Men prayer

Men Praying – Active Duty
When Rick left for his second tour of duty in the Middle East, he shared some specific concerns with his wife Melissa. “I’m uneasy about some of the men in my new platoon. I don’t know them as well as the last team. Pray for us.” Like most men, Rick faces a culture that projects the misguided belief that fear equals weakness. Most men loathe admitting that they have fears—fear for their families, fear for their finances, fear for the future. Two months after Rick deployed, he woke up in Walter Reed Army Medical Center. His entire right leg was in a massive cast . . . and his left leg was missing below the knee. His captain recounted, “Following the roadside IED, Rick pulled himself from one wounded soldier to another, praying with them.” “I command you—be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go” (Joshua 1:9). During his grueling rehabilitation Rick explained, “The difference between a coward and a hero is not whether or not you’re scared. It’s about what you do while you’re scared.”

Men like Rick understand that prayer enables us to conquer our weaknesses. The apostle Paul prayed repeatedly to God for strength to face Satan’s torments. Only when he surrendered his pride did Paul understand how his weaknesses related to Christ’s power (2 Corinthians 12:6-10). Men of prayer surrender their fears, pride, and weaknesses to the One who is in control.

Men Praying – Under Attack
At one time or another, every man faces the crushing weight of powerlessness to do anything about a health issue. Attacks upon his body and mind present themselves relentlessly. Dr. Don Colbert, physician, author, and noted speaker, observes, “. . . When come into the doctor they won’t tell you their problem — until the last minute . . . It’s sort of like how men rarely ask for help.”1

Jim’s competitive nature revealed itself as a vice president as well as in his biking and kayaking. When a non-cancer-related abnormality appeared during a routine examination, Jim tried to remain unshaken. Further tests indicated Stage D prostate cancer (sometimes called Stage IV), which is considered not medically curable. Jim resented this intrusion in his life. “I didn’t get angry, but I felt very helpless and wondered, ‘Why Lord, why?’” Even though his faith in God had remained strong for the past fifteen-some years, Jim remembered the tense moments prior to a radical prostatectomy. Just before entering the operating room, he told the orderly to stop. “I looked and pointed up and said, ‘Lord, You know me and I know You—do with me what you will.’ Once I got those words out I was so at peace and I told the guy that was pushing me, ‘Let’s go!’” Men of prayer don’t run ahead of God by trying to deal with all the endless negative possibilities facing you down the road. They are just that . . . possibilities (Mark 10:27).

Men Praying – Authentic Manhood
The average male has only two confidants, including his spouse and a family member. Since most men are overworked, over-committed, and over-distracted, they don’t always feel victorious in regards to overcoming obstacles. Therefore, it is imperative that men pray with and for one another — strengthening each other (Proverbs 27:17). Rick, Jim, and the apostle Paul all realized authentic manhood accepts the need for God’s intervention and help.

Through prayer, every man obtains a vision of biblical masculinity that relates to their own lives and issues. Through faith, God provides the practical “how-to’s” for real-life. Men of prayer:

Accept responsibility for their actions (Psalm 32).
Lead courageously against opposition (
Receive God’s reward for obeying Him (1 Chronicles 4:9-10).

Why Pray?

1 John DeMarco. “Live Longer and Prosper.” New Man Jan/Feb 2007: 19.

WHAT DO YOU THINK?

– We have all

sinned

and deserve God’s judgment.

God

, the Father, sent His only Son to satisfy that judgment for those who believe in Him.

Jesus

, the creator and eternal Son of God, who lived a sinless life, loves us so much that He

died

for our sins, taking the punishment that we deserve, was

buried

, and

rose from the dead

according to the

Bible

. If you truly believe and trust this in your heart, receiving Jesus alone as your

Savior

, declaring, “

Jesus is Lord

,” you will be saved from

judgment

and spend eternity with God in heaven.

What is your response?

