What do you want God to do?

What do you want God to do for you? I’ll stop and wait while you think about it. It’s a serious question that requires thought and a serious answer…. I’ll be honest and say that the things at the top of my list have been all for me. I want what will make me happy. I’m not completely selfish. It’s not far down the list that I want to bless other people in specific ways.

How we answer this question honestly has a lot to do with what God will actually do for us. I think the reason I haven’t seen some answered prayer is because my priorities were wrong. It’s taken a long time to realign them into the order that He agrees with. He won’t hesitate to bless what what is already on His heart.

You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures. (Jam 4:3) I’ve been guilty of this and had to repent. I haven’t given up on what I was asking for, but I would rather have what God wants for me. I work to keep Him my priority. I know that when I want Him more than anything, everything else will fall into place.

What do you want God to do for you? Be honest. It matters.

For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. (Eph 6:12) This is serious stuff. The unseen world has far more power than the natural world, but we forget that. Then we wonder why we’ve been slammed with problems, financial stress, and sickness.

God promises to keep you completely safe.

The good news is that we have ALL authority in Christ. All we have to do is resist the devil and he has to leave. But the devil isn’t stupid. He knows how to twist truth. He knows how to insinuate himself into what is good and pervert it. He’s not always easy to recognize.

That’s why Jesus said to pray, deliver us from evil. We need God to watch out for us where we cannot. He’s got eyes and ears in places that we don’t. But God is waiting for you to ask Him for help.

The minute you turn to the Lord, He responds. Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler, and from the perilous pestilence. He shall cover you with His feathers, and under His wings you shall take refuge. (Psalms 91:3-4)

When you ask for protection, you literally pull those big wings down over you and you are snug as a bug in a rug. And very, very safe.

Lead us not into temptation.

Jesus gave us some very practical models to follow to keep us out of trouble. He said, Lead us not into temptation. (Mat 6:13) Makes a lot of sense, doesn’t it! Keep me away from temptation and I won’t be lured into doing something I know I shouldn’t.

It’s like taking practical steps to stay healthy instead of trying to cure what is diseased. If we are guarded against attack, we won’t have to rebuild walls after they fall down. If you know you are weak in an area, then stay away from that area! Jesus said it was better to get rid of what you know you have problems with than hold onto it and go to hell.

That goes against our natural selfishness. But I don’t want to inconvenience myself! I don’t want to give up something that I know is probably bad for me. (Here’s where we start justifying to ourselves. We know every well it is bad for us.)

That attitude is a clear indication that we don’t have a true vision of God. If we really had the love of God radiating in our heart, we wouldn’t do anything that would grieve Him. True love will bless and not justify.

God is here to help us live righteously, because we can’t do it on our own. All we have to do is ask.

Can you think of people who you consider to be strong and powerful voices in the kingdom? Automatically, you think of one or two faces without working very hard. These are people you are affected by and respect. They need your help.

Pray for those who are leading in the kingdom.

Anyone who’s doing anything in the kingdom has a target on their back and is attracting attack from the enemy. The greater the ministry, the bigger the target, the bigger the attack. Is it any wonder that we see the big names fall after having amazing ministries? It’s because the enemy is working overtime to take them down.

Those people you just thought of need your prayer and support. They need to be surrounded by people who will lift them up and keep the enemy at bay. Pray protection over them. Pray for their energy and health. Pray for great wisdom and revelation. Bless them with an open heaven to receive everything that is theirs to receive.

Unless we have people helping us along the way, we are all subject to falling. We can do so much more as a connected family than if we are left to manage on our own. And don’t just pray once and feel done. Keep those people in regular prayer. They need you.

It’s a sad reality of humanity that we are inconsistent in our actions and desires. The reason we need each other is to help keep us on track. We forget that we have an enemy working against us and trying to pull us away all the time. We may start well, but without constant vigilance, we can stray from our goals without even being aware of it.

Your prayer time fills you with all what you need.

I notice that I’ve strayed off of my devotions to God when I start losing my patience. I startle myself because I want God to be honored in what I do, and losing my patience does not honor Him. When that happens, I know to backtrack and see where the trouble started. It usually comes from me being busy and cutting my prayer time down or missing it completely.

Oh how important that time with God is. I need His refreshing daily, like manna, or my spirit will grow cold. And it happens so fast! But all I have to do is repent humbly and ask His forgiveness. I feel His pleasure immediately, and I ask Him to release His goodness in me so I will bless and not hurt, like the prayer of Jabez.

Never miss your communion time with God. You’re not the only one who will notice if you don’t.

Speaking in tongues gets right to the point when you need help.

