crafted prayer

Book TwoBeing with God series

Crafted PrayerThe joy of always

getting your prayers answered

Graham Cooke

Future Training Institute E-Books

Cra ed PrayerCopyright 2003 Graham CookeAll rights reserved. Please use this e-book for personal use only.

Requests for information should be addressed to:Future Training Institute6391 Leisure Town RdVacaville, CAUSA 95687Website: h p://www.grahamcooke.comE-mail: [email protected]

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken fromThe Holy Bible, New King James Version. Copyright 1979, 1980, 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.

Buy the print version of Cra ed Prayer at: h p://www.grahamcooke.com

ISBN 1 85240 358 6

Graham Cooke is a speaker and author who lives in Vacaville, Califor-nia where he is part of the leadership team at The Mission. Graham has been involved in ministry since 1974 and is a popular conference speaker. He also acts as a consultant to churches going through a period of transition to the next level of their corporate call. He is responsible for a series of training events involving intimacy, warfare, leadership development and the internationally acclaimed School of Prophecy.

dedication

There is only one Person I can dedicate this book to –the Holy Spirit. I am constantly amazed at Hiswisdom, revelation, and power in my life. I love Hisdedication to, and His passion for, the Lord JesusChrist. The way He reveals the Son to me has changedmy life. His physical, emotional, mental, and spiritualrepresentation of the Father to me has continuouslymade me more excited and in awe of the great love ofGod for me.

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introduction

The time has come for a new way of prayer.Paradoxically, this new method is actually an ancientway of prayer, one in which God’s faithful servantslike David and Paul flourished. I call it crafted prayer,and this journal will teach you how to make it a partof your life. The miracles I have seen as a result ofcrafted prayer are too numerous for me to record.There is such a joy in being able to pray exactly whatGod wills for a person, and seeing His answer unfoldbefore your very eyes. This type of prayer cantransform Christians from living in a persistent widowmindset (Luke 18:1–8) into living in joyous, bride-likeintercession. Allow me to explain.

I believe God is taking many into a new season ofintimate, bride-like prayer. Real warfare in theKingdom of God is always concerned with the battlefor intimacy. This is a time to come off the battlefieldand enter a new place of intimate petition. Too manyintercessors have become exhausted and too burnedout to continue praying the way the Church has been

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advocating. As we learn to become conformed to Godand His nature, and be transformed in our minds andpersonalities, He will teach us to look beyond thenatural into the supernatural realm and see theKingdom of Heaven at work in every need. It will nolonger matter what life, people, or even the enemythrow at us, because we will be able to hear theconversation in Heaven and understand that God is atwork all around us.

I believe God is raising up an army of Esthers, anarmy of bridal intercessors, and it is a time to comeoff the wall and rest in the throne room presence ofGod – in our secret place in Him. It will be difficult forsome people to come out of ministry and move intothe discipline of resting in God, but the discipline ofrest must be entered; it is a time of laying downministry to gain fresh intimacy.

Don’t pray with importunity, like the widow beforethe unjust judge in Luke 18, but pray with delight andfavor. Don’t pray against the enemy, but let yourdelighted prayers cause the King to stir Himself andcome down. God’s anointing will cause you tointercede with joy so that His glory will fill the earth.What is the glory of God? In Exodus 33:18–19, whenMoses asked God to show His glory, God said Hewould cause His goodness to pass before him. One ofthe glories of God, therefore, is that He is good!

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As bridal intercessors, it will be our joy and delightto pray for the goodness of God to come down so thatthe Church can learn that we really do overcome evilwith good. The Holy Spirit will give us a new strategyfor prayer and perseverance; one that contains delightand laughter, and is full of ardent and passionate love,bathed in fresh worship, and birthed out of a deeperintimacy. I believe crafted prayer is part of this shift.

As we come and petition the Lord out of this placeof closeness, He will be pleased to speak into ourhearts His favor and blessing. Not only will ourprayers move His heart and hands, but the words wereceive from Him will be like a balm of Gilead acrossthe nations, and churches will rise up in fresh favor.The attention of the Church will be taken off theenemy and put on the King of kings.

