Whatever it Takes

           Over the years, as I’ve prayed for my own heart, I’ve found these seven "D’s” from John Piper helpful. You might choose one “D” per day or you could choose one “D” as a theme for a week and pray through the whole list every seven weeks. You’ll also note that I have a scripture verse for each prayer. Other verses will come to mind as you pray and you might find it helpful to collect them so they are close at hand as the Spirit leads.

I begin each prayer with the phrase “Whatever it takes, Lord,” because the Bible teaches us to be bold and wholehearted in our praying, not reticent. This phrase tests my heart. How much do I want God and all he promises? Do I want true joy enough to ask for my Father’s loving discipline to wean me from joy-stealing sin? “Whatever it takes” prayers help me press toward the Father as I express childlike trust in Him.

Delight: “Whatever it takes, Lord, give me delight in you as the greatest treasure of my heart.” 

“Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart.” (Psalm 37:4).    

 “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Matthew 6:21) 

Desires: “Whatever it takes, Lord, align the desires of my heart with yours.”

“Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” (Matthew 6:9-10) 

Dependence: “Whatever it takes, Lord, increase my awareness of my dependence on you in everything so that I will live continually by faith.”

“I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me

you can do nothing.” (John 15:5) 

Discernment: “Whatever it takes, Lord, teach me to discern good from evil through the rigorous exercise of constant practice.”

“But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.” (Hebrews 5:14) 

Desperation: “Whatever it takes, Lord, keep me desperate for you because I tend to wander when I stop feeling my need for you.”

“Before I was afflicted I went astray,

but now I keep your word.” (Psalm 119:67) 

Discipline: “Whatever it takes, Lord, discipline me for my good that I may share your holiness and bear the peaceful fruit of righteousness.”

“He disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.” (Hebrews 12:10–11) 

Diligence: “Whatever it takes, Lord, increase my resolve to do your will with all diligence.”

“Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise,

making the best use of the time,

because the days are evil.” (Ephesians 5:15–16) 

Very risky prayers, aren't they? Are we willing to go that far in desiring God? Do we trust Him that much?

 

Think and meditate on these things.

Evelyne Calton

Prayer Chairman

CBS Rutherfordton Class 

All quoted scripture is from the English Standard Version.

Find John Piper on his Desiring God website http://www.desiringgod.org

Teach Us to Pray - Part Two

     Welcome back to Part Two of  teach us to pray. Evelyne Calton, Prayer Chairman for CBS-Rutherfordton Day Class, continues to lead us through the demolition zones of wrong thinking towards prayer so that we can have a much improved prayer life. If you missed Part One, you can review it by clicking here.

 

 

    Demolition Zone #4: I’m a wretch, a dirty rotten sinner and 

Dynamite

God is disappointed in me, therefore He won’t answer my prayers. I wish I had a few sticks of dynamite for that one! Why does this lie hinder our prayers? If we are a New Creation and our Creator has given us a New Heart and a New Nature and has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of His Beloved Son, why do we make our sins our identity? Yes, we sin and fall short of His glory but we are NOT our sins. So let’s confess our sins daily, even hourly, if need be, but let’s not forget that He has removed our sins from us as far as East is from the West. We must see ourselves as God sees us. He truly delights in us because we are clothed with Christ’s righteousness. There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ. Peter understood that. After he denied Jesus three times, he probably felt like an absolute wretch. Yet he runs to the empty tomb and later he dives into the water to be the first one to embrace the resurrected Christ. Peter knew Jesus delighted in him. As daughters of God, we must know that too!  



Construction Worker
 



Demolition Zone #5: I don’t feel like praying right now. I’ll pray later when I feel like it. Wrong! Lord, please remove this kind of thinking from us!!! What I usually do when this happens is to assume that the spiritual blah I feel comes from my flesh or satan. Then I activate my faith and stand on the Truth that I have a New Nature that loves to be in the presence of God and loves talking to Him. And that New Nature is NOT lukewarm towards God, It is passionate and on fire for Him! Then I start worshiping with songs that stirs my affections for Jesus and feed my spirit, songs that declare Truth about Him and about me. Songs have a way of bypassing the brain and going right to the heart. I praise the Lord! I thank Him for who He is and what He has done! I go back to the Cross and that usually does it for me. I remember what He saved me from and soon the fog lifts and I want to be with Him and speak to Him. Ladies please know that worship is prayer, praise is prayer, adoration is prayer. 

 

 

Minds Under
Construction Sign

    Demolition Zone #6: I prayed during my quiet time. I checked that box. I’m done for the day. NO, NO and NO! 1 Thessalonians 5:17 says; “pray without ceasing”. Ephesians 6:18 says; “Pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests…” As believers we can’t separate sacred from secular. For us, it’s all sacred. I don’t know how you do that but for me it looks like this: I see a perfect blue sky and say Thank Jesus, I love You. Creation declares the glory of God and it makes me want to glorify Him. I say thank you, Lord for the food that grows in my garden and is on my plate. My husband embraces me and I say Jesus, You’re so good to me. The gifts are to draw us near to the Giver. All day long He sends us gifts; let’s acknowledge those gifts and tell Him how much we love Him. Conversely, if I catch myself worrying, I tell Jesus about it and let Him carry my burden. If someone is on my mind, I’ll pray for that person. Opportunities for prayer are there all day long. We just need to train ourselves to engage in it and invite the Lord to be part of our lives all throughout the day. 

       These are only a few areas where we need the Lord to renew our minds. Having a right heart is key in praying prayers that avail much. Ask the Lord to search your heart and sincerely assess the vitality and effectiveness of your prayers. Apply the above concepts of deconstruction and reconstruction as necessary. You CAN experience a more fruitful and satisfying prayer life that will eventually become a way of life. Just as the disciples did, you can ask Jesus to help you.

Evelyne Calton
Prayer Chairman, CBS-Rutherfordton Day Class
Originally presented as the Opening Devotion for
the CBS membership