Prayer A to Z

Four Ways to Achieve United Prayer — #1 By Praying For It

Posted on July 5, 2013 by Stephen Nielsen

United prayer should be the goal of prayer for all Christians. According to Wesley Duewel, “United prayer is probably the most powerful expression of Christian unity.”

What is united prayer? It is when believers are drawn together, in mind and purpose, by the Holy Spirit, to pray according to the will of God. Thus it is the mighty moving on believers to pray what is on God’s heart. United prayer reaches its climax when believers come together—when they are pulled together by the Holy Spirit—and pray in agreement.

There are at least four ways that we can achieve united prayer: 1) by praying for it, 2) by our love toward all believers, 3) by our service in the prayer ministry, and 4)by the encouragement of a spiritual leader.

1. We Achieve United Prayer By Praying For It

Jesus prayed for all believers that they might be one, just as He was one with His Father (Jn. 17:21-23). This oneness which He had with His Father was not a physical or visible oneness, but was a spiritual oneness or unity. Theodore H. Epp, in an article I read, has described this unity as having many features. Here are four of which he mentions: a unity of thought, of purpose, of will, and of service.

How incredible to think that it is possible to have that same unity (or oneness) that Jesus had with His Father. But Jesus believed it was possible, and that is why He prayed for it—and He is still praying for it. And since He desires it, and is praying for it, shouldn’t we too? Yes, let us be diligent to pray with Jesus for this oneness; and let us be confident that He will unite us in prayer as He shares with us, in the spirit of prayer, His own unity with His Father.

This is an excerpt from my book Joy of Prayer.

Posted in Prayer A to Z Excerpts, Uniting in Prayer | Tagged prayer, united prayer | 2 Comments

Quiet Moments on a Sunday Afternoon

Posted on July 3, 2013 by Stephen Nielsen

A swan and chirping birds

lily pads on still waters

buzzing dragon flies

surround me

yes, a beautiful white swan I see

walking gracefully over the water

what a sight to see

warm, cool air

blowing here and there

tall wild grass

gently swaying

tall trees in the distance

sparkling in the wind

heaven’s calling

small, gentle white clouds

blowing lazily through the sky

Psalm 19:1

The heavens declare the glory of

God; and the firmament show His handiwork.

Posted in Poems, Prayers, Ramblings | Tagged poem, prayer, quiet time, solitude | 3 Comments

Hezekiah’s Brave Decision to do Right–from 2 Kings 18-20

Posted on June 29, 2013 by Stephen Nielsen

Remnants of the Broad Wall of biblical Jerusalem, built during Hezekiah’s days against Sennacherib’s seiege

Finally, after all the wickedness and the compromises there comes a king that decides to do right. His father before him, Ahaz, was terribly wicked. So what made him decide to do right and reject the pagan worship that his father, and many others around him, practiced? Perhaps his mother had an influence on him, or his grandfather, or someone else. We don’t know. All we know is that he decided to do right. He was probably expected to follow the ways of his evil father. It would have been the easy way.

But God got a hold of his heart and Hezekiah did not turn away. I would guess that years before his inauguration at age twenty five he decided that he would continue listening to God and to the godly voices around him—that he would do the brave thing, the right thing. I love that he did that. That is an encouragement to me. Also, to see how God was with him through all the trouble he had with Assyria and how he stayed strong and was a strong leader, this gives me courage.

What a brave and God fearing king he was! How proud God must be of him. Three entire chapters, 2 Kings 18-20, are devoted to his story. I especially like how it begins, from 2 Kings 18:1-7:

Now it came about in the third year of Hoshea, the son of Elah king of Israel, that Hezekiah the son of Ahaz king of Judah became king. 2 He was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem; and his mother’s name was Abi the daughter of Zechariah. 3 And he did right in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his father David had done. 4 He removed the high places and broke down the sacred pillars and cut down the Asherah. He also broke in pieces the bronze serpent that Moses had made, for until those days the sons of Israel burned incense to it; and it was called Nehushtan. 5 He trusted in the Lord, the God of Israel; so that after him there was none like him among all the kings of Judah, nor among those who were before him. 6 For he clung to the Lord; he did not depart from following Him, but kept His commandments, which the Lord had commanded Moses. 7 And the Lord was with him; wherever he went he prospered. And he rebelled against the king of Assyria and did not serve him.

