21 Days of Prayer 2020 (Jon Petts)

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21 days of prayer: 12^th January 2020 – 2^nd Feb 2020

 

My challenge to you is to increase your prayer time over the next 21 days (until we meet on 2^nd Feb).

 

I have taken the 4 headings from a preacher called Bayless Conley.

 

1.    Praise

Psalm 100

¹ Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth.
²     Worship the Lord with gladness;
come before him with joyful songs.
³ Know that the Lord is God.
It is he who made us, and we are his;
we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.

⁴ Enter his gates with thanksgiving
and his courts with praise;
give thanks to him and praise his name.

 

 

2.    Repent

Take some time to search your heart and ask the Lord to show you anything that you need to put right with him. He will freely pardon you and wants to forgive. But we have to acknowledge our sin and bring it to him. He is a loving heavenly father. Perhaps use these psalms to help:

 

Psalm 19

¹² But who can discern their own errors?
Forgive my hidden faults.
¹³ Keep your servant also from wilful sins;
may they not rule over me.
Then I will be blameless,
innocent of great transgression.

 

Psalm 139

²³ Search me, God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts.
²⁴ See if there is any offensive way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting.

 

 

3.    Ask

 

1 John 3

²¹ Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God ²² and receive from him anything we ask, because we keep his commands and do what pleases him.

 

Matthew 7

⁷ ‘Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. ⁸ For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.

⁹ ‘Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? ¹⁰ Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? ¹¹ If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!

 

Why aren’t I getting what I ask for?

 

Look again at

1 John 3

²¹ Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God ²² and receive from him anything we ask, because we keep his commands and do what pleases him.

 

Notice anything? There’s a condition that we keep his commands and live lives that please him. That’s why the repentance stage mustn’t be skipped!

 

Let’s dig a bit deeper.

John 14-16 reports much of what Jesus said to his disciples in his last hours and has some helpful verses about asking in prayer.

John 14:13

And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.

Do our prayers have the same aim as mentioned here – that God might be glorified? Let’s ask for things that would glorify God.

John 15:7

If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.

 

Our requests must be consistent with the word of God. We know the bible is God’s word and expresses God’s will. Why pray anything inconsistent with that!? So let’s spend some time in his word, letting his words remain in us. As the words of Jesus still linger in our hearts, we will pray in line with God’s will.

 

I believe that this is what Jesus means by asking for things ‘in his name’. It means in line with his character and personality. We are abiding in him, remaining in his words and we thereby bring our requests to him that will ultimately bring joy:

 

John 16:24

Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete.

 

4.    Yield

Not a common word in modern English and in the bible has been replaced with ‘offer’ in Romans 6:13 for example, where we are to ‘yield’ or ‘offer’ ourselves to God.

In the UK where our roads have ‘give way’ signs, the US equivalent says, ‘yield’. It means to give way to something.

One verse to help us in this element of prayer is

Psalm 37:4

⁴ Take delight in the Lord,
and he will give you the desires of your heart.

 

Albert Barnes (Barnes notes on the bible):

The word rendered “delight” means properly to live delicately and effeminately; then, to be tender or delicate; then, to live a life of ease or pleasure; then, to find delight or pleasure in anything. The meaning here is, that we should seek our happiness in God – in his being, his perfections, his friendship, his love.

You are softened towards God and he has made you tender hearted.

Bayless Conley translates it as being soft and pliable.

How can we show this in prayer?

Come to God in a place of surrender.

“Lord, is there anything you want me to do today? Do you want to alter any of my plans, or ways?”

This might be linked to the second stage of repentance but he may just have an instruction for you, like, invite Fred out for a coffee, or why don’t you give away some of your clothes? Read a certain book, etc.

Yield – give God space, give him right of way.

 

I hope this framework is helpful as you join us in our 21 days of unified prayer.

I look forward to hearing testimonies of what God has done as you have made the decision to draw near to him.

God Bless you. I’m praying for you. 😊

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