That they may step out in boldness
We are in the middle of a week of fasting and legerclaire-hypnose49.fr kamagra prayer for America called for by Australian believers. Because of that, I am recycling a blog series that I wrote last year. At that time, God prompted me to shift my focus as I prayed for the US. In short, He showed me these four things about which to pray:
- Pray for people to know what to do.
- Pray for people to receive wisdom along with their knowledge.
- Pray for those people to receive the boldness to step out in what they know to do.
- Pray for those people to be filled with boldness to carry out their tasks to completion.
Originally posted last year (seventh in series):
Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go. Joshua 1:9
…and pray on my behalf, that utterance may be given to me in the opening of my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in proclaiming it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak. Ephesians 6:19-20
When I heard the Lord direct me to pray for people to know what to do, I understood that He was referring to everyone with a role to play in this hour. However, I also knew that He was speaking in particular of leaders, both in the secular world and in the church.
He let me know that vast amounts of insight, information, revelation, and truth had been made known—and would continue to be revealed—to people in all realms of the nation; but they needed to know what to do with it. They needed prayer to be able to effectively navigate the data and respond with wisdom and all discernment so that the Lord’s will could be fully accomplished.
I believe the body of Christ is equipped to engage in such a prayer task.
However, there is something else that the people for whom we pray will need as well. They will need boldness.
Think about your own experience. Have you ever been in a situation in which you knew the right thing to do, but you didn’t do it? That’s something all of us have grappled with.
It’s my opinion that when Paul wrote to the Ephesians to pray for him that he “may speak boldly, as [he] ought to speak”, he had likely experienced the difference between his “ought to” and his “do” at some point. Most of us have experienced that, and this is one reason why I believe Paul so urgently requested prayer from his friends for boldness. He knew his own human frailties.
The people for whom you and I will pray in the days, weeks, and months to come will have an ongoing need to know what to do; they will need wisdom to envelope their “knowing”; and they will need boldness in order to step out in what they are directed to do. After all, they are human, just like you and me, and some of the things God will lead them to do will require courage beyond their human capacity. And you and I get to pray for that boldness to rise up within them so they can do what they know to do.
Listen for the promptings of the Holy Spirit; those for whom you pray will need to be girded up in His knowledge and wisdom, and they will also need boldness in order to step out. And as you pray for them, you can trust God to work it all out in them and money order viagra for them.
Dorothy
Only be strong and very courageous. Joshua 1:7a
Read MoreBoldness
A week of worldwide fasting and prayer for the US began on April 30th and will continue through May 6th. Interestingly enough, this fast was not requested by Americans. Australian believers have sent out this call.
Because of that, I am recycling several blog entries I wrote last year. At that time, God prompted me to shift my focus as I prayed for the nation. In short, I believe God showed me four things about which to pray:
- Pray for people to know what to do.
- Pray for people to receive wisdom along with their knowledge.
- Pray for those people to receive the boldness to step out in what they know to do.
- Pray for those people to be filled with boldness to carry out their tasks to completion.
Originally posted last year (sixth in series):
…and pray on my behalf, that utterance may be given to me in the opening of my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in proclaiming it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak. Ephesians 6:19-20, emphasis added
Back in April, I heard this in my spirit: Pray for people to know what to do, so I wrote about it. I also wrote about for whom to pray (basically everyone needs to know what to do right now, and our prayer on their behalf will help to facilitate the distribution of God’s knowledge to each one). In the last blog entry, I addressed the need to pray for wisdom for the people who are receiving the knowledge of what to do.
Another ingredient needs to accompany knowledge and wisdom—especially for God’s people. In particular, godly leaders must obtain this special ingredient: Boldness.
The apostle Paul requested prayer along these lines. First, he wanted the Ephesians to pray that he would be given utterance in the opening of his mouth—to know what to say by the leading of the Holy Spirit—and secondly, he asked his friends in Ephesus to pray that he would make known the mystery of the gospel with boldness, to proclaim it boldly as he spoke it forth.
It’s my opinion that Paul was probably a fairly bold man naturally. Before his salvation, he was a go-getter—a mover-and-shaker type—who was rising in the ranks of Judaism. He had been zealous for his faith and was persistent in pursuing, capturing, and imprisoning members of the early church. Then after his conversion, he constantly found himself in the eye of the storm as he proclaimed the good tidings of Jesus Christ. When he acknowledged that his ministry would eventually lead to his death, he faced it with the same characteristic bold confidence—to live is Christ; to die is gain (see Philippians 1:21).