NASB

Posted in 1 Genesis to Nehemiah, Bible Studies, Quiet Time Highlights | Tagged Hezekiah, prayer, quiet time | Leave a comment

A Study of the Prayers of the Bible–a Prayer of Joshua

Posted on June 25, 2013 by Stephen Nielsen

Joshua 10:12

Then Joshua spoke to the LORD in the day when the LORD delivered up the Amorites before the children of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel: “Sun, stand still over Gibeon; And Moon, in the Valley of Aijalon.”

In Joshua 10:1-15, we read that five Amorite kings and their men came up against the inhabitance of Gibeon, who were allies of Israel. As it happened, the men of Gideon sent word to Joshua for help; and Joshua, being greatly encouraged by the Lord, came to their aid. And God caused the Amorites to flee in fear.

Now here is the miraculous part: as Joshua and his men were pursuing them, knowing that they needed more day light hours than the day could offer, Joshua prayed for the sun to stand still! Thus the sun stood still, and the moon stopped, until the nation avenged themselves of their enemies. What a day that was! Because of Joshua’s prayer God caused the sun to stop in the middle of the sky for a whole day (v. 13)!

If you think some people are going too far for praying for rain I wonder what Joshua’s men thought of this prayer? “He’s praying for what?” Then I wonder what they said when the sun and moon stopped? We must conclude that this is one of the greatest faith-filled prayers ever made, and also one of the greatest answers given.

Posted in Part 2, Joshua to Samuel, Prayer A to Z Excerpts, Survey of Prayer | Tagged miracles, prayer | 2 Comments

A Study of the Prayers of the Bible–Prayers of Moses

Posted on June 20, 2013 by Stephen Nielsen

Exodus 3:11

But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?”

Exodus 3:13

Then Moses said to God, “Indeed, when I come to the children of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they say to me, ‘What is His name?’ what shall I say to them?”

Exodus 4:1

Then Moses answered and said, “But suppose they will not believe me or listen to my voice; suppose they say, ‘The LORD has not appeared to you.’”

Exodus 4:10

Then Moses said to the LORD, “O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither before nor since You have spoken to Your servant; but I am slow of speech and slow of tongue.”

Exodus 4:13

But he said, “O my Lord, please send by the hand of whomever else You may send.”

When God spoke to Moses at the burning bush and told him that he was to deliver the children of Israel out of bondage, Moses replied back to God with the above five questions. In all of these questions, or we may call them excuses, God had an answer for Moses. In our prayers let us never be afraid to question God as Moses did, even give excuses. For God will answer all our questions and strengthen us in all our doubts.

Posted in Part 1, Abraham to Moses, Prayer A to Z Excerpts, Survey of Prayer | Tagged Moses, prayer | 2 Comments

Wrestling With the World in Prayer

Posted on June 15, 2013 by Stephen Nielsen

Here is another excerpt from Principles of Prayer.

Any time we pray there is always a struggle—a fight, a wrestling match, an argument, a plea. And the struggle—or the wresting, as we shall call it—is in four areas: with the world, with ourselves, with Satan, and with God. For this blog post I will give you just the first area.

Wrestling with the world. The Bible says, “Do not love the world, or the things in the world.” (1 Jn. 2:15). The “world” here is the evil in the world, or that evil system headed by Satan. The “things in the world” are all those things that are designed by Satan to cause us to sin. Hence, Satan has taken the “things in the world” and has brought them to us as temptations. And he has put them in three areas, which are in fact the three avenues of all temptations: (1) The things which temp the flesh, (2) things which tempt the eye, and (3) things which tempt our pride.

Now, the things that temp the flesh, are things the world offers us to pamper the appetite, such as sexual pleasure or food or drink. The Bible calls these things “the lust of the flesh;” or we may call them lust with the flesh (since it is in the subjunctive case, verse 16). Secondly, the things that tempt the eye; they are the things we may seek to gratify the sight, such as riches, houses, and all beautiful things. The Bible calls these things “the lust of the eyes”. Last, the things that tempt our pride are the things we may seek to promote pride in living, such as nice clothing, possessions, our job position, and even our church position. The Bible calls these things “the boastful pride of life” (v. 16).