Let us pray that a revelation of the Lord’s love forus would fill our hearts, that we may come into awhole new place of spirituality, a whole new place ofwalking with Him, where we will be convinced thatGod loves us, cares for us and is for us – and that Hewants us to succeed. Amen!

Graham CookeFebruary 2003

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crafted prayer

‘‘And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, youwill receive,’’ Jesus preached in Matthew 21:22. Why,then, do we seemingly receive so few answers toprayer today? Was Jesus lying to us? Of course not!The issue, then, must be our own – we must notbelieve what we are praying. Prayer, as it is taughttoday in most churches, doesn’t work. Most of us havebeen brought up in a tradition that when somethingbad happens, prayer must begin immediately. Thisseems reasonable and even righteous, but on a deeperlevel, it actually hinders the power of God to work onour behalf. In my experience in churches andfriendships, I have seen that when we pray too soon,we usually pray in unbelief. We find ourselves prayingout of the shock or trauma of the situation itself, andwe pray out of our panic, our worry, our anxiety, andour concern.

For example, a church member is diagnosed with aserious illness. Immediately, our compassion rises up

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and we burst into prayer. We use a shotgun approach,spraying heaven with every imaginable request. ‘‘Well,Father, I pray this,’’ we start. Then another thoughtenters into our mind, so we switch tracks: ‘‘Oh, Father,I pray that.’’ Doubt attacks us and our prayer shiftsagain. ‘‘Well, Lord, if it be Your will, I pray this,’’ and‘‘Father, I pray that you might want to think aboutdoing this.’’ Our love for the person involved promptsus to remind God of how valuable he or she is to Him:‘‘Well, Lord, you know he is a faithful servant.’’ Godnow has to sift through a blizzard of prayer thrown upwithin a few minutes, a storm further thickened ifthere is more than one intercessor. You can forgiveGod for sitting there and thinking, ‘‘What is this?Multiple choice?’’

Sadly, our prayers have stopped being about theperson in need, and have become oureffort to try and find God. We haveforgotten to pray what God actuallywants to do, and have begun our ownsearch for Him. We shouldn’t be usingprayer to find God; that’s whatthanksgiving is for. The Bible is clear:it’s not with prayer that we enter His

gates, it’s with thanksgiving.‘‘Rejoice always,’’ Paul wrote in 1 Thessalonians

5:16–18, ‘‘pray without ceasing, in everything give

‘‘Don’t pray to escape trouble.Don’t pray to be comfortablein your emotions. Pray to do

the will of God in everysituation. Nothing else is

worth praying for.’’Samuel M. Shoemaker

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thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus foryou.’’ Prayer, in the initial stage, is not aboutspeaking. It’s about listening and reading. It’s aboutthanking God because, of the billions of people whowalk the earth, Christians are supposed to be the mostrelaxed and the most grateful. We are called to be theDisneyland of faiths – the happiest people on earth.Even on the toughest days, the joy of the Lord is aforce of strength for us. If we are filled with thefullness of God, we behave in ways unlike the worldaround us. There is no place for worry or panic in aChristian’s life. Faith and anxiety cannot exist in thesame space at the same time. One of them has to go,and you have the power to choose which.

We must come before God with thanksgiving, butHe is not asking us to become a supernaturalmasochist: ‘‘Oh, I thank thee Lord, that I hath crashedmy car.’’ No! What we’re thanking God for is thereality of His presence. ‘‘I will never leave you orforsake you,’’ God promised.

thanksgiving

We can thank God first, in every situation, becauseevery problem we encounter comes with His provisionattached to it. God has a plan and a purpose for us; Hesays that everything works together for those who

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love Him. That promise is a deep well of provision forus. Whatever calamity life throws at us, God can use itfor our blessing and our benefit. ‘‘And we know thatall things work together for good to those who loveGod, to those who are the called according to Hispurpose,’’ Paul wrote in Romans 8:28. It is thatattribute of God’s nature that makes it so critical forus to come to a place of thanksgiving. By entering Hispresence in the midst of our problem, He can act onour behalf. Our heart may be all over the place, butthere is a central place of truth where we gather – inthe goodness of God.

