Prayer Changes Things
/Over the years, I have heard of many people coming “back to life” after “near death” experiences. I have always been a curious person and so I have researched a few of them. And what I have found, time and time again, was that people were praying for those on or walking through Death's door. These people collectively cried out to God on behalf of the helpless and God chose to step in on their behalf. Praying for others, changes things.
When Moses and the Israelites were in the desert, the people grew frustrated being stuck there. They began to grumble and complain about the daily manna and quail the Lord fed them. The more they complained and focused on what wasn’t happening instead of on what had and was going to happen, the more they turned from God and began worshiping false idols. In Exodus 32, Moses was up on Mount Sinai with God. He had been gone for quite some time and the people grew annoyed. So they approached Aaron, the brother of Moses, and complained about how long Moses had been gone. Convinced they had no idea when or if he would come back, they asked Aaron to make them an idol, a golden calf, for them to worship. Aaron did. And they partied hard all the next day worshipping their new idol.
This was God’s response (Exodus 32:7-10):
Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go down at once, for your people, whom you brought up from the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves. They have quickly turned aside from the way which I commanded them. They have made themselves a molten calf, and have worshiped it and sacrificed to it, and said, ‘This is your god, O Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt!’” The Lord said to Moses, “I have seen this people, and behold, they are a stiff-necked (stubborn, rebellious) people. Now therefore, let Me alone and do not interfere, so that My anger may burn against them and that I may destroy them; and I will make of you (your descendants) a great nation.”
God is a righteous judge. He had every right to annihilate those people who blatantly turned from Him.
BUT - ONE MAN, it only took ONE MAN to ask for God’s mercy on the Israelites.
This was how Moses responded to God (Exodus 11-14):
But Moses appeased and entreated the Lord his God, and said, “Lord, why does Your anger burn against Your people whom You have brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and a mighty hand? Why should the Egyptians say, ‘With evil [intent] their God brought them out to kill them in the mountains and destroy them from the face of the earth’? Turn away from Your burning anger and change Your mind about harming Your people. Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel (Jacob), Your servants to whom You swore [an oath] by Yourself, and said to them, ‘I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heavens, and all this land of which I have spoken I will give to your descendants, and they shall inherit it forever.’” So the Lord changed His mind about the harm which He had said He would do to His people.
God CHANGED HIS MIND because ONE PERSON had compassion and stepped in on behalf of others.
In Genesis, Abraham had great compassion on the people of Sodom and Gomorrah and asked God to not destroy the city if he could find fifty righteous men. God only ended up sparing Abraham’s nephew, Lot and his two daughters after Abraham appealed to God. Although only three were saved from the wicked city, God did change his mind and spared them.
God CHANGED HIS MIND because ONE PERSON had compassion and stepped in on behalf of others.
Now this tells me three things:
- God is benevolent; meaning His core nature is kind and He has an enormously immeasurable heart of compassion for His children - NO MATTER HOW WICKED we can be.
- God encourages, hears and honors our pleas and cries for others. God is about family and relationship. Salvation in Christ adopted us into God’s family. All those who share in salvation are brothers and sisters in Christ. God is all about us “looking out for” our brother and/or sister in Christ. He is even MORESO for us contending for the UNSAVED because His desire is that NONE should perish and would come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9). He again says this in 1 Timothy 2:4 His desire is that ALL would be saved and come to the knowledge of Truth. And lastly,
- We can REMIND God of His OWN promises (scriptures) to us and boldly stand on those promises on behalf of ourselves and others.
Prayer changes things. It shifts atmospheres. It pulls Heaven into earth.
In Matthew 6:9-13 (AMP) Jesus tells us to pray this way:
Our Father who is in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we have forgiven our debtors [letting go of both the wrong and the resentment]. And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.
Jesus has given us a Living blueprint - a framework - of where to start when we pray. We acknowledge God’s holiness and ask for His Kingdom and His will to be made manifest in our lives. We ask for daily provision and forgiveness for when we fail. We also ask for us to forgive those who come against us as well as divine protection and guidance. When we pray this, we are partnering with God and we are pulling heaven into our life, our homes and our circumstances.
“God CHANGED HIS MIND because ONE PERSON had compassion and stepped in on behalf of others.”
We must be active participants in God’s will for our lives. He calls us to come boldly before his throne of grace where we will find mercy and can make our requests known to Him! God LOVES it when we do this! All too often His children timidly approach Him with fear and trepidation fearing the Almighty Lightening Bolt! That’s not who God is at all to us who are in Christ Jesus! God is the most loving, kind, and best friend you could ever hope to have and more! AND He is funny! God SO has a sense of humor when you make the decision to really get to know Him! All too common, we really just don’t know God as our Good Good Father. Our core identity has aligned with worldly definition and is not wrapped up in who God says we are! Most of us are so used to believing societal lies about ourselves fed to us since childhood, that we are almost completely in the dark about our TRUE identities! If God tells us to approach Him BOLDLY, then let’s DO IT!
