Do you need encouragement? One of the best way to get that encouragement is through prayer. For those of us new to prayer, this article gives us an outline to follow when we pray. To learn how to abide in Jesus, read “A Deeper Look at Abiding in Jesus.”
God can do nothing for me until I recognize I cannot do it alone, and I get out of His way. I must recognize the limits of what is humanly possible, allowing Him to do the impossible.
My other choice when things are not controllable by me is to worry, get frustrated, and get angry. Some things can only be done in the supernatural, and since I am only natural, they are beyond my abilities.
Fixing a broken marriage, correcting a child’s behavior and mental problems, and saving my unsaved family and friends are supernatural things. My urgent and desperate prayers are supernatural. Everything but the mundane is supernatural.
When I inspect my daily prayer list, I see nothing mundane. So I must release everything I normally pray for to God for Him to control.
Benefits for Christians
If Christians believed this, we would have no worry, stress, frustration, nor anger. It is really easier to simply give up trying to do what you can’t and let God do what only He can do.
The hard part for us selfish people is giving up things for Jesus to manage and not wrestling control back from Him. Jesus tells us to take His yoke and that it is easy.
When we walk with Jesus and invite Him into our everyday life and give Him control, He is gentle and loving, and it is not difficult and complex like life normally can be.
Abiding in Jesus
Jesus wants to be involved in all your activities including the mundane, and the way to do this is to walk in the spirit which also connects us to Jesus. Our spirit is connected directly to the Holy Spirit, and our spirit is our connection point to the entire Holy Trinity.
When we are living in the spirit we are also abiding in Jesus. Jesus wants us to abide in Him all day. But how do we start living in the spirit and abiding in Jesus? And how do we keep doing that all day?
How to Live in the Spirit
To start living in the spirit each morning, pray. Specifically humble yourself, and adore and thank God. Also confess any visible and hidden sins and forgive sins of others. If you fall out of the spirit later in the day, redo the prayer until you are connected to God again.
Below is an example prayer template to get in the spirit (fill in your details):
1. Humble – Admit I am a sinner: powerless to save myself and manage my own life. I want my life to be lived in Christ, embracing all God intends for me. I want to focus on Your good and holy things. Including knowing, glorifying and delighting in You. There is no room for sin when I am overflowing with Your love. I believe God is powerful and good and loves me, and I trust God with my will and life, and Jesus has saved me and is my Lord. May the Father’s will be done not mine.
2. Adoration – I ask for humbleness and meekness (being humble toward others). I am a sinner saved by grace, and You are my Savior, my God, my Father. Holy Spirit, You make me a partaker in Your divine nature – this is the process of becoming like Jesus so I ask for Your transforming grace to change me. I believe You can and will. God make me like Jesus: poor in spirit (humility, see myself a sinner) + mourn (grieve the sin of the world and the damage it causes) (hate sin) + meek (humility in action toward others) + faith (belief and assurance) + holy (pure in heart, set apart from this world for God) + desire to know God + unwavering self control (control of temptations and emotions/a steady heart fixed on the will of God) + hunger/thirst for righteousness (desire to be like Jesus) + brotherly affection (loving and caring for Christians) + love (peacemaker, loving all people) (God is love so I must love to be like Jesus).
3. Confess/Repent – to God. Take an inventory of sins, confess (name our sin and agree with God), ask God to fill me with Godly sorrow (focus on God, sorrow over offending Him, hate sin, desire to end sin), and repent (turn away from patterns of sin and toward God).
4. Forgive/Amends – I embrace my relationship with God, and respond to His love of me by a desire to pursue peace with others. Forgiveness (frees me from the debt of sin against me, I don’t seek revenge, and it allows me to love others), amends (make peace with others by repairing damage of sin, and open doors for reconciliation). Forgive me for anything I do in the flesh.
5. Thanksgiving – thanks for trials and weaknesses which build my faith and trust in God. Thanks for all you provide.
6. Give Jesus Control/Follow God – I offer a living sacrifice and take up my cross – body, soul/mind, emotions, temptations, will, heart (decision making center of my mind which considers my mind including emotions and temptations, my will, and God’s will and decides what to do), my sins, weaknesses and addictions, my gifts/experiences/talents/resources. Jesus, I give You all I do and think in the flesh. I give you control Jesus, and I will be happy with whatever is done. May the Father’s will be done. Help me to believe and trust You Jesus with these things I gave You to manage.
7. To live in the spirit, we need to be humble, obedient, and fear God.
8. Abiding in Jesus – I am abiding in Jesus if I have love and peace and act and look like Him. When I am abiding in Jesus, I am dead to sin and alive in Christ. Jesus gives me obedience and good works and fruit that is prepared for me: contentment in all circumstances, growth in all seasons, victory through hardship, favor, honor, blessing, and satisfaction in an intimate relationship with You Jesus.
9. More than anything else, knowing Jesus is most important – I want to know You more, I want to be like You, I want to obey quickly, I want to see others like You see them, and I want to love others like You love them.
Supplication
10. When abiding, ask Jesus for anything in God’s will.
11. Prayer requests for others: (fill in your requests)
12. Scripture for regular temptations and sins: (fill in your scriptures)
13. Health and well-being and salvation and spiritual health and growth – for my family and friends: (write names)
14. My leaders – Bible teachers, counselors, pastors, US/world leaders – I pray for strength, power, wisdom, humbleness, Godliness. Bless their spiritual lives, families, marriages and jobs.
15. Pray for evangelism opportunities for me to selected named people: (write names)
16. I pray that the Church is one: united in faith and knowledge of Jesus. Resulting in mature Christianhood (grown up spiritual adults, no longer children; completed all sanctification), and the fullness of Jesus (we know Jesus and we are Christ-like to the max – the most we will ever be). May we carry the titles you give us well: Body of Christ (physical representatives of Jesus on earth – do what Jesus wills), Bride of Christ (we are united with Jesus through the Holy Spirit), and God’s Temple (we have in us the presence of God in the Holy Spirit, and through the Holy Spirit we have the spirit and mind of Jesus).
17. Jesus’ mission, world evangelism and discipleship – I pray for the Holy Spirit moving, and for revivals, missionaries, evangelists, church planters, supernatural dreams and visions, writers, teachers, and pastors.
18. I believe You will answer these prayers that are the Father’s will. I ask You, Jesus for Your transforming grace and power to change things so these requests move toward being answered. If any are not the Father’s will, I accept Your will for my life.
