Prayer Strategy – Passion & Focus

I’ve been reading the book Fervent by Priscilla Shirer and I am excited to share with you the first 2 out of 10 prayer strategies! Reading this book has really changed the way I view praying. I didn’t even realize that there was a prayer strategy or how important is in a believer’s prayer life. I hope this will encourage you and explain what prayer strategy is just as it has for me!

Prayer Strategy 1 – Your Passion

Your willpower and passions are what drive you in life to do things. If you love iced caramel frappes then chances are you’ll find a way to go get one from your favorite coffee shop. If you love to go on vacations, chances are you’ll do what you can to make it happen.

If satan can take away your passion for God he’s got you right where he wants you. He attacks your passion for God first.

I hear all the time that Christians are going through a “dry season”. Maybe that is true but personally, I’ve only gone through dry seasons with God when I wasn’t really pursuing Him. My passion wasn’t there because I wasn’t making the effort.

God is always speaking. You just have to be willing to seek Him and listen. If you want to regain your passion again for God and for life, simply ask. He is the source. His Word (the Bible) is alive and active and God is constantly pouring refreshing truths into our lives using His Word.

Priscilla encourages us to come up with our own personal prayer using what we have learned from every prayer strategy. Here is an example of a prayer for passion I came up with:

Lord Your mercy is new every morning. Thank You for refreshing my soul. Forgive me for times I have failed. Set my heart on fire and never stop kindling the flame. I desire to know You and do Your will from now until eternity. Thank You for listening to my heart’s desire and for making this promise come to fruition. Jeremiah 29:12-13 says, “Pray to Me and I will listen to you. You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.”

Prayer Strategy 2 – Your Focus

The enemy wants our attention diverted to people and situations rather than the bigger picture. I’m as guilty as the next person for not recognizing immediately when satan is behind something. No, satan is not behind every bad thing that ever happens to you. But satan does want to use things to begin to gnaw away at our life and ultimately destroy us through small deceptive ways. God, in contrast, wants to help us grow and wants us to know that we can trust Him and His plans.

In order to be focused and ready for battle, we need to be ready and equipped. I’ve always gotten excited about the armor of God in the Bible. Our fight is not against flesh and blood. It’s not against your spouse, coworkers, family members, or friends. It’s against the evil forces out there that do exist. Ephesians 6:10-17 says to be strong in the Lord and equip ourselves with the following things to combat evil:

Belt of truth- The belt holds your pants up and protects your vulnerabilities. It is the foundational piece everything else relies on. The enemy will do everything he can to catch you with your pants down and to keep you from reading and learning the truth. This means we need to be deliberate with actually reading the Bible. I know crazy right?

Breastplate of righteousness- to apply the truth and practice what you preach. Righteousness does matter. What you fill your thoughts with, where you go, and what you do or don’t say matters.

Shoes of peace- your balance in life and peace of mind is not dictated by external circumstances. If someone tries to shove you off your feet, it won’t even shake you. I’m emotional and a worrier so this one is especially difficult for me. I have to tell God I trust Him no matter what and thank Him for peace until it starts becoming a reality. There can be calm in the middle of crazy.

Shield of faith- application of what you believe. To block the enemy’s blows effectively you have to remain faithful and trust God’s faithfulness.

The helmet of salvation- you have been adopted as a child of God and have inherited eternal life. This truth protects our mind from the enemy’s attacks on our identity. So remember that and thank God for this promise when you start thinking that you won’t ever be good enough.

Sword of the Spirit or Word of God- the Bible may be ancient but God’s Spirit makes it fresh, new, and alive for us in a present, relevant, personal way every day. The sword can deal massive blows to the enemy when we apply biblical truths to the situations we face. Satan waited until Jesus was most vulnerable after 40 days in the desert. He was alone. He was physically and emotionally at His weakest. But Jesus responded with scripture to fight off satan’s attacks and shut him up.

A Prayer For You

Lord thank You for revealing these truths about prayer and how powerful it can be. Forgive us for times we fail you and others in our life. Give us a passion for You that will never fade and help us to focus on the right things in life. Help us to recognize that others are not our enemy and to debunk satan’s lies in the moments he attacks. In Jesus’ name, amen.

To be continued! The next 2 prayer strategies cover your identity and your family. There are 8 more I’d love to share with you that have transformed the way I think and pray. God bless everyone and let me know if anyone has any questions or prayer requests!

Stay hopeful!

 

 

 

Check out the next Prayer Strategy here!