And yet this apostle—the author of the bulk of the New Testament and the man responsible for hundreds and thousands of true conversions during his time—requested that his fellow believers ask God to grant him boldness in both utterance and in making known the mystery of the gospel.
Human boldness is typically a very positive characteristic for Christians to possess. However, human boldness can only go so far before it encounters supernatural obstacles for which it is no match. Paul knew that, and I believe, experienced the eventual ineffectiveness of his own personal boldness at some point in his ministry. That is why he so adamantly urged his friends to pray that he move over into the God-kind of boldness—a confidence instigated and sustained by the living God Himself for the task of proclaiming the gospel. When God emboldens a human, the mystery of the gospel is made known in the hearers supernaturally, and the speech coming forth from that person is bold, bold, bold, as it ought to be.
Paul asked for prayer that he may open his mouth with boldness (Ephesians 6:19). “Boldness” is the Greek word parrēsia and means something that was rather shocking to me when I first landed upon the definition. It means “freedom in speaking; unreservedness in speech” (see http://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/Lexicon/Lexicon.cfm?strongs=G3954&t=KJV). To operate in the boldness of God, you speak freely and unreservedly. It also means “openly, frankly, i.e. without concealment” (ibid). No beating around the bush for someone who speaks boldly as they ought to speak. “Without ambiguity” and “without the use of figures and comparisons” (ibid) are also involved in the God-kind of boldness. Such a speaker will not express their concerns, thoughts, or convictions covertly or “round-aboutly”; this speaker will let their “yes be yes and their no be no” (see Matthew 5:37 and James 5:12). To top it off, the boldness which Paul sought was “free and fearless confidence, cheerful courage, boldness, assurance” (ibid). Paul desired the kind of confidence which supernaturally wells up within any available child of God by the Holy Spirit Himself—not merely that which emanates from a strong or charismatic personality.
“Freedom in speaking” and “unreservedness in speech” were understood to be vital, not only by the apostles in the early days of the church, but also—in my opinion—by the founding fathers in the early days of this nation. The boldness earnestly desired by Paul was of a supernatural quality, and yet it was simple, unpretentious, and free. I believe it is no coincidence that the very first amendment to the Constitution of the United States so conspicuously links freedom of religion, freedom of assembly, and freedom of speech together. It says, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances” (Bill of Rights, US Constitution). In this nation, freedom of and in speaking is inextricably linked to the free exercise of one’s religious convictions. I believe that the essence of boldness and confidence in the Lord is most clearly demonstrated when there is freedom and http://www.courrier-briard.fr/acheter-levitra-en-toute-securite/ unreservedness in speaking.
Sure, “there is one who speaks rashly like the thrusts of a sword” (Proverbs 12:18a), but brash, impulsive, thoughtless speech is nothing more than a cheap counterfeit of the wonderful gift of free, confident, Spirit-led communication so highly-prized by the apostle Paul and defended “with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence” by our Founders (Declaration of Independence).
What is so strongly under attack in our nation at this hour? Our freedom of speech! And what seems to be under such strong attack across the nation as far as believers are concerned? Our confident, bold witness as our freedom to express the truth of the Word of God comes under ever-increasing scrutiny.
Should we throw our hands up in dismay and lament the encroaching darkness as the “will of God”? Or should we pray for our fellow citizens, our secular leaders, our church leadership, and our brothers and sisters in Christ to know what to do, to do it in wisdom, and to be empowered to do it in the boldness and freedom of speaking that comes from on High?
I believe that we must pray, pray boldly, and pray confidently. And then, let God be God in this hour.
Dorothy
… nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are on You. 2 Chronicles 20:12b
And now, Lord, behold their threatenings: and grant unto thy servants, that with all boldness they may speak thy word… Acts 4:29, KJV
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Knowing what to do…with wisdom
A week of worldwide fasting and prayer for the US began April 30th and will continue through May 6th. This fast was not called by Americans. Australian believers have sent out this alarm.
Because of that, I am recycling several blog entries I wrote last year. At that time, God prompted me to shift my focus as I prayed for the nation. In short, I believe God showed me these four things for which to pray:
- Pray for people to know what to do.
- Pray for people to receive wisdom along with their knowledge.
- Pray for those people to receive the boldness to step out in what they know to do.
- Pray for those people to be filled with boldness to carry out their tasks to completion.
