I pray that we will be led towards a lifestyle of calling, humility, seeking and turning away from evil, while our prayers extend beyond our personal needs and self-territories. Let there be God's promises realised in the life of such dedicated prayer warriors as they experience God's hearing of their prayers, forgiveness of their sins and the healing of their land. May the power and blessings of God the Father, the love and grace of Christ Jesus the Son, and the fellowship and guidance of the Holy Spirit, be with us and help us to pray beyond our "personal."
May God bless you.
Yours in Christ,
"God of This City" by Chris Tomlin
