Intercessory prayer is the purifying bath into which the individual
and the community must enter every day.
(Dietrich Bonhoeffer)
and the community must enter every day.
(Dietrich Bonhoeffer)
Before You Ask
And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. (Matthew 6:7-8)
Many people think their prayers won’t work if they don’t utter them clearly enough, or fail to explain to God exactly what they mean, or don’t speak loudly enough to him with sufficient earnestness. But when this happens, prayer becomes so exaggerated that our Savior even forbids it.
Obviously Jesus does not want to discourage us from praying. His point is that when we pray we must have a sense of proportion. Once we have prayed, we must be quiet. We need to be like the farmer who has sown his seed. Help will come only when you are quiet in faith. Also in your sickness or with other needs, learn to be still and look to the Kingdom of God.
We can share our needs with the Father in a few words, without making a fuss, and rest assured that God already knows what we need and what he will do to help us. We don’t have to explain our requests in great detail to God, or try and make quite sure that he knows our needs. God knows about even the smallest matters and takes them straight into his heart. We can turn to him by glancing Heavenward, with no words at all. We can do this even when we pray about something concrete and tangible, or about something that specifically troubles us. We may realize that what we thought we needed is actually not necessary and that we can find a way right in the midst of how things are now.
This doesn’t mean that we just let things happen – as if everything will come of its own accord without our longing for it. Nor should we just cast a brief and hurried request at God’s feet. When this happens, we too easily lose sight of God, assume that everything comes to us without his help, and we forget to thank him. Then we cease to have a believing heart and are consequently not true children of God.
Jesus said, “Before you ask him.” Therefore we do need to make our requests known to him, otherwise many things will not be given that could have been given. It never displeases God when we come to him with our heartfelt requests. A real child asks for everything, knowing God has an ear for him. We should bring all our burdens and needs to him, for at the very least this helps to make us ever more aware that in all things God is the giver.
God always has our interest in mind. He carries our various needs with fatherly concern, eagerly waiting for us to come to him. He has not forgotten us. And when we feel tempted to think so, then all the more we should remember that he knows it all and cares for us. In fact, he knows much more about us and our needs than we do. Simple, childlike prayer is enough to move his heart, give you something out of the fullness of his compassion, and save you from all sorts of fear and trouble.
(Johann Christoph Blumhardt)
(The God Who Heals, Words of Hope for a Time of Sickness)
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Julia
A Prayer Against Terrorism In Our Country
Our Father, we thank you for being our protector. Thank you for extending your mercy and grace towards this country which is experiencing terrorism. Thank you for helping military personnel, law enforcement, and intelligence agencies as they root out the people who are involved in these horrendous terrorist attacks.
Thank you for hearing the prayers of the righteous in our country and sending your angels to fight supernaturally. Thank you for protecting our nation. We give thanks to you, Lord, for you are good and your mercy endures forever. By your Word, the heavens were created. You merely spoke, and the heavens were created. You breathed the Word, and all the stars were born. You assigned the sea its boundaries and locked the oceans in vast reservoirs. Let the whole world fear you and let everyone stand in awe of you. When you spoke, the world began and appeared at your command!
Almighty Father, by the authority given to us in Jesus’s name, we command peace be still! We rebuke the spirit of terror and cancel the schemes and assignments of every evil spirit, including the spirits of deception, rebellion, and confusion that are in alignment with the spirit of terror. We command every person in this country who is plotting against the good of humanity be exposed and captured. We decree that the love of Christ will saturate this national crisis. We declare healing to every person who has been injured by Antifa and other terrorist organizations. Lord of Heaven’s armies, we are expecting to witness your mighty power against this evil and see a mighty outpouring of your love through the Body of Christ.
Great and marvelous are your actions, Lord God Almighty. Just and true are your ways, O King of the saints. Who will not fear you and glorify your Name? You alone are Holy. All nations will come and worship before you, for your righteous deeds have been revealed. In Jesus’s name,
Amen.
(United Methodist Church, adapted)