A CALL TO EFFECTIVE PRAYER — Part 2
Written by Barbara Gould of Emmanuel Ministries International
The Call To Prayer is a call for God’s people to take responsibility, not just for ourselves, not just for our “church” or the Body of Christ at large, but for our cities, states, nation, and the world. Now, more than ever, we must heed the call of God to pray, but before we can be truly effective in our praying there are prerequisites — essential things we must understand before we can be effective.
Last week, we talked about the first prerequisite to praying effectively, which is KNOWING WHO GOD IS. This week, we’ll talk about the second and third prerequisites:
PREREQUISITE #2: KNOW WHO WE ARE
God says to us in 2 Chronicles 7:14 (KJV), “If My people who are called by My name, will humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven, and forgive their sins and heal their land.”
God says, “IF MY PEOPLE…” First, we must know who we are so we can fully understand our level of responsibility. In 1 Peter 2:9 (KJV), the Holy Spirit lets us know who we are: “You are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people, that you should show forth the praises of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.”
We are a “chosen generation” — a select people, God’s very own people, bought out of Satan’s slavery with the precious Blood of Jesus. We belong to God. We are sons of God. We are accepted and loved of God. We are seated in heavenly places with Christ, our Blood Covenant Brother. We could shout about this.
We are a “holy nation” — a sanctified, set apart nation, within a nation — within the nations of the world. Yes, a nation above all nations — with authority invested in us by Jesus Christ, the King of Kings. We carry the authority above all authority in the Name of Jesus and indeed, we are the Nation with the power to bring change to the nations in JESUS’ NAME!
We are a “royal priesthood” — priests with royal status to stand in the presence of God on behalf of others.
We are a “peculiar people” — God’s precious treasure — to be displayed by Him to a lost, hurting and dying world
All of this is who we are! We are called all this by God. Whatever God calls us, that is who we are and He expects us to live up to who He says we are. That is, our Father God has set His standard for us and as His people, bought with the precious Blood of Jesus, we do not belong to ourselves. As the Holy Spirit tells us in 1 Corinthians 6:19-20, “Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own?
“For you have been bought with a price; therefore glorify God in your body.”
With this “mantle” upon us and the Godhead within us, the world should see Him displayed in and through us and thereby give Him praise.
PREREQUISITE #3: HUMILITY:
1 Peter 5:5 (Amplified) says: “…clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility [as the garb of a servant so that its covering cannot possibly be stripped from you, with freedom from pride and arrogance] toward one another, for God sets Himself against the proud (the insolent, the overbearing, the disdainful, the presumptuous, and the boastful)…[and He opposes, frustrates and defeats them], but gives grace (favor, blessing) to the humble.”
Also, Proverbs 3:34 (Amplified) says: “Though He scoffs at the scoffers and scorns the scorners, yet He gives His undeserved favor to the low [in rank], the humble, and the afflicted.”
Psalm 51 demonstrates a classic example of a man who has humbled himself. In verse 17 (KJV), David cried out: “…a broken and a contrite heart, O God, Thou wilt not despise.” David was very aware that, based God’s standard of righteousness, he needed to repent and seek God for His mercy. He was aware of his sinfulness, his failures and weaknesses in the presence of a holy God and he cried out from a heart of repentance and brokenness.
One who humbles himself must, indeed, ever be aware that there is need to change, Hence, with this realization — in this place of humility — one is forever changing.
With this humble attitude, we are now in a position as God’s people to:
pray
seek His face, and
turn from our wicked ways
When we know who God is, who we are in Christ and choose to walk in humility before God, then we are postured to “draw near with confidence to the throne of grace that we may receive mercy and may find grace to help in time of need.” (Hebrews 4:16)
In my next writing, we will talk about these three areas: praying, seeking His face and turning from our wicked ways.
Shalom!!!
Barbara Gould
Emmanuel Ministries International
Rio Rancho, NM
505-489-9772
www.emmanuelministriesint.org
