Day 27

We have been sharing with you Andrew Murray’s thirty days of prayer – a litany of intercessions that he encourages we ought to rotate through on a monthly basis in his classic book, The Ministry of Intercessory Prayer. If the Holy Spirit has not grabbed hold of your heart any other day, may He do so today, for the future of the Church might very well depend on prayers like these (day 27): THAT GOD’S PEOPLE MAY REALIZE THEIR CALLING.

Now, don’t be misled by his choice of words. Murray is not asking us to pray for those called to future ministry… his deep desire is for all of God’s people – each one of us – to realize our calling.

And what is our calling? Hear the desperate perspective of Murray’s heart: “Plead with God that His people may know this: that every believer is to live for the interests of God and His kingdom.”

From DAY TWENTY-SEVEN of The Ministry of Intercessory Prayer by Andrew Murray:

What to Pray – That God’s People May Realize Their Calling

“I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all the peoples on earth will be blessed through you” (Genesis 12:2-3).

“May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face shine upon us, that your ways may be known on earth, your salvation among the nations” (Psalm 67:1-2).

Abraham was only blessed that he might be a blessing to all the earth. Israel prays for blessing that God may be known among all nations. Every believer, just as Abraham was, is only blessed that he may carry God’s blessing to the world.

Plead with God that His people may know this: that every believer is to live for the interests of God and His kingdom. If this truth were preached and believed and practiced, what a revolution it would bring to our churches and our mission fields. What a host of willing intercessors we would have. Ask God to reveal this by the Holy Spirit.

Yes and Amen, Andrew Murray! If that truth were preached and believed and practiced, what a revolution it would bring…!

*If the truth that every believer is to live for the interests of God and His kingdom was preached:

We would take hold of the Word of God and let it dwell richly in our hearts. Scripture would root itself deep into our hearts by the power of the Holy Spirit and we would stand tall and strong on the Word – for in Him we move and have our being. We would forgive others – deeply – from our hearts – and not just cognitively, and thus truly receive the depths of God’s forgiveness for ourselves…and realize more how deep and wide and high and long is His love for us – for me!

*If the truth that every believer is to live for the interests of God and His kingdom was believed:

Each of us would be realizing, embracing, and using our God-given gifts – as He intended! The power of God in us! By His Spirit, it has been given, along with opportunities for us to work in it.

*If the truth that every believer is to live for the interests of God and His kingdom was practiced:

We would be living out the Great Commission! In the fullness of the Holy Spirit, we would be obedient, yielding, and surrendered to the will of God.

The ‘great’ big world of the Great Commission – beginning within your own sphere of influence – would see Jesus in you, through you, and because of you!

We would be advancing the Gospel by touching people’s lives unconditionally (our neighbors AND our enemies)…not going on in our own flesh and in our own power, but in understanding the Word of God, in understanding the world around us, and then living – not as hypocrites – but as compassionate, educated, Spirit-filled, and ready responders to our calling: to make God’s name great so “that [His] ways may be known on earth, [His] salvation among the nations” (Psalm 67:2).

And so we pray as one who has accepted for himself what he asks for others…

How to Pray – As One Who Has Accepted for Himself What He Asks for Others

“As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit came on them as he had come on us at the beginning. So if God gave them the same gift as he gave us, who believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to think that I could oppose God?” (Acts 11:15, 17).

When God has blessed us and met our needs, we are encouraged and emboldened to ask the same for others. Let any thought of your own weakness or shortcomings only make you more urgent in prayer. As His child, you will be heard, many will be helped, and your own faith will be strengthened.

I have a dear friend whom I minister alongside as an intercessor, and she will often say about or to those for whom we pray: “You can’t give what you don’t have.”

We must first live for the interests of God and His kingdom so that our prayers for the witness of others might have more power and be more effective…availing much more than we might ever ask or imagine.

Your Own Prayer Requests…

Your own prayer requests might begin with a prayer for your own soul to be awakened by the Holy Spirit…for God’s grace to sweep into your heart and call you out…

You might take a few minutes now to dedicate your heart to this prayer with this song:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0_J9BI6AFO0