Thoughts for Life: #108 Carrying a Prayer Burden

Dr. Wesley L. Duewel: Level Five- Prayer Burden. We have discussed asking, seeking, knocking, and fasting. Now we consider the fifth level of prevailing prayer: interceding with a prayer burden.

This level of intensity is marked by urgency, commitment to the priority of the need, and holy determination to pray until God answers. It is not only knocking at heaven's gate but prevailing in the Spirit. (Google image, People praying).

You prevail with prayer burden only by the enablement of the Holy Spirit. He summons you to prayer for the need, guides you in your praying, and fills you with holy desire so intense that it becomes not only a deep concern but a consuming spiritual passion to prevail with God and over Satan.

Prayer burden begins as an inner impression that you should pray for a known or unknown need. It is a gracious work of the Holy Spirit applying spiritual pressure upon your heart.

It is God's way to call you to intercession at a time when your prayer is needed by God who has ordained to work through the intercession of His children. It is needed and indeed demanded by a situation that cries for God's answer. The burden is the Spirit's person call to you to intercede.

Varieties of Prayer Burden

There are at least five varieties of prayer burden. All of them involve the Holy Spirit's call you to prayer and your response as a priest of God (1 Peter 2:5, 9; Rev.1:6) interceding on earth while your Lord intercedes on heaven's throne.

1. Instant, emergency prayer burden. This is a sudden, strong call of the Spirit, an unexpected, sudden compulsion in your heart. You feel an inner pressure to pray, a sense that your prayer is needed. It may be very specific.

You may feel a certain person is in danger or at a crisis of decision, or you may suddenly be reminded of someone and feel constrained to pray. As soon as you begin to pray, the burden gets heavier, and you feel the Spirit's help in prayer.

It may begin with a sudden general sense of danger, urgency, or need, a feeling that something or someone needs prayer. As you pray, the burden will probably increase, and some person or situation may be brought to your mind.

You may not know clearly the reason for your SOS prayer burden until sometime later. You may never know. That is not important. It is important to go instantly to prayer.

Of this you can be sure—God does not play games with you. When His Spirit prompts you to pray, perhaps by God's angel injecting the thought into your mind, your prayer is urgently needed. Emergency prayer burdens are usually for a brief urgent need. You pray at once, or you fail God and the situation.

[Duewel relates J. Oswald Sanders, respected leader of Overseas Missionary Fellowship, tells of how his wife was awakened to pray for him at midnight back home, as he was passing a robber-infested area in central China, and how he passed safely.]

2. Gradually deepening prayer burden. Sometimes God attracts your interest to a person or situation that needs prayer. At first you may pray sporadically, when you happen to think of it, but as time goes by, you may find the need has a regular place in your prayer until it becomes a true prayer burden upon you heart.

It may become one of the major items about which you pray. You begin to realize that God is holding you responsible to pray regularly and earnestly for the person or need until His answer comes.

In the early stages of this deepening prayer burden, you may not realize that the Spirit is specifically guiding your praying. But as you continue in prayer, you are increasingly sure that it is a true prayer assignment from God.

Then it calls for disciplined intercession on your part. You can redeem spare moments by praying for this need. Your heartstrings become very closely bound with the need. Every believer should be carrying several such major prayer burdens on his or her personal prayer list.

Used by permission of the author and Duewel Literature Trust, Inc., Greenwood, Indiana (with Jean's impressions added).

Mighty Prevailing Prayer
#108 Carrying a Prayer Burden
by Dr. Wesley L. Duewel
(pp. 194 -197) Zondervan

Prayer-

Get alone with God

Father, when our prayer burden begins as an inner impression that Your Holy Spirit wants us to pray, may we recognized it as a gracious work of His.
As He's applying pressure upon our hearts to pray for some need, known or unknown, may we be obedient to respond with sustaining prayer until we see the answer, or the burden lifted.
When we feel a certain person is in danger or at a crisis of decision, we may suddenly be reminded of them and feel constrained to pray for them.
As we begin to pray, the burden may very well get heavier, and we may sense the Spirit helping with our prayer efforts.
Father, thank You for the Spirit of prayer, as we do appreciate all the help we can have to not fail Your urgings to pray.
In the Name of Jesus, we pray. Amen.

Today's Bible verses-

(Job 32:8 KJV) "But there is a spirit in man: and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth them understanding."

(Ecc. 11:1 KJV) "Cast thy bread upon the waters: for thou shalt find it after many days."

(1 Sam. 12:16 KJV) "Now therefore stand and see this great thing, which the LORD will do before your eyes."

Today's quote-

O. Hallesby- "Without noticing it ourselves, prayer will become the great centralizing and unifying factor in our distracted and busy lives. In everything that we experience during the day, our minds and our hearts will quietly and naturally be drawn toward God.
A longing to talk with God about everything with our dear ones, our friends, our enemies, the converted or the unconverted, temporal or spiritual affairs, small things and great, the hard and the easy, all the observations and experiences which fill and shape our daily lives, will naturally and readily begin to take the form of prayer."(p. 171 in his book, PRAYER.)

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Today's question-

Do you realize that God's mercies are new every morning, and that we cannot live on yesterday's mercies?

It will be the Lord's portion; all that we'll need each day.

Upcoming posts-

God Knows

22nd- Saturday's post by Jean Oathout

#109 Gradually Deepening Your Prayer Burden

25th- Tuesday's post by Dr. Wesley L. Duewel

#110 Prayer Burdens Described

27th- Thursday's post by Dr. Wesley L. Duewel

When You're Hit with Life's Hammer

29th- Saturday's post by Ron Hutchcraft