Prayer and Stewardship

Deborah Horne
Vice President of Development

There could not be a better marriage of two words than Prayer and Stewardship. By the very act of praying, be it adoration, confession, supplication, or thanksgiving we recognize one God as the supreme owner of everything. Then, through the grace of God and the miracle of walking in a personal relationship with the Creator, God in turn asks us to be stewards, to take very good care of every resource entrusted to us. 

As we follow the journey of Christ through the Gospels, it is clear people mattered more than riches. Possessions had their proper place and spiritual gifts were recognized and used. Jesus taught stewardship.

Is there an area in my heart, my home, where I store up riches because I fear the unknown? What about an area where I store up words because I am afraid to speak? 1 Corinthians 4:1 states we are not only servants of Christ, but stewards of the mysteries of God. This is the Christian life.

Oh, to find ourselves prostrate before God—in prayer seeking His instructions on living a life that is empty of all self-focus and to be a woman of stewardship—someone to whom people matter and whose resources grow in value because she shares them with others.

Prayer and Stewardship. How should you pray? Please join the conversation by sharing in the comment section below.

Transformational Prayers

By Toni Sandberg
Divisional Field Director
Southern Division

We, the body of Christ, are to pray and live so that our lives direct those around us to Jesus Himself. As we pray, our lives are being transformed from self-centeredness to God-centeredness. This becomes a radical change because it affects everything we say and do.

As I looked specifically in Ephesians 1:15-23, I'm astounded at the depth and beauty of Paul’s prayers for the church of Ephesus and then for all others who read his prayers later. In verses 17-18, Paul is expressing his heart for Asia Minor, that God would reveal Himself to them more clearly, that their hearts would be opened to glorious visions, and that they would understand the inheritance they've been given and the sheer power of the God and Gospel they have come to believe. This is a perfect example of praying a radical, transformational prayer.

As important as it is to pray these kinds of prayers for others, it is imperative that we pray this way for ourselves as well.

And, as we apply Paul’s prayer and incorporate it as our own, I challenge us to think of ten Christian family members/friends to pray this prayer for daily. Ask God for His power and Spirit to explode and pour out for the purpose of living a transformational life, growing our witness and influence for the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Let's expect great and mighty things as we seek to turn from self-centeredness and live radically God-centered lives. The results will be as written in verse 23, "the fullness of Him who fills everything in every way."

"The greatest thing anyone can do for God and for man is to pray." - S.D. Gordon

Blog to Share God's Words

By Lisa Heidrich
MidSouth Divisional Field Director

Why not begin a blog to keep account of the prayers you submit before the Lord?

Lists, journals, prayer-chains, and paper and pencil all have their place in logging our supplications before God, but how about adding a new venue? Give a Prayer Blog a shot. You don't have to start one on your own, but can experiment with blogging on an established site. For example, the Call To Me prayer blog is a great place to start. Just record your prayers, and God’s answers, in the comment section below.

A blog is a diary kept on the internet, with frequent updates, intended for public viewing.  That is the official definition. If you ask me, a blog is an opportunity to share our conversations with God, His Word, our witness, and His response to our petitions.

 Sound scary?  I think of Ezra and his prayer; “My God I am too ashamed and embarrassed to lift my face to you because my sins are too many, higher than my head...” Yes, prayer is an intimate time with the Lord, but some of our prayers are worthy for display to share with others. They will connect people to Jesus Christ and the power in praying. 

When I think of an ancient writer who might be an everyday blogger, the apostle Paul comes to mind.  He was not afraid to share his prayers with the public. As you read his writings, look for his public proclamations. The Old Testament is full of accounts in which God was beseeched in public, and praised in public for His answers and His goodness.

Today, our public square is the internet.

Remember His ear is open to our prayers. The more interceding the better. Give it a good try. You never know whose life your prayers might touch across this universe!

Please use the comment section below and share your thoughts on prayer using the blog or share a prayer that may touch someone’s life.

Blockage to Prayer -- Unforgiveness

By Gail Dudley
Vice President of Diversity and Call To Me national leader

Is there unforgiveness in your heart? This could be what’s hindering your prayers. Yes, God hears your cry, but we must first go and forgive the person who may have offended us. Sometimes the person we must forgive is the person we see in the in the mirror.

When we choose not to forgive we hold on to our fleshy views and feelings. Selfishly, we want time to be angry; therefore we hold the person hostage who we believe has caused distress in our life. We find ourselves in a posture of praying with the thought which reflects, I’ll pray as long as I can pray for the Lord to teach them a lesson! Sad to say, but this is how I have thought, felt, and prayed at times.

When we are preoccupied, unforgiveness can cloud our communication with Jesus. When you experience unforgiveness it may be a good time to read Psalm 139:23: “Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me, and know my thoughts.”

Want freedom? Desire to have healthy conversation with God? Release the unforgiveness. Forgive. It is not worth it and it will cause great pain to you in the long run—as well as a broken relationship with Jesus. Jesus came to bring life and an abundant life—live a life free in Jesus.

