Start the LIST!

 

I was listening to Pastor David Gibbs talk about prayer yesterday and he mentioned keeping a PRAYER LIST. For years I had done that, but recently fell away from that practice. Pastor Gibs was talking about how keeping a lists changes our prayers. He said without a list we often just "babble" in our prayers. He said we just pray in general terms, nothing specific. He said our prayers should be specific and without pretense as we approach the Lord. I need to revive my prayer list. I always kept it on my phone so it was handy to add a prayer but also to use as I pray. (I don't know about you, but my phone is always with me!)

So I am vowing to REVIVE THE PRAYER LIST. 

I thought about prayer this morning as I read Genesis 32 and Jacob's prayer as he approached his estranged brother ESAU. This prayer is such a great example for us. 

"Then Jacob prayed. 'O God of my grandfather Abraham, and God of my father, Isaac -- O Lord, you told me, 'Return to your own land and to your relatives.' And you promised me, 'I will treat you kindly.' I am not worthy of all the unfailing love and faithfulness you have shown to me, your servant. When I left home and crossed the Jordan River, I owned nothing except a walking stick. Now my household fills two large camps! O Lord, please rescue me from the hand of my brother Esau. I am afraid that he is coming to attack me, along with my wives and children. But you promised me, 'I will surely treat you kindly, and will multiply your descendants until they become as numerous as the sands along the seashore -- too many to count.'" (Genesis 32:9-12, NLT)

I love the humility of Jacob and the realization that God owed him nothing, but literally, gave him everything. But, he still approached the Lord and asked very specifically for deliverance from his brother who had vowed to kill him many years earlier. All of our prayers should be filled with the humble realization that it is only through God's grace that we have life at all, let alone life eternal. Our prayers should be filled with what is on our hearts. We should never be afraid to bare our soul to the Lord, seeking his will and seeking his favor. 

Let's START THE LIST! each of us start the list so that we are reminded of our specific requests and stop giving a brief prayer for general blessing. BE SPECIFIC, BE DIRECT, HUMBLE YOURSELVES before the Lord. 

Heavenly Father, I am no different than Jacob. You have given me everything and I deserve absolutely none of what I have. I praise you for watching over me and my family. Thank you, Lord. I praise you for giving Stephanie and I this ministry, Lord. But, in all honesty, sometimes I feel I am having absolutely no impact. I am gracious for those that have been saved and those that have been baptized, but Lord I plea that you would continue to bless us where we can be aware of our impact. I know it seems like a petty thing, but I want to know that we are still walking in your will and that your favor is upon our ministry. We want nothing for ourselves except to grow your kingdom. Help us to realize that goal. I thank you now for all that you have done, are doing, and will do in the future. Amen!

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If you haven't repented of your sin, accepted what Jesus did for you on the cross, dying for your sins, or if you have not committed your life to Jesus, TODAY could be that day. give your life to the Lord. 

"because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved." (Romans 10:9-10, ESV)

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