Welcome to another Thursday UNFILTERED blog post, the only blog that believes kale is what happens when lettuce stops caring.
Before I share my prayer request, a few words about prayer requests. Ahem.
I’m a firm believer in what I call “the prayer of agreement.” Examples of this kind of prayer can be found in these texts:
Matthew 18:19 – “Assuredly I tell you, that if two of you will agree on earth concerning anything that they will ask, it will be done for them by my Father who is in heaven.”
Acts 4:23ff – “Being let go, they [the apostles] came to their own company, and reported all that the chief priests and the elders had said to them. When they heard it, they lifted up their voice to God with one accord … They were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness…
Acts 12:5, 12 – “Peter therefore was kept in the prison, but constant prayer was made by the assembly to God for him” … “[Peter, who was supernaturally released] came to the house of Mary, the mother of John whose surname was Mark, where many were gathered together and were praying.”
Personally, I only request prayer from others when it’s a serious situation or I feel unusually impressed to issue the request.
I don’t make a habit of it. The exceptions are asking my wife and some very close friends to pray with me over various things. The reason why I am reserved on making prayer requests is because I view the prayer of agreement as the “nuclear option.”
By contrast, many in the Christian family have turned the prayer request into a cheap Hallmark card: technically kind, functionally empty.
Somewhere along the way “pray for me” became the spiritual equivalent of a status update. “I stubbed my toe, pray for me; my flight got delayed, pray for me. I can’t find anything on Netflix tonight, pray for me; I can’t open this olive jar; pray for me.”
Okay, maybe not that cheap, but pretty close.
When everything is an emergency, nothing is. And the muscle that’s supposed to fire for a real crisis atrophies from overuse on the trivial.
The early church wasn’t praying like this over parking spots. They were praying with their backs against the wall. They prayed together for an apostle about to be executed, with the kind of urgency that shakes rooms.
If you ask for prayer about everything, don’t be surprised when people believe you about nothing. Or that they’ll end forgetting to pray for you five seconds after you asked.
That’s all prelude. If you’ve been reading my articles for any length of time, you probably can’t recall a time when I asked for prayer. (Though I deeply appreciate and need the ongoing prayers of the saints.)
I’m sure I have made a request, but it’s been rare. Today, I’m breaking custom and asking for your prayers.
This weekend I’ll be speaking to a fairly large audience of hungry Christians.
In the space of three days, I’ll be delivering five messages. That’s not counting dinner conversations and a Q&A session.
So it will be intense.
The messages I will be bringing are those I’ve never shared before. Anywhere. (Which is usually the case when I speak publicly.)
I expect them to be among the most powerful I’ve ever delivered (God willing).
My sense is that the weekend will be a watershed moment for many. So I’m feeling the weight of responsibility and burden.
Consequently, here is what I’d like your prayer agreement on:
*Complete protection for me and those who attend the gatherings in every respect.
*Divine frustration on the interference of the enemy on all levels. A spiritual hedge around us all.
*God’s blessing on my speaking — His power and anointing on all the talks.
*Open hearts and spirits of those who attend.
*Eyes opened and hearts ignited. That the listeners would be stunned by the glories of Christ.
*The forging of new relationships in the kingdom.
*Major breakthroughs from the messages and interactions.
*The Lord would give me stamina, enlighten my mind, and keep me from becoming exhausted or ill.
*That nothing will interfere with the recording equipment and the messages will be recorded with no issues.
And anything else you can think of or feel led to pray for.
God willing, the messages will be recorded and posted on the Christ is All podcast in the coming days.
The official meetings begin on Friday and they’ll go through Sunday afternoon.
Thank you!
In this together with you,
fv
Psalm 115:1
The Ghost That Cannot Touch You
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