Would you like to share with our readers? Please share your experience of unforgiveness and forgiveness in your prayer journey. Share the steps you took to deal with the unforgiveness that may have blocked your prayers in the comment section below.

Prayer is a Relationship

By Mary Boling
Prayer Co-Coordinator
Indianapolis, IN

As a little girl I realized that Jesus was someone I wanted to know. I was not sure how to make that happen. I found that by reading His Word and praying to Him I began to know Him. I was amazed that God wants us to spend time with Him, talk with Him, and cry out to Him. I learned that when Moses, David, Isaiah, Mary, Ruth, Jesus, and so many more prayed, they found peace, direction, and forgiveness. I prayed to Jesus and knew I had just made a Friend for life, a Brother who would protect me, and a Savior who saved me.

Today, I have held on to that relationship with Jesus and have grown closer to Him. I know that interceding on behalf of others is something that Jesus does and wants us to do. When we think about our human relationships, we react mostly with our emotions. But Jesus reacts to our relationship with only love. He loves spending time, speaking to, and guiding us. May we joyfully know we have a Savior, Brother, and Protector who is always with us, waiting for us to pray to Him, spend time with Him, and rest in Him.

The Lord’s Prayer

By Doris Thompson

Senior Vice President of Field Ministry

The Lord’s Prayer unites us, though our churches and even theologies can sometimes separate us. Catholic or Protestant, conservative or liberal, for a brief moment in worship, praying the Lord’s Prayer together unites us.

One theologian stated, “The Lord’s Prayer really is the creed that most connects the world's Christians.”

However, we all at one time or another utter the Lord’s Prayer without thinking. We've memorized it, yet we don’t fully understand the depths of its content. We prayed it publicly together, although how often do we pray behind closed doors alone?

Regimen can reduce the Lord’s Prayer and we miss out what Jesus taught when His disciples asked Him, “Teach us to Pray.”

Today, I would like us to re-think anew the Lord’s Prayer. Reflect upon its beauty and ask yourself why church leaders such Martin Luther and St. Augustine observed that there was nothing more wonderful in the entire Bible than the Lord’s Prayer.

Consider its influence for our lives and think through its poetic frame as both Divinity and Humanity are interwoven. 

First, let’s look at its context found in Matthew’s account of the Beatitudes. The disciples are experiencing Jesus' description of the Kingdom of God which compels their desire for further instruction on prayer. Their observation, “No one had ever prayed like Jesus.”

The disciples knew His prayers were different, intimate and personal, humble, and the outcome produced supernatural results.

These men had likely prayed all of their lives. Their Jewish heritage required them to be discipled in the practice of prayer. Some historians say the average Jew, during the time of Jesus, prayed between three and four hours a day. 

Their request to Jesus was not about scheduling prayer or even the quantity or quality of prayer. They craved to experience the intimate communion Jesus had with the Father that they witnessed first hand.

So what is it about the Lord’s Prayer that compelled His disciples to write it down, cause it to be modeled for generations, and, in its unique simplicity, tie us together and bind us united with Him? 

Charles Spurgeon described it like this:

“Jesus designed it in such a way that it would pass safely through the ages without being tampered with. He arranged it with consummate skill, so that it could not be twisted or distorted. Nor, adapted to any man made system, that in fact it would carry the whole Christ Message.” 

There are five petitions included in the Lord’s Prayer.

First: Our Father, who art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.

The first word Father, in the Lords Prayer is “Abba” which is the Aramaic name used by Jewish child for his or her father. Literally, “Abba” means “Daddy”.

No one before Jesus dared to think or teach that we could approach God in such an intimate way. That’s one of the reasons the disciples were stunned by the way Jesus prayed.

Rabbis spoke of God as the Father of the people. But Jesus was teaching them to address God as their own personal Father. In Jesus’ day, “Father” included the concepts of Love, Care, Responsibility, Discipline, the Hopes and Dreams of one’s children, Respect and Blessing.

Today, in the west, our fatherhood concept is but a shell of the powerful concept that Jesus communicated through this simple word. “Our Father, Abba, Daddy”

We can talk to Our Father with great intimacy, love and devotion, Jesus not only prayed this way, He taught His disciples to pray this way, too.

Second: Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.

Ushering in God’s Kingdom is part of His perfect will in our individual lives. The Lord’s Prayer informs us that it’s the Father’s desire to bring heaven’s glory to His created order.

I've recently read, “We should not look like we're going to heaven, instead we should look like we are coming from heaven.”

We long to see His kingdom. We want the chaos we live in to cease and to be replaced by Godly order. We want God’s intervention, yet, when we look at scripture, God desires a partnership.

Scripture reminds us that we belong to God’s kingdom. We find it’s here, yet its full reign is still to come. Our Father desires us to be participators—for us to live and work with Him to establish it.

A synergistic work between God and man takes place in prayer. It is interactive, reciprocal, and collaborative.

