Ignite a Pray Now Lifestyle
How do we Ignite a ‘Pray Now’ lifestyle?
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 says,
16 Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, [or as I like to say, PRAY NOW all the time] 18 in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus.’
Developing a ‘Pray Now’ lifestyle is not challenging; however, it all starts with thanksgiving to God. Saying THANK YOU with joy is both the arrow tip and the foundation of the Pray Now lifestyle. “An attitude of gratitude is unoffendable.”
Throughout a “normal” day, I often pray for people sporadically. Sometimes I’ll pray for a stranger I cross paths with at Target, a person who randomly comes to mind on my way to work or before calling it a night. It’s a gift to pray for those people and ask God that they have a week filled with joy.
Furthermore, I’ll often find myself praying for others to grow in their walk with the Lord or that they come to know God’s purpose for their lives. Yet all of these notions, combined with thanksgiving, help us develop the ‘Pray Now’ lifestyle.
Pray Now!
Leonard Ravenhill said: “Few are called to preach … BUT ALL are called to pray.”
Wherever you are in your life with God, when you ignite and grow a PRAY NOW lifestyle, you will thrive in an ever-deepening prayer adventure and greater intimacy with Jesus.
If you are thinking, “I can’t do this!”, just read this short story about Ann:
I was serving on the Prayer Stations in NYC, and our leader asked me to train Ann, who had just received Jesus as Lord the previous week. The next moment a middle-aged woman was walking by, and I said, “Ann, it’s simple just watch.”
I looked the woman in the eyes, smiled from my heart, and warmly said: “Good morning. 😊< Thank you for being out today; Ann and I are just asking people this simple question. “If there was one thing we could pray now for you personally, what would it be?” She responded almost immediately and was so grateful for the question. “Oh, my mother is just going into surgery this very hour; I’m so worried.”
I looked at Ann and said, “Why don’t you pray?” She was a little shocked, and I gently encouraged Ann, saying – “Just ask God to do what our friend asked.” There was a bit of a pause, a deep breath, and then Ann prayed. “Please God be with our friend, keep her at peace, and guide her mother’s operation to go well, in Jesus’ name, amen.”
Our friend sincerely thanked Ann for the sweet prayer, and we said goodbye. Then Ann turned to me and said rather incredulously! “Is that it? That was much easier than I thought it would be. Can I ask the next person?”
Three hours later, we had to literally pull Ann away to get to Brooklyn Tabernacle’s Tuesday night prayer service. Ann grew more in Christ in those 3 hours than she would have done in a month of Sundays in church.
Simple Truths to Ignite or Deepen Your PRAY NOW Lifestyle
Watch these two videos:
❤️ God is thrilled every time you bring someone to Him in prayer; “… in His presence is fullness of joy….” Psalm 16:11.
❤️ Saying “THANK YOU!” to anyone and everyone, wherever and whenever you GO, blesses people’s hearts. This act often opens them for the PRAY NOW question: “If there was ONE THING I could PRAY NOW for you PERSONALLY, what would it be?”
❤️ Saying THANK YOU is foundational to a spirit-filled life in Christ. “Give thanks in all things, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus.” 1 Thessalonians 5:18
❤️ Like Ann, don’t TRY but TRUST the Holy Spirit to lead your prayers.
Walking as Jesus walked and meeting needs through prayer is the practical application of the ‘Pray Now’ lifestyle.
Whether you’re at a library, campout, in a parking lot, on a playground, at work, or wherever God takes you, you can pray now for others as He leads you. As you begin applying the “4-Be’s”, you’ll also find yourself developing the ‘Pray Now’ lifestyle and doing as Jesus did! Below are the “4-Be’s”, the simple application steps for reaching out to ‘Pray Now’ with strangers.
Your first step is to pray for God to make you aware of prayer opportunities. You should also pray for courage to take a risk. While praying with God, ask for a heart to connect with people. And remember, when you pray in advance, He will help you overcome any hesitancy.
The second step involves you noticing the people around you as individuals first, instead of a mass of humanity—or worse, interruptions in your day. Look for ways to begin the conversation. A practical and straightforward way of doing this is by simply saying “Thank You!” to those around you. I often tell people that serve me in some capacity, “Thank you for doing…!”
Whether I’m talking to the cashier checking my items out at the grocery store, the waiter or waitress at the restaurant, my housekeeper who just finished cleaning, or my landscaper, I start by thanking them. Then I intentionally follow up with the PRAY NOW question – “If there was ONE THING I could PRAY NOW for you personally, what would it be?
After they share, I pray a brief prayer. Sometimes, prayer leads to salvation. However, most times, it doesn’t; yet, I always know God has planted a seed of faith in their heart.
Step #3 involves being aware that some people may say no to you, asking them about praying for them. Yet, simply showing interest in them can also point them to our loving Father. If they say “no,” thank them and move on while also praying that God would still plant a seed of faith simply in our noticing and asking them about prayer.
Remember to continue lifting up that person in prayer to the Lord on your own. There may be another future opportunity for them to encounter God in their everyday life. Your prayer may have planted a seed in their heart, while another God encounter for them will water that seed. In the end, the Lord will bring the increase for them through your continued prayers.
Why is ‘Pray Now’ so important today?
Many of us have heard or read stories of people asking God to show Himself to them—to convince them He’s real, or that He cares for them. Your step of faith into the ‘Pray Now’ lifestyle as you begin initiating short prayers with others could be the avenue God uses to reveal Himself to hurting people. In other words, you could be an answer to someone’s prayer or longing for God through ‘Pray Now.’
God can perfectly orchestrate your obedience to match the need of someone in desperate need of prayer. And today, more than ever, humanity needs the Lord, and He is ready to meet every need through prayers of faith.
So, with every opportunity – PRAY NOW!
One Testimony from M.D. Anderson
The Lord had opened the door for us to receive treatment council on 12/12/11 from a few of M.D. Anderson’s prostate specialists. Last week, first Nancy (my beautiful bride) and then I received a call from Yvette Hamilton, a patient/doctor liaison assistant.
Many of you have called my cell before and received a scripture encouragement from my voice mail message. On the day Yvette called, she was near ‘the end of her rope’ and was stressed out that day. Yet, the Lord used my voice message to ”lift up her eyes” from where she was to consider a different perspective on her situation.
I then called her back, and what happened over the next 20 minutes could only be described as “Rapture Practice” as we praised God and prayed together. The Holy Spirit was pouring out as I asked Yvette the question I often encourage you to ask when ‘praying now’:
“If there was ONE THING I could pray now for you personally, Yvette, what would it be?
She responded with a very general prayer request, “My health.” I sensed the Holy Spirit leading me to press into the question and ask her for something more personal. As I did this, it became very clear that God was expressing His deep love and concern for Yvette through my genuine compassion to hear where the pain was in her life.
I then prayed briefly into the request with scripture for Yvette and her daughter. The Lord brought deep encouragement, a renewal of Jesus’ joy, and a refreshment that only the presence of His Holy Spirit power could bring into Yvette’s life as we applied STEP 3 of Luke-10-TRANSFORMATION!
Last Saturday, while my Sweetie and I were driving together, we received a call back from Yvette. She testified: “God has changed my whole perspective and attitude to my life and work. I’ve felt no more stress or depression since our first call. I have told the doctors about you and the blessing you have been to me, and I just want to thank you both for this gift.”
So, because we have embraced God’s grace to ‘Pray Now,’ He’s begun going before us to open hearts before we even get to our appointments! As I said at the beginning, GOD IS SO GOOD!
