Perhaps you have found yourself desiring to pray but just
when you decide to pray you are not even sure what you should pray for. Many times
this happens, it is not really because you have nothing to pray about, but
because you have many things you will like to pray for in such a short time
that you don’t even know how to prioritize them. This challenge may seem small
but it really hinders many people from praying at all. Some even go ahead to
substitute prayer with something else they are more certain about simply
because they didn’t know what to pray about when they should be praying. There are
also times that you feel the burden to pray, you know surely that the Holy
Spirit is impressing upon your heart to pray but you refuse to act because you
are not sure of what you should pray for. Sooner than later, the burden will
lift whether you yield to it or not. The difference is that when you yield to
that burden, there is a sense of relief that comes to you, with an assurance of
victory. The opposite is the case when you refuse to yield.
The bible teaches us that the Holy Spirit has been given to
help us in the place of prayer (Rom. 8:26), He is there to help our infirmities
and lead us on what to pray for and how to pray about it. Here is the
importance of praying in tongues or praying in the spirit as we often refer to
it. As you yield yourself to a prayer burden or a desire to pray even when you don’t
know for sure what you should pray about, the Holy Spirit will give you
direction. The important thing is to set out in faith even when you are not
certain, as you set out in faith to yield to the desire to pray, the Spirit of
God will put the item of prayer in your heart and help you to pray it. Now this
may not happen at the spur of the moment, it may take some time for you to
properly tune-in to the frequency of the Spirit. The interesting thing is that
as you practice this over and over again, it will begin to take you much
shorter time to tune-in to the Spirit and get what God wants you to pray for
whenever that desire or burden comes.
On the other hand, while it is good to depend on the Holy
Spirit to lead you in prayer whenever you want to pray or whenever the prayer
burden comes upon you, it is also important to take responsibility to structure
your prayer life. You can start out with a simple prayer schedule designed like
a time-table that serves as a guide for your prayer time. With a simple prayer
schedule, you will not have to wait on a burden before you get to pray, and you
will not always be thinking of what to pray about when you get to the place of
prayer because you have already laid it out on your schedule. This is not to
say that the prayer schedule is cast in stone such that you cannot be flexible
with it, or such that the Spirit of God cannot impress in your heart to pray
for something else outside your prayer schedule, but that if the Spirit doesn’t
impress any special prayer item in your heart, you already have something you
have marked out to pray for at that time. This will help you to be more organized
and effective in your prayer life and you will definitely get more results in
prayer.
Some believers think that by setting a prayer schedule you
are restricting the Holy Spirit, this is nothing but spiritual ignorance. Why do
we set weekly activities in church? Why don’t we just gather on Sundays and during
the midweek services before we decide what type of service we want to have? No,
it is already marked out, we have worship services, prayer meetings, bible
study meetings and so forth. The services are organized, and this doesn’t mean
that the Holy Spirit cannot direct otherwise against our planned program, but
if He doesn’t, then we stick with the schedule. I remember reading how the Lord
directed Kenneth E. Hagin to have a healing service when they had actually
gathered for a mothers’ day service but this doesn’t happen in every service.
To say the truth, there are so many who will never get a
prayer burden, until they take responsibility to organize their prayer life. It
is a privilege for God to meet you in the place of prayer and discuss with you
certain things He will like you to pray about, but many have never enjoyed this
privilege because their prayer life has never been structured. Stop waiting for
a special burden before you get down to prayers, stop waiting for the church to
give you prayer points before you know what to pray for, this is typical of the
characteristics of babes. Grow up! Take responsibility for yourself and for
others in prayer, sit down and workout a schedule that works best for you and
get down to business. You don’t have to pray long hours to start with, just set
out the little time you have and start out. Don’t let yourself be intimidated by
others who can pray long hours, if you keep at it you may soon be praying
longer hours than them. Also, remember that your prayer schedule is just a
guide to help you, if you miss it once or twice don’t let it bother or discourage
you, we all miss it sometimes. As you keep at it, you will notice that there
will no longer be any confusion on what to pray for, you will begin to develop
a robust and effective prayer life, you will begin to bear the burden of others
in prayer, you will stop distributing prayer request from meeting to meeting,
you will see yourself dominating in prayers and getting results because you have
begun to take responsibility. You will live and walk like the champion that you
are. I have personally used a prayer schedule for some years now and it has
been instrumental to several personal encounters and leadings I have received
from the Lord. I believe that as you take steps to act, you will also
experience great results not just in your prayer life but in all areas of your
life and endeavor.
Below is a simple prayer schedule format to help you map out
yours. Use it to design your own prayer schedule in a way that works best for you.
WEEKLY PRAYER SCHEDULE
9PM – 10PM
Mon – I
pray for the move of God in my time, and I intercede for the unsaved.
Tues – I pray for the
church and the Nation. I
pray for my local assembly and pastors.
Wed – I pray for the fulfillment of my
ministry, for grace and strength to impact in my generation
Thur – I
pray for my extended
family members and inlaws, for friends, associates, and partners.
Fri – I
pray for my immediate family; my wife and children
Sat – I spend time to worship and fellowship with the Father
Sun – I thank God for his love, mercy and grace. and make
declarations over the week.
N.B
For questions on this subject and other subjects, kindly use the Prayer request/Testimony pane. You can also send me an email or reach me by Phone on 08081249992
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