This places us on the cutting edge of kingdom living. Wherever we go, every person we see has kingdom implications. If our desire is to see His kingdom come we will be aware of the kingdom before us, ushered in through our love and obedience and through the power of His prayer.

As we pray for His kingdom, we are submitting our lives.  We exclaim “Give us what we need to do our part, to make this present day kingdom come.”

Third: Give us this day our daily bread

From the Gospel of John, we are reminded that Jesus himself is the Bread of Life; “He who comes to Me will not hunger and He who believes in Me will never thirst.”

That simple word “bread” carries with it the shared meals with Jesus during His life, before His death and after His resurrection.

It contains the multiplication meal, the Emmaus meal, the Lakeside meal, and the Eucharist meal. The bread of Christ has both spiritual and physical significance. Throughout the gospels, we see this Divine engagement of Christ as He took, blessed, broke, and gave to the masses.

It is the daily bread of justice, yet we must not forget it is also the daily challenge of the injustice of the hungry. Could it be that God’s Kingdom Come involves a fair distribution of God’s nourishment for all Gods people?

This prayer represents the literal hope for enough bread today, which has been ancient dream of the Earth’s “have not's.” Jesus, in this prayer, teaches us that we are dependent upon Him for our daily bread.

Fourth: Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors

Sin is a sense of separateness from God and is the major tragedy of the Human experience.

In the Lord’s Prayer, we see a sequence of Divine forgiveness and then human forgiveness.

This is the invariable rule by which God dispenses pardon.

Forgiveness is another synergistic work of the Trinity in our lives. It enables us to not only be forgiven, but to be forgivers.

When we come before Him unwilling to forgive, harboring dark and revengeful thoughts, how can we expect God to show us mercy, when we are unwilling to show it to others?

An overbearing spirit should not be used to oppress a debtor, especially if it greatly distresses a wife, child, widow or orphan.

For all the things which we need to find forgiveness, might our greatest sin be our lack of human forgiveness?

Jesus, as He was crucified prayed “Father forgive them for they know NOT what they do.” Jesus demonstrated not to seek retribution or revenge, but offered a better way.

Jesus teaches us to love our enemies, and to pray for those who persecute us, so that we may be sons of “Our Father in Heaven.”

Fifth: Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.  

In the previous petition, “Forgive us our Debts” the request is made that our past sins would be forgiven. Now, a plea is made that we would not be “led into temptation” thus avoiding evil.

God is not the prime-mover behind all temptations nor does He lead us into a life that is free of it. Rather, He teaches us to depend on Him for necessary strength.

New and powerful temptations await us on our path, ever ready to throw us down if we are not prepared. Temptations come to serve for self-glory and self-gratification instead of for loving God.

It is interesting that the petitions of the Lord’s Prayer end in this way. Knowing God can deliver us from the Evil One and bring redemption is a powerful reminder of the Gospel that changes lives.

God’s power to bring His goodness to a desperate world gives us tremendous Hope.

You and I can be “Hope Bearers” to those who experience the dark, oppressed existence that seems impossible to overcome.

As we conclude the Lord’s Prayer, we are reminded again who sits on the throne. The Kingdom is His, the Power is His, and the Glory is His forever.

Charles Spurgeon said, “The entire Christ message is carried in this prayer.”

You see Jesus knew the Disciples needed this prayer, the church needed it, and the truth is—we all need it. May we live it out.

Prayer Changes Things

By Pamela M. Tolson
Lead Prayer Consultant
Southern Division

“You can pray for anything, and if you have faith, you will receive it.” —Matthew 21:22

What would I do without prayer? I do not know what I would do without prayer. I learned at an early age that prayer is what sustains one throughout their Christian walk with the Lord Jesus Christ.

I grew up in a powerful house of prayer. My mother prayed four times a day: 6:00 a.m., noon, 6:00 p.m., and midnight. No matter what we were doing when my mom would start praying, we had to stop and pray with her. She taught me that if I wanted a closer walk with the Lord, I had to talk to Him and listen to Him. I asked her what she meant about talking to Him. She said, “Exactly what I mean, talk to the Lord as if He was sitting right in front of you. Have a personal relationship with Him. No matter where you go or what you do, if you cannot take the Lord with you then you do not belong there. He is your friend and He needs to communicate with His friend.”

From that very moment, I started talking to Him aloud and in my private time. The more I talked with the Lord, the more I relied on Him.

I do not know what I would do without prayer in my life. I have heard the words in Thessalonians 5:17: “Pray without ceasing.” I have gone through many trials and tribulations with prayer and trusting in the Lord, and I have come through them all.

I have been serving with Stonecroft for seven years and this has been my calling: PRAYER. For well more than a year women have gathered together in the southern region to pray on a monthly conference call. We focus on praying for those who aren't yet in a relationship with Jesus Christ. God has answered our prayer many times.

I am a witness that PRAYER changes things. Have you witnessed PRAYER changing things around your life or your communities? Please share. Just use the comment area below. We would love to hear from you.