Originally posted last year (fifth in series):
Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding. Proverbs 4:7, KJV
Pray for people to know what to do. This is what I sensed in my heart in early April. The Lord showed me that He had been revealing insight, truth, and all kinds of information—damning stuff which had been purposely hidden by various individuals—and now was the time for people to know what to do with all of it.
Since we live in times in which knowledge is increasing exponentially (see Daniel 12:4), what the Lord told me—Pray for people to know what to do—makes sense with all the information coming at all of us from every direction. An overabundance of disclosures, revelations, and information can be overwhelming; if individuals aren’t careful, the very glut of data coming in can have two opposite but equally disastrous results: On one hand, the sheer excess of information can actually squeeze those who are supposed to do something about it into inaction. On the other hand, the flood of information can trigger other individuals into impulsive, rash, and ill-advised decisions and behaviors, creating a wake of calamity.
Pray for people to know what to do. History is a wonderful tutor; common sense is worth its weight in gold; but none of us have passed this way before, and we—as a nation and as a world—are finding ourselves in uncharted territory and shark-infested waters. People—those in authority and viagra ahmadspersiancuisine.com everyone else—flat-out need to know what to do. Therefore, as you pray for people to know what to do, also cry out for an additional ingredient—wisdom.
Wisdom is the principal thing (Proverbs 4:7, KJV). There is no one in authority, no one in the news, no one who makes key decisions who does not desperately need wisdom in this hour. Some may think they have it all together, but such thinking is not the mindset of wisdom, and therefore, they need wisdom all the more.
As you pray for those in authority, those who are making headlines, those whose decisions affect hundreds, thousands, millions, and billions of lives, ask for God to show them what to do in accordance with true wisdom. Ask boldly, confident that your God watches over His Word to perform it (see Jeremiah 1:12), and stand your ground on behalf of these leaders, movers, and shakers to receive His wisdom and to act on it.
“The beginning of wisdom is: Acquire wisdom; and with all your acquiring, get understanding” (Proverbs 4:7, NASB). Although the men and women in seats of decision-making across the nation and around the globe possess certain attributes, talents, and capacities that helped them to attain those positions, unfortunately, God’s wisdom is not something that many of them consciously hunger for. Therefore, it is imperative that you and I go to bat on their behalf to cry out for wisdom to overtake them—and for them to act accordingly.
Just as it is God’s will for none to perish (see 2 Peter 3:9), it is also His will for leaders and decision-makers to seek Him for wisdom. However, whether or not they do so, it is the job of believing people to pray to that end—that the wisdom of God would operate upon and through those who are in authority.
Does your leader appear to be deficient in wisdom? Pray for him to receive it, even if it seems that he is defiant to godly wisdom. Remember, it is written, “The king’s heart is like channels of water in the hand of the LORD (Proverbs 21:1a); not “The Lord is manipulated by the hand and the whim of the king.” God knows how to bring wisdom to even the most reluctant leader. But first, He requires believing humans to ask for it.
God’s wisdom will bring with it good fruit. First of all, He will show people what to do in their areas of authority and expertise. He will lead them step by step, and as they yield, His purposes shall be accomplished. Also, as those for whom you pray yield to wisdom from God, He will bring them to a clearer knowledge of right and wrong in general, and more specifically, the need to deal with their own areas of sin and wrongdoing, prompting a turning to God. This is the stuff of revival.
What if a decision-maker refuses to yield to wisdom from God after much prayer on his or her behalf? The Bible is full of examples of such leaders and rulers; God suffered long with many of them, but in the end, those who persisted in resistance were—after all—held accountable and overturned, deposed, or met with an unpleasant end. When you pray for leaders, remember that they will ultimately answer to the King of kings for their decisions; therefore, persist in prayer on their behalf for wisdom, for the will of God to be performed, and for their eyes to open to the truth so they can be saved.
Pray for people to know what to do; and ask God to grant them wisdom in their knowing.
Dorothy
Proverbs 4:7 in several translations:
The beginning of wisdom is this: Get wisdom. Though it cost all you have, get understanding. NIV
Wisdom is supreme—so get wisdom. And whatever else you get, get understanding. Holman Christian Standard Bible
Wisdom is of utmost importance, therefore get wisdom, and with all your effort work to acquire understanding. International Standard Version
Above all and before all, do this: Get Wisdom! Write this at the top of your list: Get Understanding! Message Bible
Wisdom is supreme. Get wisdom. Yes, though it costs all your possessions, get understanding. World English Bible
Read MoreFor whom should I pray?
