Are You Willing?

By Alice Smith

When I was a teenager living in Lake Jackson, Texas, I would sit night after night and talk on the telephone, with my legs propped up on my parent’s door seal. From the angle where I sat, I could easily read the wall plague hanging in their room. I guess I had memorized it after reading it over and over after so many hours of phone conversations.

The wall hanging read:

"A wise ole owl lived in an oak;
The more he saw, the less he spoke,
The less he spoke, the more he heard,
Why can't we be like that ole bird?"

Do you agree with me that in our Western churches we have seminars, conferences, and training classes on prayer? We are good talking about prayer.

Most of us have 10 steps to pray, 12 books on prayer, and prayer charts on what to pray... But often there is too much talking in prayer, when in fact we need to be like this ole' bird, speaking less and listening more from our heavenly Father.

As a result, the church has a lot of "talky, talky, but little walkie, walkie." It reminds me of a quote I understand D.L. Moody once said. He said, "Many Christians talk CREAM and live SKIM MILK." So what is the answer?

Repentance from dead works

Having more information is not going to give us a passion for Jesus Christ. To have "good teaching" but never having the encounter with Jesus as our partner in intercession would be a tragedy. We need to repent from dead works.

Pray this: "Jesus, I want you, the fullness of you, not just quicker answers, not just new techniques on how to get fast answers, but I want the awesome privilege of your presence."

Did you know that prayer isn’t a system of ideas or a checklist of do's and don’ts? It is a relationship with the living God. Remove from your mind that prayer is a set of methods. God loves us and He’s a faithful father, a friend, a comforter, and deliverer.

Secret strongholds

A stronghold has been defined "a mindset that is contrary to the Word of God that you have believed cannot be changed by the power of God." The way to break strongholds is:

1. Bring the stronghold into the light. Admit before God and a close confidant the stronghold that grips you. It could be fear or a hidden sin. It could be unbelief or rage. The Bible says, "But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God" (John 3:21).

2. Acknowledge the stronghold and repent. "Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective" (James 5:16).

3. Break and Renounce. Out loud, renounce any allegiance or contract that you made with the enemy. Tell the power of darkness that his commission is over. Break off all ties with the past bondage. This may include throwing away objects or burning things that dishonor the Lord. You may need to write letters or make phone calls to get your breakthrough. Matthew 3:8 says, "Produce fruit in keeping with repentance."

4. Walk in accountability before others. Christians should learn to be open and transparent with each other in order to help one another with problems. "Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins." -- 1 Peter 4:8

Time for obedience

Be sure your obedience is up to date in every area. Getting still before God is almost an un-American activity, so the serious Christian has to go against the norm in order to take time out with God. "If you extract the precious from the worthless in your life, you will be my spokesman (which is to say, you will be as my mouth)" (Jer. 15:19).

But the Lord will only speak through holy lips that overflow from a pure heart. Are there areas of your life you refuse to obey? Can we expect God to hear our prayers when we have resistant hearts?

Warfare training

When we walk in the light with God and with each other, the enemy cannot hold us captive to the darkness. We then have power to march forward without intimidation or fear. Too long the church has hunkered down in a defensive posture, but Jesus clearly said the gates of hell will not prevail against his church. We are charged with possessing the gates of our enemies. "...Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies" (Genesis 22:17).
There are many ways we can win the battle in prayer.

Praise
Declaration
Praying the Scripture
Breaking curses
Standing in the gap until a breakthrough
Announcing the release
Brokenness for lost souls
Reminding God of his Promises
Prayer is not a formula. It is primarily a love relationship expressed between you and your loving heavenly Father. He is a loving, wise, forgiving, powerful God who is able to hear and answer. We are called to permeate our society with the life of Jesus through our prayers.

We are not defeated foes. We have been given all authority. "I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you" (Luke 10:19). We are called to be the salt of the earth. Prayer will lead us to "salt" the earth.

Prayer that touches the Father's heart will lead to answered prayer. Intercession is not an end in itself, but rather the marching orders as soldiers of the cross. The Lord is looking for our availability, not our ability. He is waiting for those who will be willing to pray, willing to repent, willing to listen to his voice, willing to
stand in the gap.

Are you willing?