Praying Powerful Prayers For People In Need (Part 2)

July 30, 2019
Dear Visionary Leader:
When I was twelve years old, my parents gave me a set of barbell weights for Christmas. The total weight was 120 pounds of various weights. I remember my Dad saying on Christmas morning, “This amount of
weights should keep you busy for a while.” When he said that, I thought to myself, “I will show you how strong I can become.”
By the time, I was 18 years old, I was able to lift 200 pounds over my head and bench press 300 pounds. While I was in college, I was eventually able to bench press 345 pounds! I never weighed more than 180 pounds during those days while lifting these heavy amounts.
From 12 to 25 years of age, I was consistent to workout muscle groups on certain days of the week, while be sure to consume high amounts of protein and food.
On one particular occasion, while my brother (James L.) was a youth pastor in the greater Springfield, MO area, we gave the youth group a challenge to break the attendance of 200 young people and I would bench press 300 pounds at the end of the service. I remember when we broke the 200 attendance, we pulled together the needed weights and bench press. That evening, I kept my promise and benched 300 pounds.

I share this personal story with you because Paul, as we saw in the previous ezine, has been praying on his knees in prison for the Church of Ephesus. We learned in the previous ezine that Paul prayed for God’s wealth for their needfulness. This week, we will learn how to pray for God’s strength for our weakness. Our Lord wants us to become strong in our spirit and to be filled with the Holy Spirit!
Be sure to read Visionary Coaching.
As we learn how to pray for others, we need to be able to pray for God’s wealth for their needfulness, but also God’s strength for their weakness.
God’s Strength For Their Weakness
 
In Eph.: 3:16, we read, “Oh God would grant you, according to the riches of his glory.” He has already talked about “the riches,” to be strengthened with might in his spirit and the inner man.
What is the average prayer meeting about? “Lord, bless Suzy, who’s sick. God, bless John, who’s ill. God, encourage Richard, who’s not doing well.” Now, there’s nothing wrong for praying for the sick, but we’re so interested in our children, friends and ourselves being healthy. It seems to me that the average prayer meeting in the average church is an “organ recital.” It all about livers, lungs, hearts and spleens. It is an organ recital.
How many times do you hear parents say, pray for my son, pray for my daughter, that they would be mighty in the spirit. That’s what Paul prayed for these people. He didn’t pray, God, help them to be wealthy. He didn’t pray, Lord, help them to be healthy. He said, Lord, help them to see true riches and, and, oh, God, may they be strengthened with might in the inner man. Now you fasten your heart and mind upon that one

you love and say, “Oh, God, make them strong spiritually. Make them a giant for you, give them might in the inner man.”

How is He going to do that? Well, according to the riches of his glory. God never has any overdrafts. God is sufficient to strengthen your child and your loved one in the inner person. Notice it doesn’t say out of his riches. A rich man might give you five dollars out of his riches, but that may not be according to his riches. God wants to bless according to his riches. Sometimes we think that being spirit-filled is for adults, but not for children.
You’ll have a lot better time around your house if you teach your children to be Spirit-filled, to walk in the Spirit, to be filled with the Holy Ghost. “The promises unto you and your children and to as many as the Lord our God shall call” (Acts 2:39). He’s talking about being filled with the Holy Spirit, having might, having strength in the inner man. Let’s be mighty in the Spirit!
Until The Last Person Has Heard,

Dr. James. O. Davis
Founder/President
Global Church Network
Cochair / Global Networking