A week of worldwide fasting and prayer for the US begins today, April 30th, and will continue through May 6th. This fast was not called by Americans. Australian believers have sent out this alarm.
Because of that, I want to recycle several blog entries I wrote last year. At that time, God prompted me to shift my focus as I prayed for the nation. In short, I believe God showed me these four things for which to pray:
- Pray for people to know what to do.
- Pray for people to receive wisdom along with their knowledge.
- Pray for those people to receive the boldness to step out in what they know to do.
- Pray for those people to be filled with boldness to carry out their tasks to completion.
Originally posted last year (fourth in series):
First of all, then, I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men, for kings and all who are in authority… 1 Timothy 2:1-2a, emphasis added
With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints, and pray on my behalf, that utterance may be given to me in the opening of my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel… Ephesians 6:18-19, emphasis added
Pray for people to know what to do. This is what I heard from the Lord this year, early in April. He then let me know that He had been pouring insight and revelation across the nation and upon people of all walks of life and would continue to do so. His instructions to me involved praying for them to know what to do with the knowledge, truth, and insights they had gained.
We live in the time of which Daniel prophesied, when knowledge of all sorts is being revealed at increasingly enormous rates (see Daniel 12:4). Wherever you go, with whomever you speak, no matter the topic, knowledge is increasing, expanding, and exploding.
Information is in perpetual motion. It stops for no one. As soon as you start to acquire an elementary grasp of any component of current events, the whole thing divides and subdivides and morphs into something new. And as information explodes, lives are involved—multitudes of lives are affected, countless lives are changed—and all too often, lives are destroyed.
Pray for people to know what to do. Who are these folks? We need to know so we can pray for them.
Look at the lists the Lord provided for us in 1 Timothy 2 and Ephesians 6. They give a clear line up of those for whom we should pray.
Kings. Whoever has leadership over this nation and other nations needs to be covered by our prayers. Ask God to reveal to the heads of state what they are to do. God has a plan for them, and it is probably not going to look just like your plan for them. Here’s the truth of the matter: These men and women need to know what to do, and you need them to know what to do. When we cover them with prayer, they will more likely be influenced by God’s leading—even if they genuinely dislike the concept of yielding to the God of the Bible. Let God direct you in your prayers, showing you which leaders for whom to pray.
All who are in authority. Knowledge—information that others in high places want to keep hidden—has been pouring out on many in strategic positions these days. So much so that it’s not hard to imagine that these leaders are overwhelmed and swamped—their heads are spinning—in the torrents of ever-cascading information. In every position of authority is someone who needs to know what to do by the Spirit of God with all the information and revelation that is piling up around them. They need your prayers. You need them to know what to do. So pray as the Spirit of God brings someone—or an office or a position of authority—to your mind or heart. He will help you to pray for them. And it’s very likely that they will start to make better decisions—whether or not they know why.
All the saints. Paul told the Ephesians to be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints. The Ephesians were charged to be instant—ready and willing at a moment’s notice—to pray for their fellow Christians. He also instructed them to stay the course with this prayer-ready lifestyle—to persevere in it.
How do you discern which believer for whom to pray? You pray for the individuals that come to your heart or who cross your mind. Perhaps you have a dream about them or a random experience reminds you of them. Then pray. Your friend—or brother or sister in Christ—have need of God’s help. They need to know what to do, and you can stand in the gap for them. By the leading of the Holy Spirit, you can touch God on their behalf, and then He will touch them—and He will drop into them what to do as a result.
Pray on my behalf. The Apostle Paul wrote this, requesting prayer on his own behalf. Why? That utterance may be given to me in the opening of my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel. Paul needed prayer so that God’s utterance—the knowing of what to say by the agency of the Holy Spirit—would be given to him whenever he opened his mouth. His desire was to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel. In order to fulfill this task given to him by God, he needed believers to pray for him so he could speak boldly the oracles of God. Without prayer coverage—although he was called and although he knew the gospel—he would be less effective.
Who is like Paul to you in your life? Even though you probably perceive them as spiritual giants who have it all together, your “Pauls” need your prayers. Your pastor, your Bible teachers, the visiting evangelists, the missionaries overseas, the Christian counselor you visit, the prayer group or Bible study leader, the radio, TV, or internet ministry, your mentors in the Lord, and even the person who led you to Jesus—they all need prayer. Anyone who points the way to eternal life in Jesus Christ needs prayer, so you never go wrong by praying for them to know what to do and what to say so that they’ll be bold with God’s boldness and effective in the power of the Holy Spirit.
