Prepare the Way!!

October 14 - 30, 2015

I am still processing a new thought—Prepare the Way!!  

Here is how it started.

Last Sunday (October 11, 2015), our Pastor spoke about intercessory prayer in the morning and then that evening we went to see the movie "The War Room." Our church rented out the small local theater so the leaders of the church could all go together. I've been processing what we heard both Sunday morning and Sunday evening ever since.

There has been a lot to process.

After the Sunday morning service our Pastor opened up a time of prayer for the eight key outreach ministries of our church. There were large groups gathering in the front of the church for each area. We would have chosen the Honduras group since we were part of a mission group there in 2013. But instead, my husband leaned over to me and said, "I think we need to stay here and pray for ______ (my sister and brother-in-law)," and that is what we did. We once again "stood in the gap" and cried out to God for them to change their hearts and lives.

Sunday evening we went to see "The War Room"; a movie all about the need for intercessory prayer. The movie makes the analogy between the preparations that go on behind the scenes during the time of war and the preparations that should be going on behind the scenes as we Prepare the Way!! for the battles in our lives. There is no way around it. We will ALL face battles in our lives. To be prepared and to Prepare the Way!! we must be in prayer and we must have our own "war room."  John the Baptist came to "prepare the way" for the LORD. We also need to Prepare the Way!! for the LORD in our life situations through prayer. The goal both then (John the Baptist) and now (our prayers) is for people to change their hearts and lives.

I've been convicted that it is time for a change in how I have been praying, specifically for how I have been praying for my sister and brother-in-law. I absolutely believe that the "battle belongs to the LORD" and I have absolute faith in the promises of protection that God has given us. While I certainly pray often about "the storm" and for my sister and brother-in-law, I have for the most part left it (our situation) entirely in His hands which is a good thing to a point. But, in leaving it all in God's hands, I have failed to do all I should be doing to Prepare the Way!! for changed hearts and lives. The battle DOES belong to the LORD. But we are to participate in the preparations. We need to do our part. We are to "prepare the way for the Lord, make the way straight for Him" through prayer.  

Years ago, when this breakdown in our relationship with my sister and brother-in-law and "the storm" began, we strongly felt God gave us a specific prayer to pray for them. I have written it in my journal many, many times. Here is the prayer:

LORD, may _____ (my sister and brother-in-law) understand that without you they are nothing. LORD, may they desire nothing but you.

I still absolutely believe in the value of that prayer. It says it all. But after spending time processing Prepare the Way!! I now realize that for such a time as this I am to be praying more specifically for their changed hearts and lives. Specific actions which would bring about the understanding that without God they are nothing; specific actions which would give them the desire for nothing but God; specific actions for a specific purpose, for them to have an opportunity to change their hearts and lives; which would in turn fulfill the prayer God gave us to pray for them many years ago. 

To Prepare the Way!! does not mean we go to the LORD and tell Him our agendas and what we want Him to do for us. It does mean that we should be praying what I call biblical "whats." II Chronicles 7:14 - "If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land." To pray biblical "whats" mean you boldly go before the Lord, asking HIM to do what HIS words say and what HE has taught you.  You are asking HIM to do HIS work in your own life and in the lives of those around you. You are not telling Him what you want done to fix your problem and you are not telling Him how HE should do what you are praying. You are instead praying what you have learned from HIS words. To Prepare the Way!! means you are praying for HIS words to be fulfilled. You are praying for HIS will to be done.  

We KNOW that Jesus does not want anyone to be lost, so we KNOW we can pray with confidence for HIM to do a work in our loved ones lives. We can purposely and passionately Prepare the Way!! for the battle of salvation for our loved ones, but we cannot control whether they will choose to "humble themselves and pray, and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways." Even though we have no control over their responses, we can KNOW we have done all we can do to Prepare the Way!! for such a time as this, and we can KNOW that God is faithful and will battle for them. It brings peace and comfort to KNOW that the battle results belong in God's hands.

How to Prepare the Way!!

First and foremost—Praise.

O LORD, our Lord, How majestic is YOUR name in all the earth. YOU have set YOUR glory above the heavens. From the lips of infants and children YOU have ordained praise, to silence the foe and the avenger. When I think about YOUR heavens, the sun and moon YOU have set in place. What is man that YOU are mindful of him? The son of man that YOU care for him. YOU made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor. YOU made him ruler over the works of YOUR hands and put everything under his feet. All flocks and herds, all beasts of the air, all birds of the air, all fish of the sea, all that swims the path of the seas. O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is YOUR name in all the earth. (Psalm 8) PRAISE—is the act of acknowledging who God is; HIS attributes; HIS power; HIS Sovereignty; HIS greatness. It's ALL about HIM!

Pray confession.

