A Lack of Prayer

[angels4u]

On 3/27/2025 at 11:08 AM, Ray12614 said:

Ok . . . So I am going to publicly expose an failure in my Christian life that I have recently revealed to me by the Holy Spirit . . . Namely an lack of prayer for other people, for my pastor(s), and generally all types of prayer including intercession.

I have been an elder for many years, and in various leadership capacities, and have served the body of Christ by doing various things that an leader and servant would and should do.  Yet . . . many times people I love . . . especially pastors I have left 'exposed' due to my lack of intercession for them and other people in the churches I have been a part of over the years. Frankly, IF I had been attentive to pray as the Spirit asked me to do over the years there would have been less calamity and heart ache for people I loved dearly. I hereby publicly repent of that failure in my life, as I have repented to God for not covering people in prayer and intercession.

This also includes praying for my country and those that were elected in our republic of states. Even IF some of us are unwilling to become involved in political processes and prefer to let the enemy steal our input into government, that does in no way let us off the hook of praying for our elected leaders. Enough said about that less this new thread is turned into an 'O how I hate Trump' thread.

My point is this; Since I have learned how to take prayer more seriously, and have answered the call to pray for all men as scripture commands us to do I now see areas of prayer that I never saw before, which is, as I see it,  a good thing.

So . . . how about you ? ? ? Has this happened to anybody else on Worthy

Thank you for the reminder Ray :)

Don't we all lack in times to pray depending how we feel at times? The Holy Spirit is tugging me more lately also in this area ,it's not that I don't pray ,I have a prayer scribble but at times we don't take it as serious on we should,maybe an age and pain  issue also,prayer should be our first focus.. In Scothland they're not even allowed to pray in their own house anymore. You're right,we have to pray for our authorities but what is they keep doing their own evil ways?

Jeremiah 7:16:

"Therefore do not pray for this people, nor lift up a cry or prayer for them, nor make intercession to Me; for I will not hear you,some people can harden themself so much from God that God will not hear them anymore when you pray for them? When comes that point? 

I know we are told to pray for Jerusalem ,authorities and others who need our prayer.

I find myself most of the day talking to God or thinking about Him ,our life should be all centered about God,actually this world does not attract me to much anymore...we're citizen of heaven :)

 

[warrior12]

Every individual has their own life situation and sphere in which they live, and our human behavior is to think and care for the ones close to us.  Therefore our prayer life would surround those factors and as information reaches us, so we react in like manner to sending up our request.  How often do we truly care about those outside our realm of reach and knowledge about them is everyone's mind as to how he thinks of the world we live in.   As I have read somewhere " Prayer goes to places that we cannot go ", which we all know , but still our human nature is to  mostly care about our immediate surrounding and persons. 

In Church I use to attend, their were initiative to have twenty four hour pray meetings which I really could not last even one hour, as I would keep repeating the same over and over, with sincerity, but soon run out of lack . Some churches would have one hour prayer before the service and that also was a struggle for me.  Even in my home , I find the cares of the world creeps in to take away those precious time.   I must admit, I am not one for lengthy prayer time, EXCEPT, when being afflicted or in spiritual warfare, when the enemy come to attack and thus the energy comes in like a flood , even leaving all chores to wage the war.

Prayer though is essential for the believer to communicate his affection, needs and empathy , plus so much more to his maker and Lord Jesus Christ. The devil is cunning though and in subtle ways plant his schemes to pull the believer away from the essentials of his walk, so we have to be aware of his stratagems and fight the good fight of faith and all that comes with it.

 

2 Corinthians 2:11

 

King James Version

 

 

¹¹ Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices.

 

[D. Adrien]

4 hours ago, Ray12614 said:

Also, My understanding is that we need to be specific regarding what we are praying for, otherwise we could just pray an general prayer to 'Bless all the hurting children, and save all the people of the world' and we would be done . . . right?

Just asking questions

I pray for Christians about specific issues globally, such as beheadings and incarcerations.

For Dictators and such I tend to view them as me shaking the dust off my footwear kind of thing.

