It’s been said that if you have all Word and no prayer, you dry up. And if you have all prayer, and no Word, you flare up. But if you have prayer and the Word, you grow up!
This Bible study was prepared especially for the Summer 2016 Newsletter.
God has called me to give out His message. The name for this ministry has been a play on my initials, AGL, because in Scripture angels are God’s messengers.
For the past several years, God has burdened my heart with His message to call His people to repentance, revival, and a recommitment to serious prayer. Many of you have joined with me in one or more of our five online prayer initiatives: 777: An Urgent Call to Prayer; 911: An Urgent Call to Pray for Jerusalem; Mayday! Mayday! A Distress Call for Prayer; 911: A Recall to Pray for Jerusalem; and 111: Preprayer for the New Year.
It’s interesting to note that at the beginning of all things, in Genesis 1, God used prayer—the preparation of the Spirit of God hovering over the waters of a formless, empty planet, and the proclamation of His Word—and God said—to transform our world physically.1
At the center of all things, after the Cross, the resurrection, and the ascension of Jesus, His disciples prayed for 10 days. Then, on the day of Pentecost, Peter proclaimed God’s Word. Not only were 3,000 people saved on that one day, but the Church was born.2 Once again our world was transformed, this time spiritually.
At the end of all things—which is where I believe we are today—the apostle Paul charges us to preach the Word.3 The apostle Peter exhorts us, when the end of all things is near, to be self-controlled so that you can pray.4
I have accepted Paul’s charge. I will continue to proclaim God’s messages from His Word, undergirded by AnGeL Ministries. But in addition, Peter’s exhortation has reverberated in my heart. While I have never considered myself a “prayer warrior,” and have even struggled with prayer in many ways, I have felt very compelled to pray, and to rally God’s people to pray also.
In retrospect, I can see that all of this was God’s preparation for me to be the new Chairperson of the National Day of Prayer Task Force. To confirm that this position was from God, like Daniel, I turned to the Lord God and pleaded with him in prayer and petition, in fasting…5 God answered my prayer with a clear affirmation that this was His will. With joy, and some trepidation, I accepted this position.
Now I’m on tiptoe in my spirit, filled with expectancy to see what God will do. In a unique way, I will do my best to combine prayer and the proclamation of God’s Word in what I pray will be a powerful and effective movement of God’s Spirit. Who knows? Perhaps, by God’s grace and mercy, once again we will see worldwide transformation. Maybe…just maybe…God will use us to help prepare the hearts of His people for the return of the King.6
Please. Stand with me…on your knees. Pray for me as I give leadership to these two organizations. Pray for God’s will to be done on earth as it is in Heaven.
For the glory of His Name…
1 Genesis 1:1-31
2 Acts 1:12-14; 2:1, 14-47
3 2 Timothy 4:1-2
4 1 Peter 4:7
5 Daniel 9:3
6 Revelation 5:6-8
God is Speaking…Will You listen?
…Blessed are those you hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near. — Revelation 1:3
Join together August 1-8, 2016 as we listen to God’s Word being read.
In the 8th month — August
For the first 8 days
For 8 hours — one hour per day
In these days of chaos and confusion, hopelessness and helplessness, what would happen if everyone hit life’s pause button and made time to listen to what God has to say? Let’s find out.
Catch the vision. Let’s ignite revival.
Partner with Anne Graham Lotz and Faith Comes by Hearing to saturate our nation and the world with God’s Word. Available in over 900 languages – online and on radio.
Click here to listen to Anne share about God Speaking.
Every day since she was a young girl, Anne Graham Lotz has been reading Daily Light, the life-changing devotional of Scripture compilations given to her by her mother, Ruth Bell Graham. Published originally in 1794 by Samuel Bagster, this is a revised leather-bound edition of the morning readings from the classic Daily Light. It includes Anne’s summary of that day’s Scripture, along with her thought-provoking questions and space for journaling.
Anne’s new book, based on Daniel’s prayer in Daniel 9, will help you pray effectively for your nation, for your family, and for yourself. Anne answers questions such as:
Walk with Anne and find out just how far your prayers can take you.
If you would like to receive AnGeL Ministries’ full newsletter by email or postal delivery, click here to sign up for our free resources!
One of the blessings of participating in the National Religious Broadcasters Convention was the joy of reconnecting with old friends. Keith and Kristyn Getty sang before and after I spoke, leading all of us into the presence of God through their very worshipful music.
From time to time a friend will ask, “Anne, how can I pray for you?” My answer is often: “Please pray for wisdom. Discernment. I have so many decisions to make I need God’s clear direction.” If a prayer request could be worn out from repetition, then my prayer for wisdom is tattered and shredded. Besides my constant prayer, “Help!” the request for wisdom is the one I repeat most often. I need discernment regarding people. Insight into the Scriptures. Understanding of issues and situations. The mind of Christ. God’s wisdom to even know how to pray. Apparently, Daniel did, too.