‘‘Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving;Let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms,’’ David

sang in Psalm 95:2. At all times, weneed to rejoice, praying somethinglike this: ‘‘Thank You that You arewith me in this. I don’t know howYou’re going to work it out, but Iknow that You’re with me because You

said You would be, and that’s enough for me. I don’thave to feel Your presence, Your word is enough.Thank You.’’

Gratitude is the bedrock of our life and worship.Often we fail to worship during the week, thinkingSundays or conferences are our times to worship. Butworship is a part of every day life. When we come

‘‘Sometimes we make praisea prisoner to our emotions

rather than a way ofreleasing our inner self

to God.’’

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before God, we must be thankful. We need to practicebeing grateful a lot more than we do. What areChristians supposed to sound like on the earth? Ourvoices should be heard, at all times, worshiping God.If our worship is built on a foundation ofthankfulness, we must have a vision and a passion tobe grateful. We also need a plan, for vision withoutstrategy is just wishful thinking. Weneed to plan to enter God’s presencewith our thanksgiving, not our prayer.‘‘Thank You Lord. I don’t know howYou’re going to work this thing out butI know You will. I praise You. Iworship You.’’ And once we’ve come into Hispresence, we need to be still and listen to the heartof God.

stillness

Being still opens a channel of communication betweenus and Heaven. All of us have a backgroundconversation going on in our minds. Head noise, asmy friend, the British psychologist, Jim McNeish callsit, is an internal voice, a soundtrack for our lives. It’ssimilar to a special feature on a DVD: an ongoing,one-way, stream of consciousness conversation,commenting on our life as it unfolds. Stillness is not

‘‘It is in the processof being worshipped that

God communicates Hispresence to men.’’

C.S. Lewis

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about getting somewhere quiet, although that oftenhelps, but about stilling that voice in your head. Ittakes discipline to quiet that voice, but you must do it.And you can do it, because God is with you.

It is this initial head noise that we convert into‘‘prayers’’ when we rush too quickly into intercession.Because we have not stilled ourselves, we pray in ourown strength, and we come to God’s door under theweight and panic of the circumstances facing us. Wespeak often and are rarely still – in fact, we are thecomplete opposite of God.

God is always still and He rarely speaks. So there isa difference between the Lord speaking in us, and theLord speaking to us. When we say, ‘‘Oh, God spoke tome,’’ what has normally happened is that out of thestorehouse of words, thoughts, meditations,conversations, and Scripture we carry in our spirit,God has selected something previously said to youand brought it back into your consciousness. Like acomputer user loading a file, God pulls up the treasureHe has already saved in us. ‘‘Oh yeah,’’ we think.‘‘That makes sense. That’s the Lord speaking.’’ Godpunctuates His silence with words, and when Godspeaks, it’s an event. When He speaks to you,something is imparted. His presence is profound. Hespoke once, and the whole earth was created. WhenGod speaks, something happens, something is shaken,

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something is created and produced. When the Lordspeaks to us, there is always a dynamic residue of Hispresence which remains with us – it is a signaturemoment!

In Psalm 46:10, God told David, ‘‘Be still, and knowthat I am God.’’ It was a word that brought a profoundsense of the presence of God to David in what weredifficult circumstances. It’s interesting that Psalm 46began with an earthquake and finished with ‘‘Be still.’’Only God can talk about stillness in the midst of anearthquake. When the whole landscape of your life isshifting beneath your feet, only God can say, ‘‘Be still,and know that I am God.’’