Yes, today I am deciding to follow JesusYes, I am already a follower of JesusI still have questions

www.allaboutprayer.org

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Exodus 15:2-18, II Kings 18:1-7

Reflections of the Heart:

God loves men and He wired them for success. The enemy has been disrupting God’s preferred plans for our men through a strategy to steal, kill and destroy them. Archbishop Nicholas Duncan Williams noted, “Life is not fair; we only get what we are willing to fight for!” By praying for our men, boys and families we are positioned to “Fight to Win!” God used a man to redeem humankind and He continues to empower men to lead and conquer.

Scriptural Prayer:

Heavenly Father, Your majestic Name fills the earth! Your glory is higher than the heavens. May Your glorious Name be praised! May it be exalted above all blessing and praise! You are great and most worthy of praise! No one can measure Your greatness. Thank You, Father, for our men. Lord, we thank You for equipping our men to take their rightful place in You. Thank You for the men and boys who will join the body of Christ and glorify Your Name. Thank You, God, for restoration, reconciliation and healing in our families and communities. Thank You, for giving us everything we need to live a godly life.

Father, let Your Kingdom come and Your will be done in the lives of our men on earth as it is in heaven. By faith, we call our men saved, sanctified, and filled with Your Spirit. Your Word instructs that faithwithout works is dead and useless, so we confess that our men will work to develop and demonstrate their Christian faith, daily. We declare that they will be priestly providers and protectors of their families. We confess that as they submit to Your Word, they will be transformed into new people by changing the way they think. Lord, we decree that their belief systems and behavior patterns will reflect Your righteousness in their personal and professional lives. We declare that the light of Jesus will be reflected by their actions. As they fellowshipwith one another; others will see their good works and praise You, our Father in heaven. Lord, we confess that Your favorsurrounds them like a shield. We confess that they will earn, save, spend and invest money in obedience to Your perfect plan for their lives and families. We declare that their finances are blessed and they are lenders, not borrowers. Lord, because we realize that the food we put in our bodies can impact our mental, emotional, physical and spiritual capabilities, we declare that our men will practice healthy eating practices. Above all, we confess that they are victorious in everything they do, because Your future for them is filled with hope, good and not evil.

Lord, we ask that You touch the hearts of our congregation to pray for the men and boys of this local assembly. Holy Spirit, please empower us all to stand against society’s systems and structures that result in ten percent of all pre-school boys being suspended. Holy Spirit, studies show that ninety percent of all “behavioral problems” in public schools are linked to boys. Please touch the hearts of fathers (and mothers) to teach their children Your godly principles.

Father, forgive our men for sins of disobedience, selfishness, lying, pornography, fornication, adultery and for not accepting the responsibility for leadership within their families and the church. Forgive our boys for rebellion, selfishness and for accepting the negative labels placed on them by the world. Forgive our wives and mothers for being complacent. Lord, please help the men, women, boys and girls in our congregation to forgive past hurts caused by family members and loved ones. Father, heal emotional wounds caused by these hurts. Lord, remind all of us to forgive others and help us to forgive.

Lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from the evil one.

Lord, we praise Your Name. Your Name is very great; Your glory towers over the earth and heaven. You are worthy, Lord, to receive glory, honor and power. You created all things and they exist because You created what You pleased. You are Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Scripture References for the Written Text: Psalm 8:1, Nehemiah 9:5, Psalm 145:3, II Peter 1:3, Matthew 6:10, Hebrews 11:1, James 2:17, Romans 12:2, Matthew 5:16, Psalm 5:12, Deuteronomy 28:12, Jeremiah 29:11, Matthew 6:13, Psalm 148:13, Revelation 4:11, Isaiah 9:6

Today, I will trust God to:

______________________________________________________________________________

myprayerinstitute.wordpress.com

I’ve discovered a painful truth while sharing life with fellow men of the faith; prayer is a real struggle! As a husband, who, among other things, has been called to be the priest of my home, I’ve seen how this struggle can play out.

Here’s a shameless plug for the movie War Room. If you haven’t seen it, do yourself a favor and do so! In the film, we see the power of prayer played out. In the film, we see an amazing wife praying for and covering her family, and especially her husband, as she’s trained by an older woman.