This evil system of the world places things before our eyes not only that we may lust after those things, but also, to give us an evil standard or model. It tells us what is beautiful. It tells us how to act and how to think. It teaches us in the movies and in the media how to lust and how to be prideful. It teaches us to serve ourselves and to reject God. In fact, it tells us that we ourselves are our own God and that we should do as we wish—to please ourselves.

Accordingly, when we pray, there is always a struggle to bring our mind out of the spirit of the world and in line with the will of God; for we all are still in our sinful flesh, which constantly aims to keep us in friendly terms with the world. But James 4:3 tells us that when we are friendly with the world we are hostile toward God, and we, as a result, end up praying with wrong motives—we pray for things that will satisfy our own pleasures. For that reason, our wrestling must be against the spirit of the world and against the desires to conform to the world (Rom. 12:2). Let us travail in prayer to follow only God’s will and to reject all of the world’s evil teachings.

Posted in Prayer A to Z Excerpts, Travail in Prayer | Tagged prayer, Satan, spiritual warfare | 2 Comments

Prayer in the Morning Helps the Day

Posted on June 11, 2013 by Stephen Nielsen

Sometimes,

like today,

things don’t start out so well.

Headaches, burdens, deadlines,

all take their toll.

But got to get to work early.

I usually do some Bible reading,

some prayer and some writing.

Today I cut the reading and prayer short,

and cut the writing out altogether.

I have to get to work early—

so much to do!

Burdens, deadlines, and headaches.

So I read the word a little,

and started to pray.

Oh God help me

for this day.

Then I thought to make a list:

The job and Fred Fox and wife

Mom and Earl

Kate and Dick and the job

My headache and pains and worries.

A few minutes to pray,

and I must go.

I hate it when prayer is hurried.

Oh God, I commit all

these things to You.

I buckled down

and poured my heart out.

I made the minutes count.

Prayer for others

and for myself

and for the Lord’s will in everything.

Trust the Lord,

I always will;

He keeps the morning still.

When I took my head

up from my desk

My burdens were gone!

And I felt strong!

The day went well.

I knew it would.

With the Lord at my side

what could go wrong.

Psalm 16:8

I have set the Lord always before me;

Because He is at my right hand

I shall not be moved.

Posted in Poems, Prayers, Ramblings | Tagged poetry, prayer | 4 Comments

Service of Prayer by Stephen Nielsen: Table of Contents and a Short Excerpt

Posted on June 7, 2013 by Stephen Nielsen

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vii

1 Ministry of Prayer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

2 The Word and Prayer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

3 Holiness and Prayer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .60

4 Evangelism and Prayer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .84

5 The Possibilities of Prayer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103

6 Survey of Prayer – Part 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127

7 Survey of Prayer – Part 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153

8 Survey of Prayer – Part 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169

9 Survey of Prayer – Part 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187

10 Survey of Prayer – Part 5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 210

Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 239

Here is a short excerpt from chapter 5.

CHAPTER 5

THE POSSIBILITIES OF PRAYER

I really believe that all things can be done through prayer. Whatever God wants to accomplish in this world, prayer will be the backbone of it. If you desire to be part of His great work, you can be if you grab on to this great truth, that all things are possible through prayer.

THE WIDE SCOPE OF PRAYER

God elected us, His children, for prayer; and He purposed that our prayers should encompass all things. Jesus says to us, just as He said to His twelve disciples, “I chose you, and appointed you, that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask of the Father in My name, He may give to you” (Jn. 15:16). Just think about it, whatever we ask for in His name, no matter how big or little, all that we need and all that we wish for can be ours.

I suppose we could divide “whatever”—which includes all things—into two groups: eternal things and temporal things. Eternal things are the things that last forever. They are the things of His Kingdom, of which we are to seek first (Matt. 6:33). The list of these things would be, first of all, salvation, along with the filling of the Spirit, of which love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, etc., are all included. Then we could pray for faith, spiritual strength, holiness, discernment, humility, and wisdom. And of course we could pray, as Paul did, to know the love of Christ and to be filled with all the fullness of God (Eph. 3:19). All these eternal things and much more, if we really decide to have them, will not be denied us. And we may ask for these things for others also; and if they accept them, they also will not be denied them.

But there are also temporal things to pray for, some which are essential for the body (things we need to survive), such as food, drink, clothing, and shelter, etc. And there are also other things that are not so essential for survival, but they are needed to prosper and to grow. The list of these things would be a car, a truck, a bigger house, a computer, a TV, a VCR, a telephone, a desk, a table, a book, and a picture on the wall.

