I was looking over our prayer list yesterday, we have over 2,000 prayers that have been submitted and I’ll be honest with you—it can be heavy. We see names next to words like "cancer," "divorce," "financial crisis," or "addiction." When you look at that list, or even just turn on the news, it can feel like the whole world is shaking. It feels like the floor is moving underneath us, like trying to walk on a trampoline. It’s unstable. It’s scary.
But I have some incredible news for you today. While everything in the world might be shaking, we have a footing that is absolutely solid.
Look at what the author of Hebrews tells us in Hebrews 12:28-29. I love this. It says: Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our “God is a consuming fire.”
As we head into our prayer time today, we don’t pray from a place of heaviness. I think there are 3 things we can take from these verses into our prayer time.
We are praying from a platform of stability. Yes, governments shake. Economies shake. Our health can shake. But the Kingdom of God? It is immovable. It is granite. And because we belong to Jesus, that is where we stand. When we pray today, I want you to make a shift in your mindset. We aren’t praying from a place of panic; we are praying from a platform of stability.
We are praying from a place of grace. That word thankful is actually the word “charis” which is grace. So, "let us have grace." I love that phrasing. It doesn’t say "let us muster up some strength." It doesn't say "let us try harder." It says, let us have grace, a heart of thankfulness. Regardless of the situation, be thankful, full of grace. God has a supply ready for you. You don’t have to white-knuckle your way through this prayer time. You just need to reach into God’s reservoir and say, "Lord, I need Your grace to cover this situation."
We are praying from a position of assurance. Verse 29 says: "for our God is a consuming fire." Consuming fire? What does that mean? This is our assurance. Fire purifies. Fire consumes the garbage. Fire burns up the things that don't matter so that what does matter can shine. When we pray, we are inviting the Consuming Fire to burn away the sickness, to burn away the fear, and to fight the battles that we cannot fight on our own. We can pray from a place of assurance because Jesus took the fire for us so that we could stand secure in the Kingdom. Because He is our solid rock, we don't have to pray for victory; we get to pray from a position of victory!
So, take a moment to thank God for His stability. If you feel shaken personally, grab hold of His grace right now. Plant your feet solidly on our rock and pray from a place of thanksgiving and grace.
As you look at that prayer list you are praying through, visualize the "Consuming Fire" of God surrounding those situations—not to destroy the person, but to destroy the chains binding them.
Let’s pray from a platform of stability, place of grace, and a position of assurance.