Thoughts for Life: #84 Agree in Claiming an Appropriate Prayer

Dr. Wesley L. Duewel: Unite in making your very own a specific promise for the specific needs.
5). Agree in claiming an appropriate promise. You need more than mental assent that the promise is indeed God's word.

[Continuing #83 How to Agree in Prayer]
(Google image, Prayer warfare).

Peter said at Pentecost, "The promise is for you" (Acts 2:39).
Seek to arrive at deep, united conviction that the promise is really for you, appropriate, and God's clear word for this situation about which you pray.

Mental agreement is not sufficient. Pray till you get heart agreement.

You need to be united not only that the promise is available to you but that you are now firmly standing upon it. You have made it your own. Rejoice together that God has the whole world in His hands, that God has known about the need before you realized it, and that He has been working even before you began to pray.

6). Agree in holy determination to see God's answer realized. Is this prayer request important enough to you and to God's cause that once you unite in prayer for it, you will not give up until you obtain the witness of God's answer?

Sometimes God gives assurance that the answer has been granted before we see it actualized before our eyes. Agree that you will unite in prayer for the answer until you receive it, receive an even better answer, or until you have "prayed through" to clear assurance that God's answer is on the way.

7). Agree in steps of obedience. Often as you pray, God guides you to take certain steps. It may be to involve more people in praying or to set apart special prayer times or increased prayer times for the request.

Perhaps God will show you something that hinders your praying. He may show you things that you must do or that the person or group you are praying for must do.

Every act of obedience to which God guides you will increase your faith. You often need to prepare the way of the Lord by obedience.

8). Agree in giving God all the glory. It may not be essential for others to know that you were praying. Sometimes that knowledge is important to a person being prayed for, but often it is better to say nothing.

The answer is God's answer. Don't touch the glory that belongs to God alone. Stay in the background. Don't seek glory for your church, organization, or family or have any selfish motive.

It is very easy for self to enter so subtly into your praying that you are unaware of it. Much prayer for success is more concerned for self than for God. Agree together that God shall have all the glory.

Used by permission of the author and Duewel Literature Trust, Inc., Greenwood, Indiana

(With Jean's impressions added)

Mighty Prevailing Prayer
#84 Agree in Claiming an Appropriate Prayer
by Dr. Wesley L. Duewel
(pp. 141 -142) Zondervan

Let's pray-

Couple agreeing in prayer

Father, please help us to arrive at deep,

united conviction, that a particular

promise in Your Word is for us,

and is God's appropriate word for our

situation for which we pray.

May we expect Your involvement in

bringing about the results of our prayers,

believing that Your will is what will take

place for the good of everyone involved,

and to Your glory.

We ask this in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Today's Bible verses-

(Isaiah 14:24 KJV) "The LORD of hosts hath sworn, saying, Surely as I have thought, so shall it come to pass; and as I have purposed, so shall it stand."

(Isaiah 25:9 KJV) "And it shall be said in that day, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, and he will save us: this is the LORD; we have waited for him, we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation."

(Isaiah 26:3 KJV) "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee."

Today's quotes-

Ann Voskamp- "The only real prayers are the ones mouthed with thankful lips. Because gratitude ushers into the other side of prayer, into the heart of the God-love, and all power to change the world, me, resides here in His love. Prayer, to be prayer, to have any power to change anything, must first speak thanks: 'in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God' (Philippians 4:6 NIV emphasis added)." (Taken from her book, one thousand gifts, p. 61).

Julian of Norwich- "The highest form of prayer is to the goodness of God....God only desires that our soul cling to him with all of its strength, in particular, that clings to his goodness. For of all the things our minds can think about God, it is thinking upon his goodness that pleases him most and brings the most profit to our soul." (Julian of Norwich, quoted in Richard Foster, ed., Devotional Classics (San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 1993), 71.

Today's challenge-

When you pray and agree with someone about a concern, does only one person do all the praying? What if, after they pray about something, they hesitate and allow someone else to add their thoughts of the concern?

You'll find that with each expression of the need, allowing others to add their thoughts too, can bring much more of a "unitedness" in the praying.

Try it, you'll be surprised at the added depth of praying in agreement, as each one gets more fully involved...

Upcoming posts-

A Choice that God Blesses

21st- Saturday's post by James H. Cagle

#85 Mighty Answers through Agreeing in Prayer

24th- Tuesday's post by Dr. Wesley L. Duewel

#86 Revival in India

26th- Thursday's post by Dr. Wesley L. Duewel

He Promised He Would Come Again

28th- Saturday's post by Lee Forbes

Today's popular post-

#41 How to Deepen Your Desire

Dr. Wesley L. Duewel: 1. Welcome God-given desires. From one viewpoint, real desire is a gift of God. From another viewpoint, you must deepen your own desire with the help of God...

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