Prayer time for the Children of the Body on Saturday focused on the words of their mouths.
May they be a people who speak blessings.
May everything they speak bring Him Glory.
May they allow no unwholesome talk out of their mouths.
May they guard their lips and consider carefully before speaking.
May their speech be seasoned with Grace and Wisdom.
May the words of their mouths and the meditations of their hearts be acceptable in His Sight.
May their words set them apart as His.
May they utter no gossip, criticism, or complaint, but be committed to building others up.
In praying today for the Children of the Body, the focus was on them becoming passionate worshipers.
May they crave His Presence.
May their worship be the context through which they see all of life, not the other way around.
May they be willing to be foolish in the eyes of the world as they worship Him without shame, without reservation, with no guile in their hearts.
May their worship be in complete humility so that there in no one around them who receives condemnation, but only conviction that draws them also into passionate worship.
May they worship as they work, worship as they play, worship as they walk along their way.
May they even reach the point where they worship in their sleep as they contemplate His Glory in their spirits.
Only He can bring them to this point and we ask that He will do this thing in them and in all of us.
In praying for the Children of the Body this week, may they hold the resource of Time humbly and reverently before Him, allowing Him to tell them how best to spend each moment. May they understand their position in history and the reason they are here now. May they not be distracted from their purpose. May part of their day, every day, be spent in prayer, in worship, and in His Word. May they pursue Wisdom. May they desire Him more than the very air they breathe. May they be sober in judgement, filled with discernment. May He teach them to number their days aright, that they may gain hearts of Wisdom.
May the children of The Body pursue Wisdom and Love. Wisdom to see things from His Perspective, and Love to serve as their motivation for everything they think, say, and do. May they be filled with a hunger and thirst for Him that will cause everything else to fall away. May they allow Him to purify them and remove everything that does not bring Him Glory. May they fear Him only. Not man. May they be filled with hearts of gratitude for all His blessings.
As we continue to lift up different parts of The Body of Christ, please pray for The Children of His Body. They are assaulted daily at school with things that tear them down and insult Him. Please pray that they will keep their eyes on Him and allow Him to be their strength and sustenance.
As the new school year begins, may the Children of The Body understand their ability to influence every person they encounter, every room they enter, every situation they face. May they fear no man, but only the Lord. May they speak boldly any time the Spirit says, "Speak." May they be salt and light. May they recognize their utter dependence on Him for their very breath, for their thoughts, their strength. May their parents speak blessings over them as they go forth. May they ground themselves in His Word everyday. May they see their classmates through His Eyes of Love. May they choose not to be offended, but to respond only in Love, being willing to be misunderstood, misjudged, mistreated if He asks it of them. May they do everything as unto Him.
Once again, we were traveling over the weekend. This time it was to help sponsor a group of teenagers from our little church on a trip to Six Flags. It was quite appropriate, then, that as they were sleeping in my suburban on the way back that I would get to spend an hour praying over the Children of the Body.
This prayer time covered many areas, but specifically that they would not allow anything in their minds that would "pollute." I asked Him to help them focus on whatever things are true, right, pure, lovely, admirable, praiseworthy, noble, and excellent. Also included was prayer for the parents or those in authority over the Children of the Body to be very aware of their role as a protective head and covering over them and for them to understand that the things they allow in their lives that are not of Him can make a "hole in their umbrella of protection" over their children.
This week, prayer for the Children of The Body was focused on asking the Lord to help them choose wisely when selecting friends and companions. Knowing how much we are affected by those we spend time with, those called by His Name must be careful about the people they spend large blocks of time with. They need to understand how their thoughts, words, and actions are influenced by their companions. Prayer was offered asking the Lord to provide friends and mentors for the Children of His Body who will encourage them in their growth toward being more Christlike.
Psalm 145:18
The LORD is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth.
Psalm 25:5
Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long.
Psalm 119:43
Never take your word of truth from my mouth, for I have put my hope in your laws.
Psalm 145:18
The LORD is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth.
Proverbs 23:23
Buy the truth and do not sell it— wisdom, instruction and insight as well.
Jeremiah 7:28
Therefore say to them, ‘This is the nation that has not obeyed the LORD its God or responded to correction. Truth has perished; it has vanished from their lips.
Oh Holy God,
May those children of The Body, those called by Your Name be lovers of the Truth. May they buy the Truth, spending everything they have in its purchase, and never, ever sell It. May Truth give their spirits such Light that everywhere they go, the Light shines out dispelling the darkness, refuting the lies, foiling the schemes and devices of the evil one. May they allow Your Truth to penetrate to the very marrow of their beings, leaving no corner of their souls in darkness. May they learn to wield Truth in Love for the purpose of Conviction that leads to Repentance and Restoration. May they not only love Truth, may they act on it, doing whatever You ask in complete, instant, cheerful obedience. You are Truth. To contain Truth is to contain You. May the children of The Body be vessels fit to contain You. Fit to hold the drink offering of their lives, poured out in Your service. Poured out to the last drop. Will You increase the capacity of their souls to receive more of You? With every year, day, hour that passes, will You allow them to receive You in a fuller, deeper, wider measure. May they go forth in boldness, proclaiming Truth to a world blinded by lies and shadows. May Your Truth, wielded in Love by the children of The Body, set the captives free. Oh Father, through them, will You stir up a Love of Truth in this city that will testify to Who You Are? Will You grow in them the Boldness that fears no man? May they never compromise the Truth. May they walk in It from a young and tender age. May their parents, or those in authority over them help them to cultivate this Love of Truth. May they have those who are of like mind around them to encourage. May the tide be turned in this city, Father, so that every single knee bows before You, declaring the Truth of Who You Are.
(Please forgive my tardiness in posting from my prayer time on Saturday. We are in a season of travel and were in the middle of a sixteen hour drive that day.)
I asked the Lord what He wanted the prayer time focused on, and immediately I believe He told me to spend this focused prayer time on Vision and Purpose for the Children of the Body.
Because of the intense propaganda campaign the evil one uses against young people in our culture, those called by The Name must intentionally speak about and encourage the understanding of the principle of generational Vision and Purpose. Our children must learn to ask Him to reveal His Plan for them, for how He intends to use them to bring Glory to Himself. They need to see that the way the world defines purpose and meaning in life is an illusion, a counterfeit, for the Truth. The world's view of purpose and meaning is empty and hollow, never bringing fulfillment and peace. However, when those called by His Name walk in Vision they walk in the fullness of what He designed them to be.
And so, the prayer of my heart for this week is that the Children of the Body will press into His Heart to capture His Vision for what He desires to accomplish through them, so they may walk in that Purpose all the days of their lives. I pray their parents will speak this blessing over them and help them refine and focus their God-given Gifts to be used in bringing about their Life Purpose. When they truly understand what He designed them to be and do, the lies of the enemy about their purpose are revealed as the hollow, lifeless illusion they really are.
