Prayer: Where Do I Start and How Do I Pray In Today's Cultural Climate?
A simple guide to pray effectively right now.
By Karla S. Hardin, MS LPC-S, SEP
As Baby boomer who came to a personal faith in the early 70’s, I have seen and been a part of some powerful prayer movements over the last five decades. I have used some fabulous missional booklets, prayer diaries and phenomenal trainings on how to pray.
But now at the end of my sixth decade, I find I can just feel overwhelmed as to where to start or even how to pray for all those in pain; the cultural fallout; the “stuck-ness” of believers: in either sin or fear; and the onslaught of just pure evil.
I have found myself either praying just for the urgent things, or I can fall back and just do the blanket prayers where I lump people or the challenges into general prayers, or in the worst case – I just check out and try not to think of all the looming areas of need. Can you identify with my struggle?
But now, as more than in any other time in my history, I see the need for focused, specific, intentional, and even more important, consistent intercessory prayer.
I hope what I am about to offer will hopefully be a flexible guide for you to center your efforts to pray. This simple blueprint of bullet points comes directly out of Colossians 1:9-12.
But before we start praying for others, we must start by washing our hands..
Wash your hands …
This is what 2 Chronicles 7:14 drives home. I need to admit and confess where I have not honored God in my thoughts and actions – and I need to think how I can consciously change these things. If I am not earnestly calling out my own sins first, my prayers for others lacks genuine commitment from the get go.
After starting with our own hearts, our prayers are then to start with God’s children next.
Pray for the Fam...
This means we pray for the believing Church first –which may or may not include your own family. Wait.. what? I’m not starting with my own immediate family?
The Body of Christ is His beloved, and the primary witness here on earth and in the unseen realms where spiritual wars are fought. The Church is under constant attack because the more we fail and fall, it tarnishes our witness and weakens the frontline of our fight against the dominance of evil on earth.
Throughout history when the Church is strong, evil is held back – when the Church is wayward, evil runs rampant.
To pray for the Church at large first is to keep our eyes on God’s eternal perspective of what all of life boils down to. We should be living our lives here on earth focused more on God’s eternal purposes than the earthly struggles that will ultimately pass away.
I am certainly not saying we neglect praying for the pains and suffering of others, but rather that we align ourselves with God’s perspective which is governed by eternal realities first.
With these two premises in place, here is your simple Blueprint for Effective Prayer as seen in Colossians 1:9-12.
9 For this reason we also, since the day we heard about it, have not ceased praying for you and asking that you may be filled with the [a]knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, 10 so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, [b]to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and [c]increasing in the [d]knowledge of God; 11 strengthened with all power, according to [e]His glorious might, [f]for the attaining of all perseverance and [g]patience; joyously 12 giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us [h]to share in the inheritance of the [i]saints in light.
“without ceasing”
Constant awareness and connectedness to God’s purposes for His church
“filled with the knowledge of His will in spiritual wisdom & understanding...”
In other words, praying Christians are seeing life with an eternal perspective every day and not getting caught up with temporal things that burn up their time and energy and burn up under the refining fires (1 Corinthians 3:12 wood, hay, straw..)
“walk in a manner worthy of the Lord – to please Him in all respects..”
Having higher standards vs. just a mediocre show of faith.
Our home has been under construction this year and I have seen some workers simply do the bare minimum... But then I have had a few who literally take pride in doing an excellent job –down to the miniscule details that most people don’t even notice. The difference in standards is noticeable.
Pray for fellow believers to raise their standards on things like how they spend their time, money, and what they look at, and what comes out of their mouths, etc.. Pray their standards are raised to match the greatness of God’s love for His children.
“bearing fruit in every good work...”
We want to pray that this world is actually seeing the incredible evidence that Jesus lives and reigns in their lives, from the smallest things to the biggest things. Galatians 5:22-26
“increasing in the knowledge of God”
In other words, we pray they will spend time with God in prayer and in His word so that they are growing into an intimate relationship with Him.
“ strengthened with all power according to His glorious might”
Praying believers are not depending on themselves to “gut out” their faith but rather they are relying on the Holy Spirit who indwells them for supernatural strength. His power in us can show up in our culture as relinquishing our secret sins, being able to love the unlovable and pray for our enemies.
“ joyously giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to share in the inheritance ..”
We pray that our fellow believers are marked by joy and praise –despite their earthly circumstances because they are always seeing the brevity of life on earth as contrasted with their glorious inheritance and heavenly destination.
A believer’s witness is so powerful because in a dangerous, grief-filled world where there is constant loss, the believer’s life points to the hope in God as the answer every person needs. The world will stop and pay attention to God’s children when their lives are marked by these truths!
Can you imagine if every Christian you knew and prayed for looked like this?
Where our children would be?
Where our schools would be?
Where our government would be?
Where our churches would be?
Where our neighbors would be?
Where crime, politics and evil be?
Take the challenge:
Wash your hands and Pray for the Fam!!
Karla Hardin is a Licensed Professional Counselor Supervisor, Somatic Experiencing Practitioner, Workshop Developer, Facilitator, and Trauma Specialist for Hardin Life Resources
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