ICS Daily Devotions
Pray Onsite with Insight
1 Timothy 2:1-2 (NKJV) Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence.
Prayer and intercession can be hard work because they require time and effort, but prayer shouldn’t just be centred around our own needs. God is challenging us to pray for something greater than ourselves, because revival in the family, church, city, and country cannot happen apart from prayer.
Prayer and intercession move the hand of God and allow Him to intervene in a situation. Our prayers are heard, and things are set in motion in the spiritual realm the moment that we pray. As God and His angels respond to our prayers, changes in the natural realm will follow. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful.
Prayer walking is praying onsite with insight. We should take time to visit those important sites and buildings when the Lord exhorts us to pray for people in authority and for all men. The intention of prayer walking is to pray at the very places where we expect God to bring answers to our prayers, by allowing sights, sounds, and smells to open our minds and hearts to the spiritual conditions and needs of those we are praying for. These places can be schools, hospitals, government buildings, or the neighbourhood. We are praying intentionally rather than reactively, with a focus to take new ground rather than defending old ground. These intercessory prayers are to bring others “closer to God”, rather than ourselves.
Because we are partnering the Holy Spirit, we should ask God to show us what or who to pray for, be alert and watchful, and listen to Him. We are also to be discrete without bringing attention to ourselves by praying silently or whispering as if having a conversation. Take mental notes and ask God to bring to your minds specific Scriptures and prayers for the people you see.
Our best insight may be our eyesight, as the saying goes that “the moved heart always follows the seeing eye.” We become more compassionate during prayer walking as the Holy Spirit’s emotion rises up within us and moves us to pray according to what we see and sense. We also pray with revealed insight, as we pray according to the Word of God, via the Spirit of God. We seek to “see” what God might see, such as the lostness of men, lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, pride, and we are attentive to “hear” what God might say. We also pray with researched insight, fuelled by facts of the present-hour condition of people, and anticipating the fire, which is the soon-to-come glory of God.
Sermon Series: A Quiet and Peaceable Life