Thank you, LORD, for providing YOUR Son for our salvation. I acknowledge that YOU are God—I am not. I invite YOUR Holy Spirit to examine my life. Show me if there is anything in my life that is not pleasing to YOU and I will confess my sins, seek YOUR forgiveness, and surrender my will to YOURS. Speak to me Father and show me YOUR ways that I may walk in them. I want my life to be pleasing to YOU. I surrender my all to YOU. I will trust YOU and follow YOUR path—no matter what. Forgive me for where I have failed. As YOU have forgiven me, help me to also forgive others.

Pray the situation.

LORD, here is the issue. Here is the problem I am facing. Here is what is concerning to me. LORD, without your intervention the situation is hopeless. But with YOU, LORD, ALL things are possible. We put our faith and trust in YOU. We declare YOU as God of our lives. YOU are Sovereign. YOU are our deliverer. YOU are the One who shields our heads in the days of battle. Do not grant the wicked their desires. Do not let their evil plans succeed or they will become even more prideful. (Psalm 140)

Pray people humble themselves.

LORD, I pray for _____. I pray that YOU remove from them anything that is blocking them and keeping them from humbling themselves and surrendering to YOU. Anything, LORD. I pray that if they won't let go of the things they are clinging on to because of their pride, that YOU would force open their clenched fists and pry whatever it is they are holding on to away from them. Break down their self-made strongholds. LORD, it is their only hope. LORD, if they won't let go, then I pray YOU take it from them. "May the heads of those who surround me be covered with the trouble their lips have caused. May they be thrown into the fire, into the miry pit never to rise. May the slanderers not be established in the land, and may disaster hunt down men of violence." (Psalm 140) LORD, I pray YOU hold them accountable for their actions so they will understand their need to humble themselves before YOU. IF—they humble themselves and let go of their pride, THEN—YOU will be their stronghold, the One they can rely on. 

Pray they seek His face.

LORD, show them their need for YOU and only YOU. May nothing else work for them. No strategies, no schemes, none of "man's" plans. Nothing, LORD. May they search for YOUR truth. May they seek YOUR word. May they come to YOU for their salvation. May they pray and confess their sins and seek forgiveness. LORD, bring people into their lives that would guide them to YOU. IF—they confess their sins, THEN—YOU will forgive them of ALL their trespasses. 

Pray they turn from their wicked ways.

LORD, expose their deceit. For too long they have hid in the dark shadows of lies. May the light of YOUR Truth expose every dark lie that has been hidden in every corner. LORD, they cannot move forward into YOUR salvation while they are still pursuing what YOU call evil. So LORD, I pray YOU expose the ugly truth—all of it—and LORD, I pray they will turn from it. It's their only hope. It's their only hope. IF they humble themselves, and IF—they seek YOUR face, THEN—they can turn from their wicked ways with YOUR help. They can go back to the fork in the road and choose the right path. LORD, I pray for them to change their hearts and lives.

Pray for God to hear your cries for mercy.

LORD, hear our cries for mercy. YOU know we are innocent of all their false accusations. Save us by YOUR great power and YOUR surpassing greatness. May everyone know that it was YOUR power that saved us. You are a God of justice, may YOUR justice prevail. Have mercy LORD, have mercy. Sustain us. Strengthen us. Free us from those who surround us. 

Pray thanksgiving. 

LORD, thank you for YOUR promises. Thank you, for hearing our prayers and our cries for mercy. Thank you, for YOUR forgiveness and YOUR faithfulness. We surrender all to YOU. We are so grateful for YOUR guiding hand in our lives. We are grateful that YOU are a God of Justice and for YOUR surpassing greatness. We trust YOU. We worship YOU.  

Prepare the Way!! God was already teaching us this concept, and to some extent we were already living its principles, but we had not yet grasped the whole picture nor understood the importance of fulfilling our part in specific, daily, earnest, and purposeful prayer. We now have a better understanding of the role we have to pray in order to Prepare the Way!! (I meant to write "play" but I typed "pray" instead—rather appropriate!) Our level of participation needs to increase. It is time for our prayers for my sister and brother-in-law to include passionate specifics.

Psalm 140 is a perfect example of how to pray and Prepare the Way!! It models how to pray with passionate specifics. It is astounding to realize that even though it has been over eight years since Jane (Her Name Was Jane) first told us to read Psalm 140, this special chapter is STILL teaching us today. It clearly gives a step-by-step guide on how to handle anything life may throw at you, how to pray specifics, and how to claim the promises of God.

But! Before we/you pray the example of Psalm 140 we/you MUST remember what MUST come first. Psalm 150—PRAISE. 

PRAISE.

Praise first and foremost, and ALWAYS. It puts everything into proper perspective. Once we have acknowledged WHO God is then we can begin to pray the example of Psalm 140.

Submission to God.   