Knowledge of God comes through peace andstillness. God wants to send us into battle, but if wedon’t find stillness beforehand, how will we ever findpeace in the fight? Rest is our best weapon against theenemy, because rest allows us to hide in our secretplace in God. The devil hates you with a malevolenceand malignancy that is unimaginable,but he’s not stupid: he won’t chase youinto the holy of holies – the verypresence of God – because he knowswho he’s going to meet there. We needto learn how to use God as our refuge,as our fortress, as our high place, as our secret placewhere the enemy cannot touch us. If the enemy

‘‘Peace is the potting soilof revelation.’’

John Paul Jackson

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cannot find you, he cannot hurt you. God hasprovided a secret place in Him for you.

I once had a dream about secret places. It was oneof those dreams that seemed to last for days. I wasbeing chased through what looked like the Africanbush by a band of thirty vile and evil warriors. Ifyou’ve seen The Lord of the Rings, they looked a bitlike those evil Orcs. I’m running, with my sword in myhand, up hills, down into valleys, through rivers,across meadows, even through a desert, and these Orcsare constantly chasing me, yapping like dogs. I’mexhausted, at the limit of my strength. I began to scanthe land ahead for a place to fight and make a last,desperate stand.

In the distance, I saw something shimmering so Iran towards it. It looked like a shower rail, suspendedby itself and covered with this thin, almosttransparent, material. I just had the oddest impulse tostand inside it. I don’t why I did it; when I got into it,I could see right through it and could see the enemygetting closer and closer. I reached for my sword andI heard a voice: ‘‘Be still.’’ I put my sword back. TheOrcs got closer, and my hand again twitched towardthe sword. ‘‘Be still,’’ the voice said, chuckling. ‘‘Bestill.’’ My panic subsided until I heard them just aquarter of a mile away. I moved for my sword again.‘‘Grae,’’ the voice chuckled, ‘‘be still.’’

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So I put my hands by my side and waited, hearthammering in my chest. The enemy broke throughinto the clearing and came at me, and I braced myselffor death. Suddenly, I felt arms wrap around me andGod’s voice whisper in my ear: ‘‘It’s okay. Be still.’’They came right at me, and then, unbelievably,inexplicably, they parted and flowed around me, like ariver around an island. It was like they had never evenseen me. I turned around and watched as they ran intothe distance. ‘‘What was all that about?’’ I asked. Andall I heard in my heart was, ‘‘Grae, when you’re inyour secret place, there’s nothing from the enemy thatcan actually touch you. He doesn’t even know how tolocate you. He can run right at you and not even seeyou.’’ Our secret place is like a Star Trek cloakingdevice; it renders us invisible to the enemy’s sensorsand attacks. I woke up from that dream and Imeditated on it for days. I’m never going to beanxious again, I thought, I’m just going to step intothat secret place and learn to live there, even if itkills me.

You have to lose your ability to panic if you’regoing to walk with God. You have to lose your abilityto worry and be anxious if you’re going to walk withGod. There is a secret place set aside for each one ofus. God is love and in His love He has set aside a placewhere you can live in Him no matter what. He loves to

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teach people where that place is, because when Hischildren get into their secret place, they can fullyenjoy life. It doesn’t matter what comes against them– they rise to the challenge. Without stillness, ourexperience of God is limited. Stillness is the precursorto rest in the Lord; a spiritual discipline drawing usinto a continual experience of His presence. It is thisrest, this stillness, this secret place of God, whichreleases unbroken communion with Him; it releaseswhat the Bible calls unceasing prayer.

how to get answers

Before we pray, we need to meditate. Prayer, in itssimplest form, is finding out what God wants to doand then asking Him to do it. One of the best ways toget a fix on God’s heart for us is to read His Scripture.John wrote in 1 John 5:14–15,

‘‘Now this is the confidence that we have in Him,that if we ask anything according to His will,He hears us. And if we know that He hears us,whatever we ask, we know that we have thepetitions that we have asked of Him.’’

