Praying for increase

If you are a normal human being, you have probably prayed more than once for God to pour out His blessings upon you and your family. You have, no doubt, prayed for increase in money, ability, vehicles, or in some other tangible item.

Why do we not pray for an increase in God's kingdom? Moses said, “May the Lord increase you a thousand times.” Now, that’s a big prayer! So what's wrong with our thinking and our praying?

Why are many Christians afraid of the church growing? How can we get over this fear? How do our prayers need to change?

Deuteronomy 1:11

Prayer Challenge

Chances are, right now if I asked whether or not you have a single, overwhelming prayer need — a deep concern that keeps your mind coming back to it — you'd say yes. Each need is, without a doubt, a serious one.

But that gripping prayer need for most of us likely is focused close to home, and not focused, say, on starving children in Ethiopia. It's probably not about AIDS victims in Kenya or about lost souls in Egypt who will die without hearing of God's love for them.

Here's a challenge. Next time your present need surfaces in your mind, try turning your attention to someone you don't know facing a different, serious need. Pray for them and their situation.

When we begin to do this, we turn our focus away from ourselves and our own problems, something our “me-first” culture doesn’t teach us to do. As we tune into others' needs, lifting them up in prayer, pretty soon we're dealing serious blows to Satan, each time driving a nail into his plans to make us feel frustrated or defeated.

Try it and let me know how it goes.

The Power of Prayer

If we’re praying on a regular basis, we are as ready as we can be for anything that can come our way in life. My friend, Steve, reminded me of this fact with the following lesson based on the One Year Bible.

Mark 9:28-29 reads, “… When Jesus was alone in the house with his disciples, they asked him, “Why couldn’t we cast out that evil spirit?” Jesus replied. “This kind can be cast out only by prayer.”

The odd thing is, Jesus didn’t pray before casting out this demon. So what did he mean saying, “This kind can be cast out only by prayer”? I believe he meant, “cast out by a man who has prepared himself for the day of testing through daily times devoted to prayer.” Jesus was such a man. Are we?

Mark 1:35: “Very early in the morning while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.”

Mark 6:36: “After leaving them, he (Jesus) went up on a mountainside to pray.”

If we’re praying daily, we’re ready to kick some demonic butt. If we’re not praying daily, we’re not ready. It’s that simple.

Pray Continually

1 Thessalonians 5:17 says, "Pray continually." We could save a lot of grief, anxiety, counseling, and pain if we would just put these two words into action in our lives.