[Marathoner]

For the bold who believe and speak to the Lord, He listens and responds. Petition Him as you see fit, though I counsel that petitioning is in accordance with His will. For example, petition the Lord to strengthen you so you might endure; He is pleased to grant the petition because endurance is highly commended by the Lord and His apostles. So is petitioning the Lord to learn righteous judgment, for He is pleased to teach us how to judge righteously even though we see darkly and don't know as we ought to know (yet). If the Spirit moves us to petition on the behalf of others, then do so. If not, don't. 

As for everything else? The Lord doesn't sanction the leaders of these nations, for the words of the Lord commend the righteous to continue in righteousness and condemn the wicked to continue working their iniquity:

And he said to me, “Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is near. Let the one who does wrong still do wrong, and the one who is filthy still be filthy; and let the one who is righteous still practice righteousness, and the one who is holy still keep himself holy.” (Revelation 22:10-11 NASB)

The nations of men are deceived and hopelessly wicked. They will continue in their filth until the Lord returns, whereupon they will be judged. As @D. Adrien has written above, shake their dust off of our feet and keep walking with the Lord. If He wishes us to petition on their behalf, He will tell us so. 

Edited March 28 by Marathoner

[Ray12614]

On 3/28/2025 at 10:38 AM, warrior12 said:

Every individual has their own life situation and sphere in which they live, and our human behavior is to think and care for the ones close to us.  Therefore our prayer life would surround those factors and as information reaches us, so we react in like manner to sending up our request.  How often do we truly care about those outside our realm of reach and knowledge about them is everyone's mind as to how he thinks of the world we live in.   As I have read somewhere " Prayer goes to places that we cannot go ", which we all know , but still our human nature is to  mostly care about our immediate surrounding and persons. 

In Church I use to attend, their were initiative to have twenty four hour pray meetings which I really could not last even one hour, as I would keep repeating the same over and over, with sincerity, but soon run out of lack . Some churches would have one hour prayer before the service and that also was a struggle for me.  Even in my home , I find the cares of the world creeps in to take away those precious time.   I must admit, I am not one for lengthy prayer time, EXCEPT, when being afflicted or in spiritual warfare, when the enemy come to attack and thus the energy comes in like a flood , even leaving all chores to wage the war.

Prayer though is essential for the believer to communicate his affection, needs and empathy , plus so much more to his maker and Lord Jesus Christ. The devil is cunning though and in subtle ways plant his schemes to pull the believer away from the essentials of his walk, so we have to be aware of his stratagems and fight the good fight of faith and all that comes with it.

 

2 Corinthians 2:11

 

King James Version

 

 

¹¹ Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices.

 

I know this is an side comment, but, I absolutely Love your animated fisherman getting eaten by a shark! Very funny!

Regarding prayer . . . I believe that Quality and not Quantity or Length of time praying is my rule regarding prayer. I fully aknowledge that I have revealed an certain weakness in prayer as a whole, in that I have not prayed for my pastor, church, saints that I know who are struggling with various things . . . so . . . I am not an good example of an Prayer Warrior. 

BUT . . . I am willing to change and become involved with them all by praying for them now . . . 

 

[warrior12]

22 minutes ago, Ray12614 said:

I know this is an side comment, but, I absolutely Love your animated fisherman getting eaten by a shark! Very funny!

Regarding prayer . . . I believe that Quality and not Quantity or Length of time praying is my rule regarding prayer. I fully aknowledge that I have revealed an certain weakness in prayer as a whole, in that I have not prayed for my pastor, church, saints that I know who are struggling with various things . . . so . . . I am not an good example of an Prayer Warrior. 

BUT . . . I am willing to change and become involved with them all by praying for them now . . . 

 

Well thank you for the comment about the animated fisherman.  When I first saw it, I looked at it quite a bit and the simplicity of who is fishing for who and whom is being caught. 

Yes, prayer can seem to be tucked in the back when things are all in order, i.e health, family ect.   When  tragedy comes knocking, then it seems that we can prayer non stop, hence the reason at least for me to accept the trials and difficulty in life's journey. It is a way to keep the beliver in checks and strengthen his faith and have as a detail memory of the Lord promises. Even though, through some of those hardship comes death and other extremities.