To see your prayers answered, enter God’s presencewith thanksgiving and worship. Then rest in your

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secret place, and meditate on His Scripture and wordsto you. Ask the Lord this question: ‘‘What is it thatYou want to do in these circumstances?’’ Then listenand wait until the Lord answers and directs you howto pray.

We find this principle in Romans 8:26–39:

‘‘Likewise the Spirit also helps in ourweaknesses. For we do not know what we shouldpray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himselfmakes intercession for us with groanings whichcannot be uttered. Now He who searches thehearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is,because He makes intercession for the saintsaccording to the will of God.

And we know that all things work together forgood to those who love God, to those who are thecalled according to His purpose. For whom Heforeknew, He also predestined to be conformed tothe image of His Son, that He might be thefirstborn among many brethren. Moreover whomHe predestined, these He also called; whom Hecalled, these He also justified; and whom Hejustified, these He also glorified.

What then shall we say to these things? If Godis for us, who can be against us? He who did notspare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us

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all, how shall He not with Him also freely give usall things? Who shall bring a charge againstGod’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is hewho condemns? It is Christ who died, andfurthermore is also risen, who is even at theright hand of God, who also makes intercessionfor us. Who shall separate us from the love ofChrist? Shall tribulation, or distress, orpersecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril,or sword? As it is written: ‘For Your sake we arekilled all day long; we are accounted as sheepfor the slaughter.’

Yet in all these things we are more thanconquerors through Him who loved us. For I ampersuaded that neither death nor life, nor angelsnor principalities nor powers, nor things presentnor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor anyother created thing, shall be able to separate usfrom the love of God which is in Christ Jesus ourLord.’’

The Holy Spirit helps us to pray in our weaknessyet, traditionally, we haven’t been very concernedwith what He is praying. Suppose I said to you, ‘‘TheLord has given me a really brilliant prophetic wordfor you,’’ and then I turned around and left theroom. In all likelihood, you would chase me: ‘‘What?

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What’s the word?’’ Of course you would want to knowthe word, it’s human nature.

If I was to say to you that, right now, the HolySpirit is interceding for you accordingto God’s will, what would yourquestion be? ‘‘What’s He praying?’’ ofcourse. And if I added, ‘‘By the way,Jesus is at the right hand of the Fatherright now, and He’s praying for you,too,’’ you would ask, ‘‘What’s He praying?’’ and‘‘Do He and the Holy Spirit agree?’’

Paul’s words are powerful: ‘‘For we do not knowwhat we should pray for as we ought, but the SpiritHimself makes intercession for us.’’ The Father says tothe Holy Spirit, ‘‘This is what I want for Graham. AskMe to do it.’’ So He prays for me in the will of God,while I knock about the earth, not sure of how to prayfor myself. Who is my friend at this point in time?Who is my tutor? Who is my comforter? What’s Hisname? The Holy Spirit! Only He can help me with myweakness in prayer.

Now that you know you have a Person dedicated toimproving your prayer life, don’t you want to workwith Him? The Spirit helps us to pray by revealing thewill of God. When we pray in line with what the HolySpirit is doing, what are we doing? We are notpraying, trying to find an answer, but praying with

‘‘Prayer is finding out whatGod wants to do and asking

Him to do it!’’

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the answer. For too long, we have been satisfied to useprayer to try and find God. That is not what prayer isfor. Prayer is asking God to do the very thing He’stelling you He wants to do. It comes with a confidencein our heart that because we’ve heard the will of God,we know we’re praying what He wants, and that Hewill answer.

I have seen this power work, first-hand, time aftertime. One example hits especially close to home forme, as it involved a friend of mine. David (not his realname) was a missionary in Africa, when the Lordshowed me, in prayer, what David would go throughin the next season of his life. The regime David wasliving under (which I cannot divulge for securityreasons) was actually opposed to missionaries; it sawthem as servants of western imperialism.

