Get Specific

One of the things I've noticed in my prayer life is how vague and generic I often pray. Sometimes it's like I'm throwing out prayers hoping they land somewhere. You know, something like... "God, I pray that you help me reach people for you." or "God, I hope you are pleased with what I do today."

Don't get me wrong, there's nothing "bad" in these types of prayers, but how do we really measure whether or not these prayers accomplish anything? I want to challenge you to begin to pray specifically. Here are four steps to help you with this.

#1 Tap into the power of Jesus' name.
Seriously, when you pray, pray with confidence knowing that you are communicating with the God of the Universe, the Savior of the world! Read John 14:13-14, John 15:16, and John 16:24. We can't even start to fathom the fullness of His power that will be revealed when we pray in His name!

#2 Ask God what He wants.
Yeah, this seems simple and obvious, but how often do we do it? Then, when He speaks, even if it sounds radical and uncomfortable, take action. We may pray that He will use us to reach people for Him, but we need to ask Him to show us specific ways we can see this happen and get involved in what He's already doing.

#3 Pray with a plan.
I don't know how many times I've heard people pray that God would save the lost or grow their church but they aren't willing to plan and do anything different in order for that to happen. While your plan may develop as you pray, realize that you need to pray specific prayers and then take intentional steps of action. If you want God to use you or your church to reach the lost, realize you will have to do something, often something completely different that what you normally do, in order for this to happen.

#4 Keep track.
This may be a mental list or a tangible list. Honestly, I'm not good at writing things down like I need to, but I'm definitely keeping track of answered prayers. However, if you are not praying specific prayers for specific people and specific action steps, then how will you know if your prayers have been answered?

I'll end this post by sharing this with you...

About 6 weeks ago I felt God calling me to be more specific in my prayers. I believe He was calling me to take Him at His Word. So I did, and I began praying for some specific things within our church development. While I'm still believing God for some of the prayers I'm praying, I specifically began to pray that God would provide money for our Trailer and Pipe & Drape.

2 weeks later, I had someone call and say they wanted to give us $5000 for our Trailer. We actually only need $3800, but this will allow us to buy an additional trailer much earlier than we expected.

Then, 2 weeks after that happened, God provided $4000 through an outside supporter and sacrificial gifts (above the regular tithe) from our launch team, which will cover to the dollar the cost of our pipe and drape.

Why did God answer these prayers? I believe it's because we are praying for things specifically, praying in His name, and praying that we'll be used to bring Him glory and lead people to Him. However, I also had to take action and seek ways for God to send these resources to us. PRAY AND PURSUE!

Pray specific and pray confident!