Day 23: Waiting Prayer, Part 2

“For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does.The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”
2 Corinthians 10:3-5

My prayers are often distracted by outside influences, stray thoughts, and anxieties. I become Martha from Luke 10. I want your prayer life to be better than mine. Today, actively pursue capturing and recapturing your thoughts for Christ during your prayer time. Every time you get distracted, allow those distractions to become like clouds that drift away on the wind. Focus your thoughts back onto your meditation of Scripture. As we pray, ask God to send His Holy Spirit to help you stay focused.

Day 22 begins with the passage about Martha and Mary from Luke 10:38-42. Notice how Jesus gently rebukes Martha for being distracted. He didn’t rebuke her for working. He didn’t say one person needs a life of contemplation and one person uses their physical skills. He reprimanded Martha for being too busy and distracted. Her busyness and distraction overflowed into worry and anxiety.

Jesus told a parable about the Word of God being spread like scattered seed. Later, Jesus explained the different types of soil the seed fell on represents the conditions of peoples’ hearts hearing the Word of God.

“The seed that fell among thorns stands for those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by life’s worries, riches and pleasures, and they do not mature. But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop.” Luke 8:14-15

We use biblical mediation and prayer to help us fight distraction. The more often we meditate on the Word of God, the less distracted and less worried our lives become. Ask the Holy Spirit to remove distractions from your mind. Distractions appear as positive or negative thoughts, but if they keep us from hearing God’s Word, they qualify as distractions. Ask the Holy Spirit to help you capture your thoughts. Ask God to allow you to feel His presence in your prayer time.

Prayerwork, Part 1: Ask God to send the Holy Spirit to help you get rid of distractions. Ask Him to allow you Holy Spirit inspired focus. Ask the Father to allow you to imagine yourself sitting at the feet of Jesus hearing His Word.

Prayerwork, Part 2: Read Colossians 1:9-14

Prayerwork, Part 2: Go back and reread Colossians 1:9-14 and look for what you can thank God for and for any reason to adore God. We’ve been using the word praise for our praise prayers, but the word adore sounds more intimate in my mind. Let’s turn our praise into adoration. Can you imagine lifting your hands in praise, and then holding Jesus close, wrapping your arms around Him in adoration? Pray this prayer as you begin: “God, please send your Holy Spirit to refill me with inspired concentration. Help me, Lord, to focus in on Your Word, listening to you, and help me to apply Your Word to my life. Lord, please allow me to experience Your presence in Your Word, and by the power of Your Holy Spirit. Lord, I adore you. In Jesus’s name we pray, Amen.”

Prayerwork, Part 3: Fill in the blanks:

List the reasons Colossians 1:9-14 reveals why we should thank God (Remember, thanking God is praying a “thank you” for something He has done to you or in you.)
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List the reasons Colossians 1:9-14 reveals why we should adore God? (Remember, we praise/adore God for something about who He is, not necessarily what He has done for us.)
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Prayerwork, Part 4: Take what you have written in the spaces above and turn it into a prayer you could teach someone else to pray in the space below. Write your prayer using the reasons to thank and adore God from Colossians 1:9-14.
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Prayerwork, Part 5: Ask God to give you a name of a family, friend, or acquaintance that He wants you to talk about your prayer experience. Wait for God to bring a name or a picture of the person to your mind. If, after a few minutes of waiting for God to give you a name, He does, then write down that name and schedule a time to speak with them. If God doesn’t give you a name, then thank Him, and pray your prayer you wrote above to propel you into prayer for the rest of the day.

Name:___________________________

Scheduled date to talk:__________

“LORD, you are my God; I will exalt You and praise Your name, for in perfect faithfulness
You have done wonderful things, things planned long ago.”
Isaiah 25:1