And there are many other temporal things to pray for, all of which God will surely give us if He sees that they are good for us and will fit into His plans. For the promise He gives us in Matthew 6:33 is that if we seek His Kingdom first, that is, if we are busy with His work and with asking for things that are eternal, then He will make sure that all the temporal things we need to accomplish His work will be supplied to us.

Tucked away somewhere within these two groups of either eternal things and temporal things—for all things are either eternal or temporal—are things of the mind, the will, and the emotions. These things are the parts of our soul, and contribute to the way we feel, how we think, and what decisions we make. We need to pray that these parts of us will work properly so that we will make the right decisions, have the right attitudes, and that we can make sense out of, and control, and be comforted in the many and various feelings we have.

Prayer also should go beyond ourselves to include all of nature, because though we are somewhat separated from nature we are always affected by it. Thus we must pray for such things as good weather, for rain, for the growth of crops and gardens, and for protection from storms.

Last, I want to mention that prayer is to be often made for God’s working out of all things for good (Rom. 8:28). That is, that He would arrange circumstances (“all things”) so that they would be fitting into His perfect plan—for the good of the gospel, for the good of God’s purpose, and for our ultimate good.

The scope of prayer is indeed wide; it includes all things. And the possibilities of answers to prayer are infinite—for prayer can do anything God can do, and we should put no limitation on His ability. He has absolute power over nature, over circumstances, and over our lives.

ASKING GOD FOR BIG THINGS

God is eager to give us big things. There is ample evidence throughout the Bible that God is eager to have us ask Him for big things and to give us big things. As you view the following scriptures, let them transform your praying and your faith.

Psalms 81: 10

“I the LORD, am your God, who brought you up from the land of Egypt; open your mouth wide and I will fill it.”

From this verse and its context we get the impression that God is jealous. He does not want to share His children with other gods. He in effect said to the Israelites, and He says to us now, “I will be your provision and your comfort just as I have been all along. Let me provide for you. I love you. Open your mouth wide. I’m eager to give you all I have.”

John R. Rice comments about this verse: “This scripture was a favorite of George Muller…who received and dispensed over seven million dollars for the Lord’s work without ever asking a man for a penny.” It all came to him through prayer as he opened his mouth wide.

Posted in About Service of Prayer | Tagged prayer | 3 Comments

A Study of the Prayers of the Bible — One of Job’s Prayers

Posted on June 7, 2013 by Stephen Nielsen

Job 13:20-28
Only two things do not do to me,
Then I will not hide myself from You:
21 Withdraw Your hand far from me,
And let not the dread of You make me afraid.
22 Then call, and I will answer;
Or let me speak, then You respond to me.
23 How many are my iniquities and sins?
Make me know my transgression and my sin.
24 Why do You hide Your face,
And regard me as Your enemy?
25 Will You frighten a leaf driven to and fro?
And will You pursue dry stubble?
26 For You write bitter things against me,
And make me inherit the iniquities of my youth.
27 You put my feet in the stocks,
And watch closely all my paths.
You set a limit for the soles of my feet.
28 “Man decays like a rotten thing,
Like a garment that is moth-eaten.

Job 14:1-22
Man who is born of woman
Is of few days and full of trouble.
2 He comes forth like a flower and fades away;
He flees like a shadow and does not continue.
3 And do You open Your eyes on such a one,
And bring me to judgment with Yourself?
4 Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean?
No one!
5 Since his days are determined,
The number of his months is with You;
You have appointed his limits, so that he cannot pass.
6 Look away from him that he may rest,
Till like a hired man he finishes his day.
7 “For there is hope for a tree,
If it is cut down, that it will sprout again,
And that its tender shoots will not cease.
8 Though its root may grow old in the earth,
And its stump may die in the ground,
9 Yet at the scent of water it will bud
And bring forth branches like a plant.
10 But man dies and is laid away;
Indeed he breathes his last
And where is he?
11 As water disappears from the sea,
And a river becomes parched and dries up,
12 So man lies down and does not rise.
Till the heavens are no more,
They will not awake
Nor be roused from their sleep.
13 “Oh, that You would hide me in the grave,
That You would conceal me until Your wrath is past,
That You would appoint me a set time, and remember me!
14 If a man dies, shall he live again?
All the days of my hard service I will wait,
Till my change comes.
15 You shall call, and I will answer You;
You shall desire the work of Your hands.
16 For now You number my steps,
But do not watch over my sin.
17 My transgression is sealed up in a bag,
And You cover my iniquity.
18 “But as a mountain falls and crumbles away,
And as a rock is moved from its place;
19 As water wears away stones,
And as torrents wash away the soil of the earth;
So You destroy the hope of man.
20 You prevail forever against him, and he passes on;
You change his countenance and send him away.
21 His sons come to honor, and he does not know it;
They are brought low, and he does not perceive it.
22 But his flesh will be in pain over it,
And his soul will mourn over it.

