NO!  NO!   NO!    My position in life is not to become Mother Mary #2.    Not for a moment!  Nor have I miraculously conceived a god-child.  I’m just me…who truly loves the Lord and the “baby” he gave me…simply my calling as a prayer warrior!

It has also been said that I have a fetish for God’s word and an innate ability to deliver or express his word in a palatable manner which makes it easier for people to digest, understand and to apply.  Many say I missed my calling as a school teacher.  Rubbish!!!

If you have been following my blogs, you can readily see that I constantly stay in touch with my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ through conversations with Him.  I allow Him to order my steps each and every day.  I lean only on His understanding for my daily tasks.  Yes, sometimes I fall short but He picks me up, brushes me off and starts me all over again.   In other words, I’m just a sinner who falls down…but I get up!

And one way that I get up is through prayer and it’s not always while on my knees.  I pray while walking, riding, exercising, fasting, lying prostrate, singing and sitting at my computer and meditating!

So this week’s blog will be about one of my “babies”, a devoted audible prayer I composed under the guidance of the Holy Spirit for a group of ladies at a prayer breakfast in March 1999.  When seriously confronting the Lord in prayer, I always initiate my A-B-C method.  Why?  Because it helps me to forget about myself and concentrate on Him.

A.  First, I like to identify by name the god to whom I’m praying.

B.  Then I give thanks and praises to Him and begin to list His wonderful attributes.

C.  Next, I ask forgiveness for my transgressions, explicitly explaining the purpose for this prayer and reminding Him of His Almighty powers to intercede in this matter.

This is not an effort to ‘teach’ you how to pray…God forbid!  The Lord has already done that for you in Matthew 6:9-13.  I just want you to think while you do the following:   Pray biblically! 

Most Holy and Everlasting Father, our Jehovah Jirah, we, the women of this congregation do thank You for all our provisions for our lives.

We praise You, Father because You are an Om-ni-scient God!  You know everything…You are infinitely wise.  Thank You.

We also magnify and adore You because You are an Om-nip-o-tent God.  All power is thine.  Thank You.

We continue in prayer by saying Hallelujah to Your Name, this morning, Father, because of Your Om-ni-pres-ence.  Yes, You are not only glorified here in this place, put You are reigning with the men of this congregation as they worship You while on their retreat in West Virginia.  Thank You.

And now Lord, we humbly ask Your forgiveness in those areas of our lives where we have failed to put You first.  For those times when we have marched to the beat of an alien drummer.  It is for these times that we say, Lord forgive.

Also, when we have failed to respond to Your call in the manner in which Your Son and our Redeemer would have responded.  It is for those times that we say, Lord forgive.

It is only because You are a forgiving God and that You have undying love for Your people that we submit to You all those things that so easily beset us:

• Depression reigns, Father, because some child has broken their mother’s heart.
• Despair abounds, Father, because families are experiencing grief.
• Physical and mental stresses, Father, are taking their toll because many souls are lost to the prince of this world.
• Suicide rates are climbing, Father, because backs are bent over under the weight of the world’s heavy burdens.

Our cry this morning is that You will surely claim us as Your own; You will rescue us from our persecutions and fears and that we will survive; that in our state of perplexities and confusion, You will lift us up where we belong and remove us out of the pits of despair.

When we find ourselves cast down and we are unable to get up You will give us the courage and strength to bind Satan, in the Name of Jesus, and thus we will not be utterly destroyed.

Now Lord, as we come to the close of this prayer, may we always be reminded that no matter how devastating the circumstances, Jesus has already overcome the world and He has also put everything under man’s feet, in the Name of Jesus.

So, armed with this holy knowledge, we endeavor to always be joyful; to pray continually; to give thanks in all circumstances, for this is Your will for our lives.

All these things we pray and ask in the Matchless Name of Jesus the Christ.  AMEN.

You may have noticed that incorporated in my prayer I mention specific trials and tribulations that the congregation is experiencing.  I have either heard these requests during weekly prayer meetings or over the pulpit or directly from individuals privately.  This method of praying is a uniting tie that binds us as sisters and brothers in the family of the Lord.  It also allows the participants at the breakfast to affirm in retrospect your prayer requests to God because the subject matter is so real to them.

More than once when I ‘thought’ I had concluded praying for a group, participants in the audience were so moved that they actually ‘continued‘ the prayer by adding their own audible prayer request to the Lord.  Talk about connecting to heaven and ‘birthing’ a  hydrogen bomb of exuberance…Glory be to God!!!

Scripture Lesson:  Let Everything that hath breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord! Psalm 150:6

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