And just a reminder: Even as Christianity itself has come under greater attack in this hour, all of the godly leaders mentioned above are likely experiencing an increase of the same kind of attack in their own lives and ministries. Pray for them. Let God lead you. As a result, they will be strengthened and helped, and the fruit that will abound to their account as a result of your prayer will abound to your account as well.
All men. Paul wrote to Timothy to pray for all men. That would include the good, the bad, and the ugly. If someone crosses your mind, pray for them. If someone blesses you, pray a thanksgiving prayer for them. If someone irritates, offends, misrepresents, or otherwise crosses you, pray for them. Instead of stewing, storm Heaven on their behalf. Trust God to direct you; all men (and women and boys and girls…and teens!) need to know what to do in this critical hour. When one of them appears on your “radar”—despite who they are—then they need your prayers. So many miraculous happenings start as a “random” thought planted in the heart of a person of prayer.
As you follow through with all prayer and petition, praying at all times in the Spirit…being on the alert with all perseverance and petition, the men and women for whom you pray will know what to do in their own realms of authority, expertise, and life; and God will be free to download His will into a culture that was heading off the edge of the cliff in their efforts to flee from Him. And then the glory of the Lord will be seen and honored once again.
May it be so, Lord Jesus! May it be so.
Dorothy
Read MoreThat people know what to do…
A call has come from Australia for believers around the world to join in prayer and fasting for America from April 30th through May 6th.
Because of that, I want to recycle several blog entries I wrote last year. At that time, God prompted me to shift my focus as I prayed for the nation. In short, I believe God showed me these four things for which to pray:
- Pray for people to know what to do.
- Pray for people to receive wisdom along with their knowledge.
- Pray for those people to receive the boldness to step out in what they know to do.
- Pray for those people to be filled with boldness to carry out their tasks to completion.
Originally posted last year (third in series):
Of the sons of Issachar, men who understood the times, with knowledge of what Israel should do, their chiefs were two hundred; and all their kinsmen were at their command. 1 Chronicles 12:32, emphasis added
The lion’s share of the shift in direction I received about praying for the nation was this: Pray for people to know what to do.
How simple is that! When you pray for others to know what to do, you don’t have to know the details yourself! You don’t have to have a clue what they should do. In fact, it’s often “cleaner” that way; you’re not dictating your own ideas to the Lord. You merely pray for them to get that knowledge from God—whether they know it’s from God or not. The results of them knowing what to do—all over the nation and at every level—will be God-results. And that’s what we must have.
The sons of Issachar, back in the days when David took the throne of Israel, were described as men who understood the times, with knowledge of what Israel should do. Such insight was more than likely used to help further the establishment of David’s kingdom; wherever there is an abundance of men who have God-imparted understanding of the times and know what to do, the establishment and expansion of truth, righteousness, justice, and peace can flourish.
Conversely, two verses in Proverbs 14 reveal an interesting thought: “When the righteous triumph, there is great elation; but when the wicked rise to power, people go into hiding” (verse 12, NIV), and “When the wicked rise, men hide themselves; but when they perish, the righteous increase” (verse 28, NASB). Consider this: the “culture of correctness”—about which I wrote a couple of days ago—tends to target traditional and Christian thinkers and results in thrusting many into “ideological hiding” from anyone who might “out” them.
Men and women who know what to do by the wisdom given to them by the Spirit of God can be used by Him—whether or not they are aware of His involvement—to tip the cultural scale in favor of righteousness, freedom, and peace.
I want to encourage you to be available to the Lord to pray for the groups and individuals that He puts on your heart. They need His knowledge to know what to do in this hour; therefore, they need your prayers. And frankly, we need them to know what to do!
I believe that God wants to move strongly throughout this nation at all levels and in all regions so that the ministry of reconciliation—winning men, women, boys, and girls to Jesus—can proceed and expand unhindered in this hour. This soul-reaching, soul-winning call is for each one of us. And to pave the way for the “more than you can ask or imagine” (see Ephesians 3:20) explosion of salvations which many believe is just around the corner, you and I are also called to stand in prayer for all men, kings and those who are in authority (see 1 Timothy 2:1-2). As we stand praying, we are to do so in the authority of Jesus Christ without wavering, listening for and heeding the promptings of the Holy Spirit. What a privilege it is to be part of such a historic time!
Blessings,
Dorothy
For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place and you and your father’s house will perish. And who knows whether you have not attained royalty for such a time as this? Esther 4:14
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