The power of a praying grandma
My grandma was a Southern Baptist dynamo. She was so passionate about her family having a saving relationship with Jesus that the majority of them despised her for it! Sure, they loved her, but they thought she was a religious fanatic, and she made them very uncomfortable. And they let her know it.
Grandma’s three daughters all pulled out of the Oklahoma dust-bowl Depression to put themselves through college. Each one married intellectual men–my mom married an engineer and my two aunts married professors (one of whom was rumored to be a card-carrying member of the Communist party). Grandma’s pleas of “are you saved?” rubbed every one of them the wrong way, but she didn’t care. As a kid, I was fascinated by the dynamics and secretly admired her refusal to be bullied out of what was widely viewed by the family as an offensive and ridiculous stance. I loved my Grandma and never felt threatened by her faith.
Grandma, I am sure, prayed nearly as much as she preached, and years later, even though the others in my generation of the family seemed to embrace worldviews far different than hers, I was still seeking.
One night, during a particularly stressful Christmas break, I was sitting in a bar getting drunk as quickly as I could. My friends, all dolled up, were on the prowl for good-looking guys, but I wanted nothing of that. You see, my step-grandma (my dad’s step-mom) had just passed away, and days before Christmas, I had surgery to remove a large mass from my breast. As a nineteen year old, right before I went into surgery, I was required to sign a paper stating that the doctors could remove the breast if cancer was found. Although I was relieved to learn that the mass was benign, I was not in a good frame of mind.
So there I was, in a “19-year-olds-are-legal” bar, getting drunk and spiraling into cynicism and despair. I absent-mindedly watched as the band played song after song and the patrons (mostly female) danced in front of the musicians. When I noticed that they were swaying with their arms lifted up to the sky, I heard a voice in my ear, “Lifted hands are a sign of worship.”
I dropped my head and said, “I’m in hell.”
Days later, while alone at my parents’ home, Jesus visited me, and Grandma’s prayers were answered.
Don’t give up on your loved ones. Prayers over distance and time are powerful tools in the hand of God. You can be sure that He is working behind the scenes on behalf of a loved one–or a nation–if you don’t grow weary and give up. Stick with it. Don’t quit!
Dorothy
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Halfway through the book
I spoke last night to a woman who is about halfway through my book, First of All, Pray. She grabbed me by the arm and said, “I know why you wrote this book! You wrote it so we wouldn’t give up on praying for our country!” I honestly couldn’t have put it any better.
She continued, “I’ve grown so tired of everything going on in government and politics, that I just backed off of praying for the nation. But now I see that we can’t afford to quit–we’ve got to keep pressing in no matter what it looks like.”
She also shared that she and her prayer partners have sensed the Holy Spirit saying to them, “As goes the Church, so goes the nation,” and she said that she is seeing the results in the nation of a complacent Church.
She beautifully summed up my purpose for writing this book. I know that there are many others far more adept and way more experienced in the things of prayer than I am and who have articulated the art of prayer far better than I ever could. Yet, at the same time that I was witnessing widespread, far-reaching decline in my nation, my heart also burned with the desire to see the Church in the U.S. stirred from what seemed to be a lull in her primitive, raw pursuit of the move and power and glory of God. And I knew that for God to have His way, truly, in this nation, He must first have His way in the Church.
And so, God, may Your will be done–in the Church and in the United States of America and on the entire face of the earth–as it is in Heaven. May Your people in this nation not give up on the high calling and privilege to stand in the gap and pray for America!
In Jesus’ name,
Amen.
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Are you too overwhelmed to pray?
Have you ever felt overwhelmed by the intensity of the current events that continue to fill the airwaves and internet? I know I have at times, and the feeling of oppression that accompanies the state of being overwhelmed often pressurizes believers into back off of praying for our nation. I imagine that they might feel like grasshoppers before such seemingly insurmountable circumstances facing the country, and as a result, could be tempted to retreat from praying about the issues at all.
In the Bible, the majority of the men sent in to spy out Canaan were overwhelmed by what they saw. They said, “We are not able to go up against the people, for they are too strong for us” (Numbers 13:31b).
And yet Caleb, who had declared, “We should by all means go up and possess the land, for we will surely overcome it” (Numbers 13:30b), was commended by God who described him as having a different spirit in following after Him fully (see Numbers 14:24).
Many hold back on interceding about current events due to the fear of praying against the will of God. After all, are we not in the end times—the days of difficulty? Shouldn’t we expect things to go from bad to worse? If we pray against such things, won’t we be in danger of attempting to thwart the plan of God?
Jesus said that the thief comes to steal, kill, and destroy (see John 10:10a). Many of the events we are witnessing clearly fall into those categories, so when you pray to thwart such things, you are not praying against God but against the master of stealing, killing, and destroying, the devil. And remember, the Lord did not condemn the man mentioned in a parable for pulling his sheep out of a pit on the Sabbath (see Matthew 12:11-12). Instead, this man’s mercy on the innocent animal was acknowledged by Jesus as appropriate despite the seemingly taboo timing of the rescue. In light of this, are we called to turn a blind eye to creeping agendas of lawlessness meant to ensnare our neighbors and countrymen when we have been given the power in prayer to bind and loose? (See Matthew 18:18.)
The Bible calls you more than a conqueror (see Romans 8:37) even now, even when things seem to be falling apart. As you refuse to cast away your confidence (see Hebrews 10:35), you will find that the prayers you pray will become bolder, more targeted, and more saturated with Scripture.