I admire those who pray with words that seem to touch the very soul and it seems to come out with ease.  It has to be the holy spirit working in that person to deliver messages that pricks the heart and that is good. 

Reminder is a good thing, as it urges us to reflect on the essentials of our faith and the work that is to be done.   So, this is what your thread is essentially, to remind us to not neglect the essential and vital element of our faith that empowers others that may or may not  be aware of from whom it is being issued.  It is warranted, thank you. 

Each of us has our own way of doing things I suppose, so how we employ our time would speak to our conscience and we know we cannot lie to our heart and the Lord knows and sees all.

[TheBlade]

On 3/27/2025 at 8:08 AM, Ray12614 said:

Ok . . . So I am going to publicly expose an failure in my Christian life that I have recently revealed to me by the Holy Spirit . . . Namely an lack of prayer for other people, for my pastor(s), and generally all types of prayer including intercession.

I have been an elder for many years, and in various leadership capacities, and have served the body of Christ by doing various things that an leader and servant would and should do.  Yet . . . many times people I love . . . especially pastors I have left 'exposed' due to my lack of intercession for them and other people in the churches I have been a part of over the years. Frankly, IF I had been attentive to pray as the Spirit asked me to do over the years there would have been less calamity and heart ache for people I loved dearly. I hereby publicly repent of that failure in my life, as I have repented to God for not covering people in prayer and intercession.

This also includes praying for my country and those that were elected in our republic of states. Even IF some of us are unwilling to become involved in political processes and prefer to let the enemy steal our input into government, that does in no way let us off the hook of praying for our elected leaders. Enough said about that less this new thread is turned into an 'O how I hate Trump' thread.

My point is this; Since I have learned how to take prayer more seriously, and have answered the call to pray for all men as scripture commands us to do I now see areas of prayer that I never saw before, which is, as I see it,  a good thing.

So . . . how about you ? ? ? Has this happened to anybody else on Worthy

For me to share to confess my sins one to another is with people I know that love the lord. As for praying yeah I am sure we all do not do enough were to be praying 24/7 and "I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; for kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty." Yeah all men/women

[Luther]

On 3/27/2025 at 10:08 AM, Ray12614 said:

Ok . . . So I am going to publicly expose an failure in my Christian life that I have recently revealed to me by the Holy Spirit . . . Namely an lack of prayer for other people, for my pastor(s), and generally all types of prayer including intercession.

I have been an elder for many years, and in various leadership capacities, and have served the body of Christ by doing various things that an leader and servant would and should do.  Yet . . . many times people I love . . . especially pastors I have left 'exposed' due to my lack of intercession for them and other people in the churches I have been a part of over the years. Frankly, IF I had been attentive to pray as the Spirit asked me to do over the years there would have been less calamity and heart ache for people I loved dearly. I hereby publicly repent of that failure in my life, as I have repented to God for not covering people in prayer and intercession.

This also includes praying for my country and those that were elected in our republic of states. Even IF some of us are unwilling to become involved in political processes and prefer to let the enemy steal our input into government, that does in no way let us off the hook of praying for our elected leaders. Enough said about that less this new thread is turned into an 'O how I hate Trump' thread.

My point is this; Since I have learned how to take prayer more seriously, and have answered the call to pray for all men as scripture commands us to do I now see areas of prayer that I never saw before, which is, as I see it,  a good thing.

So . . . how about you ? ? ? Has this happened to anybody else on Worthy

Sadly yes. I am so preoccupied with current events that I do not have a healthy balance right now. Got to get back to morning time prayer....longer than a few minutes. 

[D. Adrien]

A peaceful life may be hard to come by in the very near future. I expect terrorist cells have easily infiltrated the U.S. and other aligned nations.

[Ray12614]

9 hours ago, D. Adrien said:

A peaceful life may be hard to come by in the very near future. I expect terrorist cells have easily infiltrated the U.S. and other aligned nations.

Agreed . . . But what if . . . . what if . . . what IF we prayed effectively and God intervened in 'some' of the terrorists activities and moved in our behalf?

If praying could move God to change the outcome of some of these things maybe it would be worth our time and effort seeking God's will in earthly affairs, and yes, even government issues.

Just asking . . .