That people know what to do…

A call has come from Australia for believers around the world to join in prayer and fasting for America from April 30th through May 6th.

Because of that, I want to recycle several blog entries I wrote last year. At that time, God prompted me to shift my focus as I prayed for the nation. In short, I believe God showed me these four things for which to pray:

• Pray for people to know what to do.
• Pray for people to receive wisdom along with their knowledge.
• Pray for those people to receive the boldness to step out in what they know to do.
• Pray for those people to be filled with boldness to carry out their tasks to completion.

Originally posted last year (third in series):

Of the sons of Issachar, men who understood the times, with knowledge of what Israel should do, their chiefs were two hundred; and all their kinsmen were at their command. 1 Chronicles 12:32, emphasis added

The lion’s share of the shift in direction I received about praying for the nation was this: Pray for people to know what to do.

How simple is that! When you pray for others to know what to do, you don’t have to know the details yourself! You don’t have to have a clue what they should do. In fact, it’s often “cleaner” that way; you’re not dictating your own ideas to the Lord. You merely pray for them to get that knowledge from God—whether they know it’s from God or not. The results of them knowing what to do—all over the nation and at every level—will be God-results. And that’s what we must have.

The sons of Issachar, back in the days when David took the throne of Israel, were described as men who understood the times, with knowledge of what Israel should do. Such insight was more than likely used to help further the establishment of David’s kingdom; wherever there is an abundance of men who have God-imparted understanding of the times and know what to do, the establishment and expansion of truth, righteousness, justice, and peace can flourish.

Conversely, two verses in Proverbs 14 reveal an interesting thought: “When the righteous triumph, there is great elation; but when the wicked rise to power, people go into hiding” (verse 12, NIV), and “When the wicked rise, men hide themselves; but when they perish, the righteous increase” (verse 28, NASB). Consider this: the “culture of correctness”—about which I wrote a couple of days ago—tends to target traditional and Christian thinkers and results in thrusting many into “ideological hiding” from anyone who might “out” them.

Men and women who know what to do by the wisdom given to them by the Spirit of God can be used by Him—whether or not they are aware of His involvement—to tip the cultural scale in favor of righteousness, freedom, and peace.

I want to encourage you to be available to the Lord to pray for the groups and individuals that He puts on your heart. They need His knowledge to know what to do in this hour; therefore, they need your prayers. And frankly, we need them to know what to do!

I believe that God wants to move strongly throughout this nation at all levels and in all regions so that the ministry of reconciliation—winning men, women, boys, and girls to Jesus—can proceed and expand unhindered in this hour. This soul-reaching, soul-winning call is for each one of us. And to pave the way for the “more than you can ask or imagine” (see Ephesians 3:20) explosion of salvations which many believe is just around the corner, you and I are also called to stand in prayer for all men, kings and those who are in authority (see 1 Timothy 2:1-2). As we stand praying, we are to do so in the authority of Jesus Christ without wavering, listening for and heeding the promptings of the Holy Spirit. What a privilege it is to be part of such a historic time!

Blessings,

Dorothy

For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place and you and your father’s house will perish. And who knows whether you have not attained royalty for such a time as this? Esther 4:14