It is written in two places in the Old Testament that God sought for an intercessor but found none (Isaiah 59:16, Ezekiel 22:30). Be found of Him, willing to take a stand in prayer about those things in the nation that grip your heart. Then, if Jesus returns in your life, He will be able to say that He did, indeed, find faith on the earth, for He found it in you.
Dorothy
Read MoreConcerning political disagreement
One big mistake people of prayer sometimes make is to insist on a “lockstep” mentality with others in order to pray in unity. We don’t have to agree on everything politically to pray for what’s happening in government. For example, I may believe that climate change happens regardless of human activity–SUVs, thermostat settings, and so on. You may firmly adhere to the more “green” theory of global warming. However, if the two of us agree that our nation is in desperate need of God’s help, then we can pray together in unity as we ask God to grant wisdom to our leadership and intervene on behalf of wrong decisions they may make. You and I don’t even have to agree as to which decisions are wrong and which are right as long as we both want God to have His way, for Jesus to be lifted up and glorified, and for men and women to come to know the knowledge of the truth.
When you pray with someone else about the nation, you won’t miss the target if you pray for His direction for those in leadership and for His intervention in wrong decisions (you don’t even have to specify which decisions are in error if you aren’t in agreement on the political details). You will be praying according to the will of God when you cry out for Jesus to be made known and glorified, and you will be hitting the mark every time you ask God to bring men and women, boys and girls to the knowledge of the truth according to the Word of God.
As you, yourself, become more comfortable and familiar on your own with praying for your nation, God will start giving you more specific direction. Step out and pray that piece before God, and then trust Him to do His part. You will grow in prayer, and you will find that your prayers do count.
Don’t let political disagreements with others hinder your prayer effectiveness. When praying with someone else, find the key components about which you can agree and hit those aspects in your prayer together. When praying alone, don’t let political agitation distract you. You know your Father, and He can lead you with His still small voice as you get quiet before Him. Then, pray what’s on your heart–pray it boldly and pray it in line with His Word and pray it with all your might–and you will hit the mark.
Dorothy
Read MoreWhy I pray for America
I have been fortunate in my life to be surrounded by believers who take the call to pray very seriously. When I got saved in college, my first church was a Tuesday and Thursday night dorm Bible study led by young Christians who had a deep relationship with Jesus. These brands of fire freely and openly spilled out their hearts in prayer and worship to God every time we gathered together.
The church I attended as a young career woman was birthed in prayer and even held regular 10 pm to 3 am prayer meetings on Friday nights for a while. Those meetings added gas to the fire that burned within me, and nothing less than seeking God fully satisfied me.
After I left that church, I attended another church while I sought God for direction. I even traveled to the Soviet Union with 6 other folks from that church to preach and win souls. What a time we had, praying in Red Square the words of Psalm 2, “Why are the nations in an uproar? Why do the peoples devise a vain thing?” Little did we know, on the Saturday we flew out of Moscow to return to America, that Monday morning the tanks would roll into Red Square and the Soviet Union would quickly become the former Soviet Union, within days. Indeed, the nations were in an uproar, and we were in on the secret before it hit the press.
Then God planted me in my current church, one that was also birthed in prayer. The leadership and lay people surrounding me in this church value prayer, pray readily and regularly, and have amazing testimonies bearing witness to the effectiveness of prayer.
Therefore, as I look at my nation, I must pray. It’s in my DNA; it is built into the very fabric of my relationship with God. When I see obstacles in my nation, I am challenged by my rich heritage to stand my ground and trust God. I feel I owe it to the Founders who pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor to guard, nurture, protect, and defend the fledgling nation. I owe it to Charles Finney, D. L. Moody, William J. Seymour, Billy Sunday, Aimee Semple McPherson, and all the rest, both known and unknown, who took advantage of their American liberty to pour out their lives for the cause of Christ. I owe it to my dad, who although he never claimed to know God intimately, was willing as a young man to risk his life in the service of a country which guaranteed that his daughter, yet to be born, would bear the sacred right to lead her own life, speak openly, and worship God freely without fear.
I must pray. I must pray the Word of God over my nation. I must seek her deliverance when evil threatens her. I must stand my ground even if it takes the rest of my life. I can do no less, so help me God.
Read MoreScrambling
As scandals in this administration are being exposed and more details are coming to light, it is not surprising to observe all the subsequent scrambling by the various players. A virtual game of “musical chairs” is happening before our very eyes, and instead of housecleaning, the administration appears to be rearranging the deck–same old “chairs” in new, upgraded positions.
One radio commentator suggested yesterday that this was done on purpose as an “in-your-face” thumbing of the nose at anyone who had the nerve to stand up against the corruption. Be that as it may, Truth trumps nose-thumbing. The apostle Paul said, “And do not [for a moment] be frightened or intimidated in anything by your opponents and adversaries, for such [constancy and fearlessness] will be a clear sign (proof and seal) to them of [their impending] destruction, but [a sure token and evidence] of your deliverance and salvation, and that from God” (Phil. 1:28, AMP).
As you pray about the events in our government, do not be moved by power’s maneuverings for advantage and intimidating effect. Stand your ground, joining your faith for truth to prevail with the faith of like-minded men and women from sea to shining sea. Trust God to direct your prayers, knowing that He is actively searching for someone to pray big, bold, audacious prayers. I challenge you again: stand your ground in prayer and disrupt the destruction.
Dorothy
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