Have you ever been so emotional, you just don’t have words? You can be overcome with grief or joy and be at a loss for what to say. Maybe you know exactly what you want to say, but don’t know how to verbally communicate it. That being lost in translation can happen between our brain and our spirit. That’s why the Holy Spirit gave us another language to use instead.

Praying in tongues is the perfect thing to do when you feel stirred up but don’t know exactly what you want God to do about it. Or maybe you’re in crises mode and you need to go straight to the throne for help. Or maybe you want to praise God with the language of heaven because you don’t have enough words of your own.

Praying in tongues is our direct link to the Holy Spirit, talking to Him spirit to Spirit. No middleman. No affected lingo. Our spirit knows how to talk to Him and say exactly what our gut wants to be said. Sometimes the Holy Spirit Himself will intercede for us. Now that’s awesome!

I’m not talking about praying in public when you need someone to interpret. I’m talking about personal prayer. Just you and God, speaking the things that need to be said in a way you don’t understand but He does. If you don’t that this amazing gift, ask God for it now.

Pray for people to be healed.

Jesus sent the disciples out to heal the sick and they did. Would you do that? You can. If they could do it so can you. It just takes practice. If you really want to see people healed, then you have to pray for people to be healed. Just do it.

If you have friends who want to do healing, get together and practice on each other. Everyone could use some kind of healing. Look up scriptures on healing and declare them as you pray. That’s agreeing with God. it’s His word and He loves to heal, so agree with Him and believe.

As you start to see God answer your prayer, do more. Be brave and ask someone if you can pray for them. Not every healing is instant. Many times it will come in the next day or two. Many people who Jesus touched were healed as they left, so don’t be discouraged. You may only see partial healing, but that’s awesome! Go for it!

If you have the Spirit of God in you, then you have it in you to release healing to those who need it. Don’t be shy, be bold. Jesus was our example so we know He wants to heal the sick and hurting. Imagine if everyone in church would do that. We could clear out hospitals. How many people would be touched by that? Be brave. God is with you.

The kingdom of God is all about loving each other.

One of the many reasons for us to be connected as family in the kingdom of God is to have people you can talk to. The Bible says to confess your sins to one another and pray for each other. It’s a lot easier to confess your sins to someone who knows you and understands you than someone you don’t know well.

This openness with each other is helpful. If we are confessing our sins to each other, then both sides are admitting weakness. There is no religious attitude of superiority if one person is admitting sin and the other one is not. There is no judgement because we know our own faults.

The adage is that confession is good for the soul. I agree with that. Any sin is destructive, so having someone pray with you about areas you are weak in is a huge help. Holding onto sin, or hiding, it will only harm you.

We all know the areas we need help in. Be honest with your friends and let them support you. Be a friend to someone else and pray for them. Breakthrough the strongholds in areas that are hard to overcome with prayer and faith. That’s why we are here for each other.

Prayer is conversation that never stops.

When exactly is the right time to pray? Is it before the problem starts or after? Should prayer be stored up, or your first reaction when things go wrong? Actually, it’s a trick question.

Prayer is just a conversation with God. Since Emmanuel, God with Us, is really with us, we don’t have to address our petitions to a far off God and hope He will take notice. He’s right here. He sees what you see. You can just turn to Him and ask.

If your conversation with Him is ongoing, there’s never really a set time to pray, it’s always happening between you and Him. It may seem like you’re talking to yourself at first, but when you hear an answer come back that you know wasn’t you idea, then the conversation has begun.

Don’t wait until you have fires to put out. Talk to Him now. Get used to hearing His voice, so He can help you prevent the fires in the first place. If problems happen, don’t panic. Ask for help and trust Him.

Talk to Him when things are good and let Him tell you the what you can’t hear when you’re stressed. The right time to pray is now, and always.

On earth as it is in heaven.

Sometimes I get so floored by the Lord’s prayer. On earth as it is in heaven. That is could be even remotely possible is astounding. But that it is God’s will and desire is breathtaking. Really? Just like in heaven, right here?

When Jesus prayed that, it must have shaken the disciples as strongly as it does us, because we are so accustomed to mediocre. We’re so happy when we see positive results in anything, we just don’t begin to expect divine results.

But God will not move without prayer. On earth as it is in heaven is entirely possible, because He said it was. But it won’t happen until we pray it with conviction. Repeating that prayer everyday because you’ve been taught it since childhood is not the same thing as believing every word of it.

Let’s join together and pray for God’s will do be done here, just as it is in heaven. Believe it in your heart. Declare it in your soul. It is the will of God and we are commanded to pray like that. Only when we decide to follow the voice of God in the prayer that He gave us will we see the results that only He can give.

I really want to see what He will do. Join me and pray.

Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever.