As 2010 has come to an end, we celebrate another year that God has given us. Some of us struggled a great deal in 2010. We lost jobs, homes, cars, savings and 401k accounts. Because of these losses, we have become sad, depressed and faithless. Even as Christians, we may have stopped praying to God because we think he has betrayed us. But God has never left us or betrayed us, because he loves us unconditionally. God also asks us to pray without ceasing, which means we should be in constant communication with Him - in good times and bad. We may not understand why these things are happening, but now that 2011 is here, what should we be praying for in the coming year?
1. Pray for wisdom. In the book of 1 Kings 3:9-15, Solomon was David's son, who was a man of God's own heart. When Solomon became king, God was pleased because he built a temple for him and continued to follow his laws. God came to Solomon in a dream and told him to ask for whatever he wanted. Instead of Solomon asking for riches and honor, he asked for a discerning heart to govern his people and to distinguish between right and wrong. God was so pleased with Solomon's request, that he granted him great wisdom, as well as riches and honor, even though he didn't ask for it. Solomon's story gives us a great example of wisdom, because we need to recognize what's right and wrong in our lives. And by doing so, when we are doing wrong, we can pray to God to get our lives back on track. God can also give us wisdom when reading his word. Once we receive wisdom, we receive understanding. When Jesus came to save us, he gave us the knowledge of truth. And that truth can only come from believing in the Son of God. Psalm 119:97-100 says, "Oh, how I love your law! I meditate on it all day long. Your commands make me wiser than my enemies, for they are ever with me. I have more insight than all my teachers, for I meditate on your statutes. I have more understanding than the elders, for I obey your precepts." When we read God's word and follow his law, we will have better insight in our lives and our families lives as well.
2. Pray to overcome demonic barriers. Satan is a very powerful spirit. He was created as the most beautiful angel of them all. He was so beautiful and full of himself, that he wanted to be God. And he convinced other angels to follow him and become his demons. We all know that God cast him and his demons out of heaven and gave him permission to roam this world. And because of this, he seeks to devour God's people. Satan is busy doing his evil deeds, everyday - all day. He's even using these hard, economic times to continue to do so. His goal is to convince us that we need the material possessions that we have and wants us to destroy ourselves and others if we lose them. But Satan is a liar and the biggest manipulator! Ephesians 6:10-18 says, "Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
or strength to overcome temptation. We all should know the story of Adam and Eve being tempted in the Garden of Eden. In Genesis 3:1-6, Satan persuaded Eve to eat fruit from the tree of knowledge so she and Adam would be like God, knowing good and evil and gaining wisdom. After this act of great temptation, sin entered the world. Jesus said to his disciples in Luke 17:1 that, "Things that cause people to sin are bound to come, but woe to that person through whom they come." Jesus lets us know that we are going to be tempted, but to be careful and not tempt others to follow us and sin as well. We are to also be careful in being tempted away from God. By worshipping idols, such as: money, cars, houses, jobs, people, etc, these things can pull us away from God and focus all of our attentions on seeking these worldly possessions. God already promised us that he would take care of our needs, so if we put Him first in our lives, these things we will have. Another big temptation we as humans face are temptations of the flesh and/or adultery. God warns us against this, because it can or will destroy families.
4. Pray to strengthen others spiritually. We all go through trials and tribulations. Some are worse than others. When bad times happen, we should build on our faith in God who strengthens us even more. In order for us to give strength spiritually to others, we must have strength ourselves.
5.Pray God's will to be done on earth. As stated before, Satan's job is for us to do his will, not God's. But his will also seeks to destroy us.
