My War Room

"During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with fervent cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission."
       -Hebrews 5:7 (NIV)
 
" The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective."
      - James 5:16 (NIV)


 
 
 

War Room-  If you haven't seen it, go.  It is the best movie I have ever seen.  I wonder if God has been calling me to examine my prayer life in preparation for this time....a time when He is calling us to get serious with prayer, possibly ushered in by this movie. 

I really believe most of us have a prayer life that is superficial.  I know I have had.  In my last post I talked about lack of time...no time to devote to prayer or study because of all the other responsibilities and events we have going.  The director and co-writer of War Room, Alex Kendrick, stated in an article in Mature Living:

           "People have plans for everything in life; careers, finances, health.  But what about a strategy for prayer to affect our lives, our spouses, and our children.  We want to inspire, challenge, and motivate families to not just react but plan through the right kind of battles - and to use the best resources possible."

What about that?  Do we really believe prayer can change things?  Do we really believe it has power?  In the movie, we are shown the power of prayer in  a family's life.  But do we have personal examples?  I wonder if maybe we don't because of our inconsistent, anemic approach to prayer in our own lives.

I have to be honest here.  There are a few things I have been "praying" for about for many years. But when I examine this, I see it for what it really has been.  Praying about it in crisis, if and when I remember it at other times, and usually with a short phrase or two.  God is teaching me that real, fervent prayer is NOT a casual comment in  a hurried prayer.  It's much, much more.

When Stephen Kendrick, co-writer and producer of War Room, was working on this film, he was told about a woman named Molly Bruno who is a 'real life' Miss Clara.    Their relationship became quite meaningful during the production of this movie.  Kendrick said:

     "....It was refreshing to see her tenderly speak about her morning coffee with the Lord one minute and then to hear her cry out to God so boldly and specifically on our behalf the next.  Her prayer support became priceless to us throughout the production.  When we would stay up all night to film, Molly would stay up all night to pray.  God used her to confirm for us again that the message of 'War Room' is so needed and His amazing ability to answer our prayers is so here and now."

Staying up all night to pray?  When was the last time you did that?  Me neither.  And yet, Molly Bruno , at 91, has done it.  And I'll bet she's done it more than once.

I don't know that we can become mighty prayer warriors like Molly Bruno and Miss Clara overnight, but I know we must get headed in that direction.  One step at a time.  What's one thing you can do to get started?  Does it look like this? (copied from a photo on Priscilla Shirer's instagram)


If you've seen the movie, you'll get this....

I have one idea that is certainly not  rocket science, but it has worked very well for me the last few weeks.  Here's what I did.  My son and daughter in law gave me a journal for my birthday.  I used paper clips to secure sections for every member of my family, as well as sections for other prayer concerns.  Looks like this:



Then I thought about one word that I would pray for each particular person.  In one case I chose 'strength', then wrote this verse on her page:

By underlining the "focus" word, it has helped me to remember the verse and the prayer for that particular person.  I certainly don't get to every prayer page every day, but this has totally changed my prayer life.  For the first time, I feel like I am REALLY PRAYING for my family and other prayer concerns.

What can you do to get started, or change what you already do to enhance your prayer time?  If EVER there was a time God's people need to pray it is now!  My War Room is that portable journal.....what's yours?

Comments

  1. Marie ArmeniaJanuary 4, 2016 at 5:24 PM

    My mom, Molly Bruno, would have been so surprised to see her name popping up in blogs like yours ...and...all over the world. She loved Jesus. That's why she prayed. Thanks for mentioning my mom. Blessings, Marie Armenia www.mariearmenia.com

    ReplyDelete

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