I want to play the devil’s advocate here a little bit. Normally, when we think of praying, we link it to a praying mother or grandmother. It’s an attribute commonly associated to women of the faith. What if men took prayer seriously? What if we committed to it like we commit to fantasy football or our golf swing? What if we were as into it as the release of the new retro Js? Although our Christian society has attributed prayer to great women of our faith, the bible gives us countless examples of men of prayer. Daniel was a man that prayed diligently. Even against the King’s wishes, he set time apart to pray to the Lord. David, although a warrior in battle, was also one in prayer, and in a sense, journaled these prayers for us to read them. In James 5:17, Elijah is described as “a man with a nature like us” that prayed earnestly, and the Lord heard him.

My brothers in the faith, our Father in heaven wants to hear from us! When men pray, things happen, and the Lord can move on our behalf. Don’t be confused; prayer does not turn God into your magic genie. We don’t pray to ‘position’ the Lord where we want him to be. We pray in order to position or reposition ourselves in order to receive what the Lord has for us. Scripture is replete, brothers, with examples of how prayer works. James, again, tells that the “Effective prayer of the righteous man can accomplish much.” Our prayer can accomplish and help bring things to pass in our lives. What would happen if we as husbands and fathers began to pray over and with our wives and children? Earnestly seeking the Lord on their behalf and standing before God on their behalf the way that Christ stands for us. I think this is one of the biggest areas of improvement for me as a husband. Scripture tells me to love my wife as Christ loves the church. Christ is constantly interceding on our behalf. He’s the ultimate advocate. And while he was on the earth, we see how he prayed for us. (John 17) You may be thinking, I know prayer works and that I should do it more often, but I don’t know how to. This is one of the biggest objectives that comes up when talking about prayer with brothers. Here are a few tips on prayer that have helped a struggling praying man, like myself, do better in this particular discipline.

Pray the word- this is a tool I picked from the book ‘Say the Word’. My wife purchased it for me and it sat for months before I picked it up (y’all pray for a brother lol). But in the book, the author lays out a biblical way to pray by simply praying the word. The steps are simple and work for single individuals and married alike. You first read through a passage together, like Philippians 4. Then, after discussing or thinking about the major points, you pray through those points. It’s a great tool to give you guidance in your prayers. And it keeps your prayers biblical and built on God’s Word

Keep it simple – Many times when we think of prayer, we think of long drawn out deep outcries before the Lord. Not saying that prayer is never any of that, but it doesn’t have to be that all the time. The heart behind the prayer is more important than the length or tone you pray in. We don’t pray to impress the Lord or a spouse or anyone else we happen to be praying with. Keep it simple and have a conversation with the Lord. Another good tool for this is to remember the acronym ACTS when you pray.

Adoration- express to the Lord how much you love and appreciate Him for who He is.
Confession- if there is any known sin in your heart let the Lord know.
Thanksgiving – give thanks for what He’s already done for you.
Supplication- earnestly ask the Lord to move in particular areas.

Make it a habit – prayer is a discipline and something we should do on a regular basis. The saying is true, “Little prayer, little power. Much prayer, much power.” The film War Room, shows how consistent and diligent prayer not only changes our situation but changes us in the process. I’m currently doing a 30 day challenge through the ministry Family Life with my wife. It calls us to pray once a day together on different topics for 30 days. I wouldn’t give myself an A in initiating since we’ve started. But I am seeing how being intentional about praying together is changing me and making me more aware of areas I need to improve upon.

So, my dear brothers I challenge you to make prayer a priority! Single men, make time to pray in your day. Meet with other brothers to pray and cover each other. Husbands and fathers, let’s take initiative to pray, not just for ourselves, but for our wives and/or children. Trust me brother, your wife and/or children would be thrilled to hear you pray before the Lord on their behalf. They may be secretly yearning for you to do that.

I pray Lord that you would be with us as we look to speak with you more. That the Holy Spirit would put this burden on our hearts. I pray marriages, relationships, situations that seem ruined, working woes, closed doors, health issues and anything else needed will began to work itself out as we seek you earnestly. We thank you for the ability to come to the throne of grace boldly as your children. In Christ name I pray, Amen.

Grace and peace,

Travis Williams

www.jude3project.com

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