In this prayer Job is terrified of God and can’t understand why He is against him. In Job 13:23 and 24 Job prays, “How many wrongs and sins have I committed? Show me my offenses and my sins. Why do you hide your face and consider me your enemy” (NIV)?

It is interesting to me that Job does not credit the devil for anything. He blames God for all his pain—that He is behind it all. And ultimately Job was right. The devil did have a hand in it, but God was always in control. He, in a sense, was directing Satan, and he could put a stop to it at any time. I think we sometimes give too much credit to Satan. It is God who controls all things.

In Job 14:13-17, Job, in desperation, prays for death to escape God’s anger. Then he also prays for resurrection, and that God would forgive all of his sins. Job prays, “All the days of my hard service I will wait for my renewal to come… Surely then you will count my steps but not keep track of my sin. My offenses will be sealed up in a bag; you will cover over my sin” (NIV).

What a blessed and hopeful prayer. For Christ does cover all the believers’ sins.

This post is an excerpt from my book Service of Prayer.

Posted in Part 1, Abraham to Moses, Prayer A to Z Excerpts | Tagged prayer | Leave a comment

A Study of the Prayers of the Bible — A Prayer of Jacob

Posted on June 4, 2013 by Stephen Nielsen

After Jacob prayed (in Genesis 32:9-12), he sent his servants ahead with presents for Esau in an attempt to find favor with him. Then he also sent his family ahead while he was left alone. There he wrestled with a man until daybreak.

I can kind of relate to this story in a couple ways. I was a wrestler in high school, and I have a bad, arthritic hip.

Jacob’s prayer in Genesis 32: 24-29

Then Jacob was left alone; and a Man wrestled with him until the breaking of day. 25 Now when He saw that He did not prevail against him, He touched the socket of his hip; and the socket of Jacob’s hip was out of joint as He wrestled with him. 26 And He said, “Let Me go, for the day breaks.”But he said, “I will not let You go unless You bless me!”

27 So He said to him, “What is your name?”

He said, “Jacob.”

28 And He said, “Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel; for you have struggled with God and with men, and have prevailed.”

29 Then Jacob asked, saying, “Tell me Your name, I pray.”

And He said, “Why is it that you ask about My name?” And He blessed him there.

This man that Jacob wrestled with was not an ordinary man; he was, in fact, the preincarnate Christ (Hosea 12:4). His wrestling was not just physical wrestling; it also involved agonizing prayer (Hosea 12:4). Evidently Jacob knew that this man he was wresting was from God, because he refused to let him go until He blessed him. Thus, they wrestled until dawn, and the man (who was Jesus) finally blessed him.

What a story! And what a man this Jacob was—for he was not willing to give up the promise of God (Gen. 32:12), and likewise wrestled with God all night for a blessing, though God had to cripple him in the process (Gen. 32:25).

Indeed, the blessing came out of the crippling of his hip. For by this affliction God broke him down—humbled him—so that he confessed all of his sins that were stored up so long: sins against Esau (when he took his birthright), sins against his older father (when he deceived him), and sins all against God. And this is really what all the wresting was about; he was striving against God in regard to past sins. For while he was so close to Esau, all his memories and stored up guilt came to the surface, and he was forced to wrestle with them and deal with them. And so finally, in the wresting of prayer, God broke him down so that he confessed his sins; then God blessed him for it.

But there are other lessons we could learn here: mainly that blessings in prayer require persistence, that prayer is hard work and sometimes even painful, and that through it all, if we persist until the end, we will prevail and find a blessing from God.

Posted in Part 1, Abraham to Moses, Prayer A to Z Excerpts, Survey of Prayer | Tagged prayer | Leave a comment