What is your prayer for this year? I hope you already have an answer to that question. But let me expand your thinking just a bit. Do you remember God’s offer to Solomon in I Kings 3? If God gave you the same opportunity to ask for anything that came to your mind, what would you ask for? Why would you ask God for it? Before we get back to Solomon, here are some of the prayer possibilities.
Prayer For This Year
The Word of God should always guide our prayers. That is why I like this image – it’s a visual reminder of something very important. With that in mind, let’s consider some of the ways people might respond to the opportunity granted to Solomon.
Power
We are weak and the Word contains many reminders of that fact. My favorite is in Psalm 103:
As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear Him; for He knows how we are formed, He remembers that He made of us dirt (vss 13-14).
So we do need power – and strength and endurance. However, we already know, I can do all things through Christ Who strengthens me, (Philippians 4:13). We make our requests known to Almighty God, Who has all power. So, apart from Him, power is a pitfall. We are too easily tempted to use power for our own gain. As one who is weak and formed from dirt, I need His power and strength guided by His Spirit. And since believers already have that (the Word says so!), there is no need to ask for what I already have!
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Promises
We have many promises from God. And we know HIs word never fails, that He is not a Man that He should lie, and He is the embodiment of truth. As above, would there be any point to ask Him to add to His promises already given? The answer is, No – as we’ll soon see!
But there’s another thought. Would one more promise do any good if I’m not practicing the reality of the promises previously made? Here are two examples for your consideration. The first is from Isaiah 41:10 –
Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand..
Yet, we are prone to worry and fret. Since God does know the weaknesses of those He made of dirt, He often restates His promises. If we don’t get it in one form, maybe we will grasp it in another (God is so good to us!). So add II Timothy 1:7 to Isaiah’s words above:
God did not give us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.
Fear leads to failure but we are more than conquerors through Christ our Lord, Romans 8:37. So, once again, we don’t need more promises than our Father has already given.
Principles
The idea is to know more of God’s Word. That is a good thing. However, the motive behind that request may need improvement. Whether we realize it or not, we sometimes want to appear wise in the eyes of men – like the Pharisees giving, fasting and praying to be seen of men.
Pride is an insidious pitfall. And we should guard against it whether we are offering our prayer for this year or praying for our daily bread! We know God is beyond searching out, that His ways and thoughts are as far above ours as the heavens are above the earth. We need to be diligent students of God’s laws, principles, and statutes. But if/when our knowledge of them exceeds our obedience to them then we have a problem. This inconsistency causes the world to dismiss the principles we preach. We need better practice, not more principles.
Since God has in fact told us everything we need to know (His Word) I don’t need to ask for more principles from Him. I do need to remember that there are many things He has not told us. That should feed the humility of my mind and heart. No matter how much I know or practice, I will never have God all figured out. He will never fit in the boxes our minds make for for Him. Study and know Him, but keep a humble heart.
Purpose
I’ve heard many people express frustration about their purpose in God’s Kingdom. For one reason or another they don’t have a sense of purpose but they desire to have one. Once again, the Word answers this need. Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount that we are to let our light so shine that men will see our good works and glorify our Father. Bringing glory to Him in word and deed is our purpose. And yes, that sounds fairly general.
More specifically, I Corinthians 12 tells us God has given each of His children gifts for the building up of the Body. We are to use those. They are indicators of His will for us and they shape our ministry. The ministry God has given to each of us is purpose. So is living for His glory.
And if those two things are not enough, then remember these verses from Proverbs that you may well be able to quote:
Acknowledge the Lord in all your ways and He will direct your steps – Proverbs 3:6
A man’s heart plans his way, but the LORD determines his steps. Proverbs 16:9
Provision
Season 2 begins this week!
We often think we lack something we need. It is true that ministries do need provision. Those needs are posted in this blog from time to time. And even though physical provisions are a necessity, that isn’t the one thing I’d ask God for. Why? Because there is a much better request.
My prayer for this year is one I’ll challenge you to pray for yourself, for me, your church, your pastor and the mission of EquipUs. Yes, it’s another P word. I think it will please God to hear it. That’s what we see in I Kings 3. Solomon made his request for wisdom and it pleased God to hear it and grant it. Solomon asked for that which would make him a better servant – a more effective leader of God’s people. Make that connection. In Solomon’s case, the work God gave to Solomon was leading His people for His glory. You and I have been given a ministry to accomplish for God’s glory. How will we do that?
As good as Solomon’s response was, I think another prayer fits our purposes even better. It’s found in Exodus 33. God told Moses to go on into the Promised Land and God’s angel would win all the battles for them. Moses didn’t want the Israelites to enter the Promised Land without God’s presence. Why? God’s presence will bring provision, refine purpose, give overwhelming power, enable obedience to principles, encourage faith in promises, and must precede proclamation.
The light of the Word – it’s amazing!
How else can we accomplish what has been laid before us? You see, God doesn’t just have everything we need. He is everything we need. So our prayer for the year needs to be a passionate pusuit of His mighty presence. That presence changed Moses and will change us. And we have that in the Person of this Spirit. The question is, will we face the year in light of that promised reality? Please pray in that way and we will look back on this year with many reasons to praise our Father!
Great foundation for the New Year! Thanks!
Glad to help!