“My heart says of you, “‘Seek his face!'” Your face, Lord, I will seek.” Psalms 27:8
“In the morning, O Lord, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait in expectation.” Psalm 5:3
Prayer at Beit Shalom is a bit unique. We don’t do what I call ‘laundry lists’ of prayer, praying for relatives, friends, small personal requests… There is nothing wrong with those prayers but they are for a different time other than corporate prayer at Beit Shalom.
No laundry lists; no devotions; not usually Bible reading… a more focused time of prayer. Twenty minutes usually, but not always… devoting ourselves to fulfilling what GOD has in mind. No teachings from people, but only discussing with God. Not our usual human requests, but…
“God, what is on your mind today? Tell us your heart. What can we do for YOU today?”
How many of us pray that in the morning? or any time? We are usually so full of what we need, want, wish for that we miss the point of seeking to do God’s will. We prefer to tell Him OUR plans for the day and ask God to make them happen!
We meet usually at 8:30am Sunday-Thursday. Friday is optional depending on who is here and what is happening that day- Erev Shabbat can be quite busy. Saturday, Shabbat, is personal prayer and Bible time.
When we meet for prayer in the morning we discuss first a few things we know is needed or planned. We discuss briefly Survivors/visits that stand out from the day before. We are each mentioning anything major we know about or a personal need. Then we begin to pray.
So what DO we pray about?
- Thanks to God, gratitude to the Holy One, blessing God’s Name, appreciation for His Grace, miracles, answers to prayer
- God, what is on Your Heart today?
- Lord, what would You have us do for You today?
- Safety, grace, favor and open doors as visiting the Survivors goes forward
- For the Survivors, that 100% of them hear from their own Messiah
- Specific prayers and needs related to AHI (Specific Survivors needing assistance, house purchase and specific amount of $$ needed)
- Israel and the country needs, political situations- these if the Lord lays it on our hearts
- VOLUNTEERS WHO WILL ASSIST ELENA TO VISIT
The last item listed is why I am writing this blog. It is an example of what goes on here. We needed someone to go with Elena so she is not visiting alone- so we prayed and asked.
First, we received someone who can translate from Hebrew. Now they will go with Elena to visit Hebrew speaking Survivors once a week.
Next we asked again for another volunteer to visit with Elena.
A volunteer now came to us who speaks Russian and will come 1 – 2 times a week. With tears she explained she just asked the Lord to show her what she can do for Him. Same prayer we prayed! The same day she was asked to consider visiting Survivors. She has recently been widowed and is ready to pour compassion onto these lonely people. Many of our Survivors have recently lost a spouse and will benefit greatly from her wonderful hugs.
Frequently our prayers are given in the morning and answered by afternoon. It is not unusual. It is the norm for us. It is also not unusual for someone to discover they are the specific answer to our prayer!
Is it normal for you? Can you ask in faith for something within His desires for you and expect God’s favor to be released? If not, may I suggest starting with asking God for His Heart, for His needs that you can do for Him? It is the best way.
Seeking His Heart and praying expectantly,
Susan