Have Your Way, Lord
click on book for larger view
To many, prayer is a solution to problems. We attempt to engage whom we believe to be the highest source of power to listen and respond to our requests. We ask for help, for wisdom, for mercy and respite from circumstances. Yet, after the “Amen,” we continue to struggle with the attempt to make things change on our own. How does God feel as He hears all these prayers and watches as we pick right up where we left off before we prayed?
The ways and thoughts of the Almighty are above and beyond our ways. Our Maker is sovereign and all-powerful; yet, full of compassion. The humility we exhibit when we admit we don’t know what to do but look for His assistance has great power. God wants His glory, and although He does not need mankind to receive His glory, His witnessing our faith in Him pleases Him greatly.
He’s listening.
FREE PREVIEW
HAVE YOUR WAY, LORD
INTRODUCTION
How do we pray to God Most High? How do we make petitions to a righteous, holy and redeeming God? He is almighty and the one and only Living God. He is Master of everything and is in total control of life and death. He is sacred and sovereign. He is our Triune God – God in three Persons – Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Pray with me as I ask our Heavenly Father for my heart’s desires, in Jesus’ name. There is nothing new under the sun. We all need the same things and God has placed loving Him and each other first on His list of commands. Pray with me as I cry, beg, plead and make my petitions known to El Shaddai. He sits up high and He looks down low with unconditional love for all who come to Him in truth. He sees. He cares. He hears. He answers. Prayer brings changes, when you believe in your heart that nothing is impossible for our sovereign God.
Part I.
LOVE ME
But I pray to you, O LORD,
in the time of your favor; in your great love, O God, answer me with your sure salvation.
Psalm 69:13 (NIV)
God first loved us. He loved us into being. He loved us by sacrificing His only begotten Son to purge us from the sinful saturation in which we daily exist. Yet, we deny His love by the simple act of being so totally unloving toward others. We bask in self-absorption that only serves to make us more unloving, even to ourselves. God has declared in His Word that the two greatest commandments are to love Him, and to love our neighbors as we love ourselves. And that is where we get all caught up, confusing love with self-preservation. Attempting to sustain and protect ourselves when we have nothing to do with being born and will have no say in when or how we die. We don’t know how to really love God or anyone else on our own. We have not even mastered receiving love. Yet, to be loved is the one treasure we all seek each day we experience this gift of life.
*****************************
I COME
Sacred and Sovereign Savior,
As You bid me each morning to come to You, I come.
I come with the blessed assurance that God Most High, who is Creator and Ruler of Heaven and earth, has summoned me.
I come with the humility of one who is unworthy but redeemed.
I come with thirst and hunger for knowledge and understanding of Your Word.
I come with expectancy brought on by the exposure to Your fulfilled miracles and new hope for my future.
I come with Christ as my Intercessor for He has secured my passage and paid the price for my sin and shame with His blood.
I come with arms outstretched and head raised, reaching for the help You promise to me as I take each breath in this world so filled with the pain and confusion of unbelief.
Oh, Lamb of God, I come!
I come, just as I am. And You love me.
You, who are all and in all, can restore, renew and revive my soul and settle Your Holy Spirit within me.
I come broken to be made whole by my sacred and sovereign Savior.
I come, not always to a building, but always to You for everywhere I am in You, You are in me.
Thank You, Jesus.
Amen.
Part II.
CHANGE ME
Create in me a clean heart, O God,
And renew a steadfast spirit within me.
Do not cast me away from Your presence,
And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.
Restore to me the joy of Your salvation,
And uphold me by Your generous Spirit.
Psalm 51:10-12 (NKJV)
As we cry for help in trouble, for courage, for protection, we find God's very present help is always there. But what should we ask for? What will really help? Change. Transformation from circumstances and situations based on whom and how we are, what we feel, how we think. Revival, renewal and restoration are what we need, and there is only one place we can really obtain the true differences we seek. God has created us in His image. He already knows what needs repair but waits for us to ask for it, as we confess that we are broken and profess that we are unable to change ourselves without His help.
Part III.
HELP ME
Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
Hebrews 4:16 (NIV)
We need help. Many times we seek help from sources that are just as helpless as we are ourselves. We look to our family and friends. We ask our churches. We ask the government. Some of us even sit on corners and beg for help.
Our Heavenly Father has already mandated that we help one another. However, our selfishness often exceeds our willingness to help others. Yet, each and every one of us needs help at one time or another, in some way or another, even as we forget to help our fellow man in need.
Part IV.
USE ME
Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying,
"Whom shall I send? And who will go for Us?" And I said, "Here am I. Send me!"
Isaiah 6:8 (NIV)
We are clay. Fearfully and wonderfully made by the hands of the Almighty Creator. Each created for a purpose and called to that purpose at one time or another in our lives. If only to smile upon a downcast soul crossing our path or to possess the great talent of one who sings with the voice of an angel with a message from Heaven, we are here to do something for someone else. We are vessels formed to be used by God.
*******
YOUR WILL BE DONE
Dear Father, Who art in Heaven,
Your name is holy -- hallowed. Your will shall be done on earth as it is in Heaven. As Jesus taught us to pray, His example exemplifies Your majesty. You give us everything we need for each day. Some just don't give You glory. We like to think we have something to do with the good that happens in our lives. This makes one feel superior to another. Thank You for allowing me to know better. Thank You for opening my mind and heart to Your Truth. You are Jehovah Jireh and all provision comes from You. Your grace is sufficient and that is what drives me every day. Without it, I would take one long look at this world and all its vain passions and sit down, only moving when You decide to knock me over. I don't want to waste the strength You give me to fight satan and I wish he would go away and bother someone else not blessed with the discernment to recognize him (as I'm sure he does). But that is not Your way. It's not how you operate. Your Kingdom is coming and You are preparing me for battle. Daily You dress me in full armor so that I can be ready to quench the fiery darts of the wicked. Then You soften my heart and tell me to love them anyway. Thank You, Lord God, for giving me all that I need to do Your will. This world has nothing for me. Without You, I can't even move, but with You, I can do anything. Use me as You will for I belong to You and You get all the glory.
In the name of Jesus, I pray.
Amen.
CONCLUSION
Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God;
Philippians 4:6 (NKJV)
Love me, change me, help me, and use me. I pray for the Light of God’s love, through His Son, Jesus Christ, to transform me into one who knows that God’s love is to desire His will. I pray God love me by changing my heart. I pray for His Holy Spirit to guide me in the way to go, especially when I just don’t know. I need Him to help me remember whose child I am. I pray to be a willing, useful vessel, though weak, becoming stronger still in the perfecting of strength through weakness, by Christ Himself.