The following 5 prayers have been taken from Cindi McMenamin who is a national speaker, best-selling author and a contributor to The Elijah List, a global website of Christians receiving prophetic words from the Lord which edify and encourage the church. These are fantastic prayers to pray every day!
1. A Prayer to Guard Your Heart From Satan’s Schemes
Lord God, Captain of my heart, Satan knows if I follow Your Greatest Commandment – to love You with all my heart, soul, and mind (Matthew 22:37) – he is powerless over me. Guard my heart, Lord Jesus, so that it beats for You alone. Don’t let me grow complacent toward You or be lured to love anyone or anything more than You. Remove the idols from my heart so that You alone command my allegiance and utmost affections.
Help me to love and forgive others as You have forgiven me so the enemy can get no foothold through hate or bitterness on my part. Cultivate in my heart Your love that “bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things” (1 Corinthians 13:7, NASB). Finally, Lord, set my heart on things above, not on earthly things. Help me to remember that You died for me and my life is now hidden which Christ in God (Colossians 3:1-2). Increase my longing for heaven so this world holds no power over me.
2. A Prayer to Defend Your Mind From Satan’s Schemes
Almighty God, cover my mind with the helmet of Your salvation, reminding me constantly that I am Your child and the enemy can’t mess with me. Fix my thoughts, Lord Jesus, on what is true, honorable, right, pure, lovely, and admirable. Help me to think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise so Your peace will guard my mind (Philippians 4:8-9). Don’t let me copy the behavior and customs of this world, but transform me into a new person by changing the way I think. Then I will learn to recognize Your will for me which is good and pleasing and perfect (Romans 12:2, NLT). Saturate my mind with Your truth so I am convinced that the answers are found in Your Word, not out in the world.
3. A Prayer to Calm Your Emotions
Lord, keep the enemy at bay by calming my emotions with the peace of Your presence. Help me to follow Your command and not worry about anything, but pray about everything, with a thankful heart offering up prayers and requests to you so that You can give me that peace that no one can completely understand – a peace that will control the way I think and feel (Phil. 4:6-7, CEV). Remind me, daily, that You are the Only One who can meet my emotional needs so I don’t look to any person for my identity, validation, or for my love tank to be filled.
Thank You that You are the God of peace, the God of order, the God who heals my wounds and helps me sort through and make sense of life. You are not the God of chaos or confusion. Fill me with Your Spirit so I may express to others only love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23).
4. A Prayer to Cover Your Mouth
Lord, Jesus, guard my mouth so that my words will be few. Help me to be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger (James 1:19). Don’t let me speak reckless words that can pierce like swords. Instead, give me a tongue that brings healing (Proverbs 12:18). Don’t let me give in to gossip or speak careless critical words that will wound others. Keep the enemy far from me so that no unwholesome talk comes out of my mouth but only what is helpful for building others up, according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. Don’t let me grieve the Holy Spirit through my words (Ephesians 4:29-30).
5. A Prayer to Protect Your Body From Satan’s Schemes
Lord, I give my body to You. Let it be a living and holy sacrifice, the kind You will find acceptable (Romans 12:1, NLT). Iknow from Your Word that Satan can not sift me like wheat or even lay a hand on me without Your permission. So place Your hedge around me so that my body – Your temple – can be preserved, pure, holy, and healthy for You (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). Block Satan’s attempts to make me doubt that I am “fearfully and wonderfully made” (Psalm 139:14) and don’t let me listen to his taunts to harm my body through neglect, contempt, addiction or abuse.
I am Yours, Lord Jesus, and I want to glorify You in my body so keep me from Satan’s attempts and the temptations in this world and in my flesh to make me impure, to dress immodestly, to make my body a showcase or advertisement for evil or self glorification.
In Jesus name, amen.
God instructs us to pray without ceasing (1 Thes 5:17)! Keep knocking on God’s door with your prayers! Trust and believe that He hears you, knows you, loves you and wants His will for you - which is the BEST for you and those you care about!
Father, I pray the blood of Jesus over each reader. Give them Your eyes to see and Your ears to hear in a brand new way. I pray for new life to arise in them. Pour out Your wisdom, knowledge, understanding, discernment and self discipline upon them. I pray Living Water to flow over, around and ultimately out of them and into others. Do a new thing today God. You are awesome! We love You, praise You and give You thanks for what You have done, what You are doing and what You are going to do in each reader’s life because in Jeremiah 29:11 You say You have plans of GOOD for us!. In Jesus name, amen.
For more on Identity and Prayer, please go to my blog Who are You?, as well as the pages on my site; Prayer and Resources.