Earth Shaking Prayer

Which attribute of God is your favorite or which one are you holding on to today, and why?

That was the question I posed to my fellow church elders one morning as we met for prayer.  We went around the room and shared what attribute was either a favorite to remember or one that was a necessity to meditate on during this particular season of our lives.

One said God’s faithfulness was a buoy during the past year.  Another said God’s sovereignty kept him sane during a time of uncertainty.  Another said that God’s holiness kept him fearing the Lord.

What attribute of God is your favorite or which one are you holding on to today, and why?

 

Perhaps you marvel at the eternity of God or the self-existence of God.  Maybe God’s omnipotent power or omnipresence causes you to worship.  Could it be that God’s justice and mercy gives you hope?  Maybe God’s love and goodness gives you rest.

Whatever it is that blows you away I want you to think about it now.

The first line of A. W. Tozer’s classic book The Knowledge of the Holy says this, “What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.”

I believe that to be a true statement.  We are all theologians in a way.  We all think about God in some way, shape or form and that molds us greatly.  In fact, our thoughts about God may even change regarding our circumstances.  Not that we necessarily believe different things but the favorite attribute of God may change depending upon what our greatest desire or need may be at the time.

The attribute that I shared this morning was God’s infinitude.  As Tozer puts it, God’s infinitude means: “When we say that God is infinite we mean that He knows no bounds.  Whatever God is and all that God is, He is without limit.”

God’ infinitude is such great news to me.  This attribute speaks so much to me because it means that whatever other attribute I need from God is available to God at no limit.  God has the power to be infinitely good and gracious and merciful and sovereign and faithful.  At no point does the bank account of any of His attributes read bankrupt.  God is infinitely all that He is.

So, whatever attribute you thought of before exists immeasurably and this should affect our prayers.

Think again about that attribute of God that you desperately need or that you deeply are in love with right now.  This is a great tool in prayer. 

In Acts chapter four the Apostles Peter and John were arrested.  They were arrested and from this point on in the book of Acts we see persecution of the church.  When the believers got together following Peter and John’s release from jail, they realized that more persecution was coming and they prayed to God.

“’Sovereign Lord,’ they said, ‘you made the heavens and the earth and the sea, and everything in them.  You spoke by the Holy Spirit through the mouth of your servant, our father David: ‘Why do the nations rageand the peoples plot in vain?The kings of the earth take their standand the rulers gather togetheragainst the Lordand against His Anointed One.’ Indeed Herod and Pontius Pilate met together with the Gentiles and the people of Israel in this city to conspire against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed.  They did what your power and will had decided beforehand should happen.  Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness.  Stretch out your hand to heal and perform miraculous signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus.” Acts 4:25b-30 NIV

Notice what shaped the believers’ prayer.  The leaders of their area had arrested Peter and John and persecution was about to heat up from those sovereign in their land; so, God’s sovereignty was likely His attribute on their minds.  They called Him Sovereign Lord and then meditated on His sovereignty in the Scriptures in generality and specifics and thought about what they’d seen God sovereignly do in their lifetime.

This focus on the attribute of God they needed most and likely loved most helped make the supplication part of their prayer truly incredible.  The believers asked for boldness to speak the truth and signs and wonders to reinforce their words.  Please notice what they didn’t ask for: protection from persecution!  The believers’ focus on God’s sovereignty enabled them to have such trust in God’s ways and His plan that they only asked for tools to do His will in His sovereign plan.  This, friends, is remarkable and is only possible through right thinking about the attribute of God they most needed.

Which attribute of God is your favorite or which one are you holding on to today, and why?

Use that attribute in your next prayer.  Call Him “Loving Father” or Good God” or Merciful Savior” “God of Justice” or “Faithful Lord.”  Direct your prayer to Him using your favorite moniker.  Then recite Scripture about this attribute.  Rehearse ways you’ve seen this attribute at work in your life.  Then let the meditation and proclamation of His attribute make your next prayer time simply amazing and rich. 

I’m not trying to tell you that this is the one true way to pray.  There are many types of prayers in the Bible that God loves to hear us pray, but this is one that I encourage you to try today because it is one modeled well by the believers in Acts chapter four and one that God approved of greatly that very day.

“After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken.  And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.” Acts 4:31 NIV

 Pray an earth shaking prayer today.