"Rescue us O LORD... protect us. Keep us O LORD... protect us." The rescuing, protection, and keeping ALL belong to God. We must first recognize that God is God and we are not. It is not our responsibility to try and figure out ways to rescue or protect ourselves. What God wants from us is our obedience and our submission. He wants us to trust Him and to wait on Him. 

Here is the problem.

"Rescue us O LORD from evil men. Protect us from men of violence who devise evil plans in their heart and stir up war every day. They make their tongues as sharp as serpents, the poison of vipers is on their lips. Keep us, O LORD, from the hand of the wicked. Protect us from men of violence. Proud men have hidden a snare for us, they have spread out the cords of their nets along our path." We have to face the truth of our situation and call it what it is. Avoiding the truth or sugar coating it doesn't make it go away or lessen the effects of it. For a while I questioned whether the statement "men of violence" applied to our situation because it seemed like such a strong term. We typically associate violence with something physical. But then I finally understood. Sin and evil behavior is violent and "men of violence" is NOT too descriptive or too strong of a statement. Sin creates upheaval, stress, angst, turbulence, emotional pain, etc. and yes, it creates violence, even if it isn't necessarily physical. The truth is the truth! Call it what it is. Sin is ugly. It produces evil, and it is violent.

Salvation comes from God. 

 "But we say, You are our God. Hear O LORD, our cry for mercy. O Sovereign Lord, our strong Deliverer, who shields our heads in the days of battle." CLAIM IT!! YOU are our God!! It is all about HIM. HE is the One who saves. HE is the One who deliverers. HE is the One who shields. HE is the One who will protect us and free us. Cry out to HIM. Go to HIM for mercy. Claim HIM as your God. If He isn't your God yet, then humble yourself and pray; acknowledge that the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ provided the way and opportunity for your salvation; ask HIM to forgive you of your sins; surrender your life to HIS will; turn from your old ways; and claim HIM as your God. 

Hold them accountable.

"Do not grant the wicked their desires, O Lord. Do not let their plans succeed or they will become proud. Let the heads of those who surround me be covered with the trouble their lips have caused. Let burning coals fall on them. May they be thrown into the fire, in to the miry pit never to rise. Let the slanderers not be established in the land. May disaster hunt down men of violence." Expose the deceit and lies. Reveal their motives. Hold them accountable for their own actions. Put them into a position where they cannot save themselves by their own power. It's the only way they will ever realize they need a Savior. It's their only hope.Notice that NONE of the vengeance is our responsibility. There should be NO anger or revenge coming from our hearts. That doesn't mean we want them to get a free pass for their behavior. It does mean that we want them to be held accountable because that is their only hope for salvation. But it also means that we understand that accountability has to come from GOD. Vengeance is HIS, not ours.  

The LORD—HE is the One.

"I know the LORD secures justice for the poor and upholds the cause of the needy. Surely the righteous will praise HIS name and the upright will live before you." I KNOW!! What peace; what strength; what joy; what contentment; what assurance comes with just those two words. I KNOW!! God is in control. HE secures. HE upholds. The LORD—HE is the One. It is ALL about HIM! Our faith is in HIM. There is life in HIM. We praise HIM. There will never be enough human words to adequately praise HIS name. O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is YOUR name in all the earth. 

When you Prepare the Way!! you will find it changes YOU first. Prayer is often for the pray-er of the prayer. If we are going to Prepare the Way!! through prayer, then we have to first make sure we are living our own life in obedience to His Word and are living our own life surrendered to the King of kings and Lord of lords. It is only then that we can begin to Prepare the Way!! for changed hearts and lives in our loved ones and others.  

To Prepare the Way!! for changed hearts and lives we MUST be practicing purposeful prayer. When we Prepare the Way!! through prayer, we also Prepare the Way!! to receive HIS blessings in our lives. It is a two way street. We get to watch and witness the Hand of God working in our own lives and in the lives of others. What a gift. What a blessing. What a responsibility.   

PREPARE THE WAY!!

Addendum: 8/3/2017 ~ We have added a new Prepare the Way!! to our prayers. We are asking the Lord to Prepare the Way!! for this journal/blog—Walking on His Footpath (Following the Master's Lead) and the blog chronicling the story of Jane—Walking By Faith: A True Story of God's Faithfulness to be made public. As far as I know, I have almost finished everything I believe God has asked me to do. My journals and our story has been written and Jane's story is almost finished. It is HIS story. While the lawsuit is still in the court system HIS story cannot be released. So, we are praying that God "Prepare the Way" for HIS story to be shared.

LORD, we are not the victims of a lawsuit, we are the recipients of a Blessed Event. Thank you for taking what was meant for our harm and giving us a story to tell of YOUR faithfulness. LORD, we ask that you Prepare the Way!! for YOUR story to go out. May the story of YOUR great love and faithfulness encourage others and bring many people to YOUR Kingdom. Thank you, LORD.

Prepare the way, LORD. Prepare the Way!! 


Next Entry: Matthew 4:1–25