Brothers,
I have been reading a book that Justin and Flora loaned me called "The Elijah Task", by John and Paula Sandford. It is actually 30 years old, but it is very good. Anyway, it talks about intercessory prayer and that it should be done more in the way of faith and less in a way that leaves questions.
For example, consider these two prayers,
1. "O God, please save my brother from tragedy."
2. "I praise You, Lord that you are entering in to save my brother from tragedy."
The Author states that the first prayer leaves the question, "I wonder if he will do it?" And if He does do it, the petitioner will have to wrestle with pride because he may think that he prevailed on God to move in his behalf, as though God didn't want to or had to be jarred into activity by prayer.
The author say's that this second prayer is in the way of faith, and for one to pray this type of prayer, "One must first ascertain the fresh, present will of the Father in the situation, and then describe what God is doing, affirming that He is the one who loves, not we."
I like this a lot, for we know that it is the Fathers Fresh and Present will to meet all of our needs, and it is His unchangeable love that transforms us, saves us, and heals us.
This second prayer also sounds to me to be in line with DR Ogilvie’s word about claiming that supernatural power.
I really enjoyed his final words that Dwayne has shared on the blog.
"Are you ready to move on?" Then (1) Claim your redemption. (2) Commit yourself anew to it. (3) Claim that supernatural power.
I know that many within CCF agree that we are eager to move on and that God's supernatural favor is at hand for us to do just that, so just to reconfirm what we have been saying for some time now, "our prayers should be with proclamations and decrees."
Blessings
Bobby