927 Now, There's More

Something bizarre has been happening lately, and I want to tell you about it. I can’t properly put words to it, but I have felt different. Lately, I’ve felt more guided, more grounded, more at peace and balanced. The very things I’ve wanted for the past 20 years are unfolding within me and around me. So, I’m left to wonder what caused this shift? What has changed in my life that has made the difference? Answer. I have someone praying for me. Not just mentioning my name to the Almighty, but praying specific prayers over me. And that’s exactly what today’s devotional is about … the power of praying SPECIFIC PRAYERS instead of blanket prayers. I’m a blanket pray-er. I figure God knows what he’s doing and he doesn’t need this little gal here telling him how to do his job. So, out of respect, I just lift up a name or a situation and ask for his help or blessings or provision. There’s nothing wrong with that, but what if there’s MORE than that? Many years ago I heard prayer described as the allocation of God’s power. You see, it’s God’s power, not our own, that makes things happen, but we are holding that power and get to direct it. If we don’t direct it, that power may be laying on the ground going unused. If you’re wandering around in the dark and I’m the one with the flashlight, what good would it do for me to say, “well, I hope you find light for your next step so you don’t stumble and fall.” I’m holding the power to help you not stumble, but I have to use it by turning on the flashlight in my hand. As daughters of the King, we hold power. It’s up to us to direct that power in specific directions, instead of just hoping God does something. I recently found out my husband has been praying specific prayers over me and they are the very things that have been happening in me and around me. Yes, a son of the King has been directing God’s power specifically towards me. That’s what has made the difference. Every morning while I work on the devotional, he takes our dog for a long walk along the coast. As he walks, he prays. But, it’s no longer a blanket prayer, it’s deep and intentional and specific. As a result, God’s power has been allocated in my direction and I see and feel the difference. The cracks where the enemy had been slipping in and poking at me are now sealed up, protected and filled because someone started asking God to do it for me. Blanket prayers weren’t doing it. Specific prayers have made the difference. Power has been allocated in a targeted direction and the impact has been made. Now it’s our turn. If you’re praying general, broad prayers, know there’s nothing wrong with that, but there’s more than that. Sometimes a sharp shooter approach is more powerful than a machine gun approach. It’s time for sharp shooter prayers to penetrate specific areas! My kids have been prayed over nearly every day of their lives. They’ve still wandered off, made their world class stupid decisions, created messes we still don’t even know about, and hidden in their dark little corners of guilt and shame. But recently my husband and I traded the machine gun approach to prayer over our kids and started zeroing in on targets with God’s power. In a matter of a few months, we have seen some radical differences. Literal conversations of “mom, I don’t know, something just changed and I no longer wanted to do that.” Yes, something changed! What changed was blanket prayers traded for specific prayers. A direct hit of God’s power allocated through our requests. Girls, WE HAVE THAT POWER! A friend of mine messaged me this week with her concern over the heartbreaking and desperate situation in Afghanistan.