One of the striking aspects of the Daniel prayer is that it was answered while he was praying. It seems illustrated by an experience I had in childhood…
It was a high privilege to give the closing message at the National Religious Broadcasters Convention. I challenged those gathered to use their influence to get God’s people to pray like Daniel did—by their own example.
The first pair of binoculars I ever used belonged to my Daddy. They were very large, very heavy, and very black. He kept them in a big brown leather case, and I had to handle them carefully so as not to drop or damage them. I remember looking through them in order to be the first to spot the Indigo Bunting, a small bird that returned to our house every year. His appearance signaled the beginning of summer, and so it was much anticipated.
3 John 4 says, I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth. Unless it’s also to see my children imparting that truth to others. What an unspeakable blessing to share the platform with my daughter, Rachel-Ruth Wright, at the Calvary Chapel Women’s Leadership Conference in California. Her message based on Joshua 23 challenged those present to choose to be women of godly influence. Her life is a demonstration of her message.
He would make his presence known by the unique tune he sang while perched precariously on the very top of the maple tree below the rail fence in our front yard. He was so small that to my naked eye he looked like a black speck. When I first spotted him in the early summer, I would run get Daddy’s binoculars to verify the Indigo Bunting had returned.
However, when I first looked through the binoculars in his direction, everything would be blurred and out of focus: trees, leaves, mountains, sky, clouds all seemed to run together like a disoriented kaleidoscope. So holding the heavy binoculars as still as I could while adjusting the ring between the two eye-pieces, I would see him gradually come into sharp focus—a small, bright blue bird with black wings, swaying in the breeze on the top of the tree, heralding summer with his lilting tune.
Following the devotional I shared with the international staff of Trans World Radio, I was given the privilege of speaking to the “world” by way of their radio broadcast. How I praise God for their commitment to take the Gospel to the uttermost parts of the globe.
Sometimes my prayers remind me of those binoculars. Occasionally when I’ve begun to pray, my vision seems blurred. Fuzzy. As though my prayer is out of focus because I don’t know exactly what to pray for or how to pray. But like adjusting the focus on the binoculars while I looked through them, I’ve found that as I pray, my thoughts become clearer, my focus sharper, and my requests more specific.
Daniel seems to have experienced this while praying because he states that God gave him insight and understanding, “While I was speaking and praying, confessing my sin and the sin of my people…while I was still in prayer…” (Dan. 9:20-22). It’s encouraging to me to know I don’t have to know specifically how or what to pray in order to submit to my Father’s guiding whisper. Sometimes I’m intimidated to pray beyond the limits of what I can imagine or understand. But as I am praying, God can bring to my mind the thoughts and ideas that have eluded my own understanding.
What fun it is to attend a University of North Carolina Lady Tarheels basketball game. On this occasion I stood on the court along with the former NC governor, Beverly Purdue, and the University Chancellor, Carol Folt, as the Hall of Fame Coach, and beloved friend, Sylvia Hatchell, presented a large donation to the cancer fund named in honor of her former arch rival, NC State’s Coach Kay Yow.
Why is it that I think after I pray it’s my responsibility to do all I can to bring about the answer? Why do I take the battle into my own hands? Like a drowning person who tries to “help” the rescuer, I wonder how many times I have actually hindered God’s answer to my prayers. I find it encouraging to be reassured that I don’t have to know everything, understand everything, analyze everything before I pray for something.
This is true for all of us. We don’t have to have a clear comprehension of what the need is or what the solution should be. We don’t have to tell God how to “fix” things or even suggest what His course of action might be. We don’t have to solve the problem for Him. What a relief it is to know all we have to do is to get down on our knees and state the problem. The burden to resolve the situation is His, not yours and mine.
So…when I need insight and understanding, I get down on my knees.
For His glory,
1Adapted from Chapter One, The Daniel Prayer, Anne Graham Lotz, Zondervan Publishing, May 2016.
Release Date – May 10, 2016
Anne’s new book, based on Daniel’s prayer in Daniel 9, will help you pray effectively for your nation, for your family, and for yourself. Anne answers questions such as:
Walk with Anne and find out just how far your prayers can take you.
Pre-order your copy today through any online retailer and receive exclusive bonus gifts from Anne.
Please click here to learn more.
If you would like to receive AnGeL Ministries’ full newsletter by email or postal delivery, click here to sign up for our free resources!
Read Psalm 18:1-19
I. CENTER ON HIS PERSON Psalm 18:1-3
II. CRY OUT FOR HIS PITY Psalm 18:4-6
III. CONFIDENT OF HIS POWER Psalm 18:7-19
Would you adjust your focus when you pray by centering down on God’s person? Then cry out for His pity, confident of His power. Try it now…
This Bible study was prepared especially for the Spring 2016 Newsletter.
Read Daniel 9:20-23
This Bible study was prepared especially for the Winter 2016 Newsletter.