The Lord indicated that David would be attackedphysically and beaten. His car would be stolen, hischurch and medical clinic ransacked, and his familyand congregation threatened. However, in all of this,if David stood his ground in peace and refused to seethe people as enemies, then the Lord would give himfavor with God and man through a particularopportunity to minister powerfully in the supernatural(something David was not noted for in his ministry!).That supernatural event would open doors that werecurrently unimaginable.

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I had no freedom to prophesy these things toDavid; only permission to intercede for him. There aretimes in the prophetic ministry when words we receivefor others must stay in the throne room. In thisinstance, they are more powerful when converted intocrafted prayer and spoken to the Father than when putinto prophetic language and ministered to humanbeings.

I crafted a prayer for David and interceded beforethe Lord until the burden lifted. Wemust learn to pray until God says,‘‘Enough!’’ Sometimes they are P.U.S.H.prayers where we Pray UntilSomething Happens. At other times, wepray until God tells us to stop or untilwe have an assurance that He has heard and will act.

The end result of this particular scenario was thatDavid found favor with the Lord. One of his leadingopponents, a formidable adversary, had a first-bornson who was diagnosed with a serious disease. Nomedical help was available. Without this vitaltreatment, a painful death would be the end result.During a period of awful oppressive activity againstthe mission, David was summoned to face his greatrival. During an intense interrogation, David feltcompelled (his own words) to offer to pray for the sonof his antagonist.

‘‘Submission to God’s willis the softest pillowon which to rest.’’

Unknown

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Needless to say, the boy was healed, the missionwas saved, and David is now being resourced by hiserstwhile opponent!

The change in David has been remarkable.Through these circumstances, God has fashioned aman of courage, conviction, humility, and power.

He has moved into a level ofsupernatural gifting that has resultedin an evangelistic breakthrough forthe work. Although still living at thewhim of this despotic character (whohas not changed!), David is tolerated

and even encouraged in his ministry to that peoplegroup.

All of the things I felt prompted to pray for in thiscircumstance have happened. Out of oppression andadversity, God has produced a work that cannot bedenied or stopped!

When I shared my initial perceptions and mycrafted prayers with David, it was more powerful tohim than an actual prophetic word. If I had told himsooner, he would have become fearful and distressed;he simply would not have endured the struggle. Hisfear, especially for his family, would have dominatedhis faith.

There are precedents in Scripture for this type ofsituation. Consider Acts 20:22–23:

‘‘God allows in His wisdomwhat He could easily prevent

by His power.’’

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‘‘And see, now I go bound in the spirit toJerusalem, not knowing the things that willhappen to me there, except that the Holy Spirittestifies in every city, saying that chains andtribulations await me.’’

On one hand, the Lord revealed and confirmed toPaul the dangers awaiting him. On the other, he hasno clue about what the end result would be.Interestingly enough, no one feltcompelled to exercise authority overthe situation. Paul, however, knows thewill of God for his time in Jerusalemand presumably can craft prayers thatwill align himself with God’s greaterpurpose. He definitely knew that the peace of God,which passes all understanding, would preventanxiety and guard his heart (Philippians 4:6–7).

heavenly dialogue

The other scriptural insight that is compatible withthis type of situation is found in Luke 22:31–32:

‘‘And the Lord said, ‘Simon, Simon! Indeed,Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you aswheat. But I have prayed for you, that your faith

‘‘ . . . key ministries do notrescue God’s people from

legitimate struggle.’’

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should not fail; and when you have returned toMe, strengthen your brethren.’ ’’

Jesus could have simply taken authority over theenemy and prevented the situation from actuallyhappening. However, He recognized that it wasimportant for Simon Peter to struggle through to adeeper place of faith and relationship. Simon had todiscover something profound about himself and alsothe love of God for him.

God wants us to know what He is praying. Jesuswent to Simon Peter and explained that Satan wantedto sift the disciple like wheat. ‘‘But I have prayed foryou,’’ Jesus said. In what might have been the mostsignificant moment of Peter’s life, Jesus told him whatHe was praying for: ‘‘That your faith should not fail;and when you have returned to Me, strengthen yourbrethren.’’ Peter got to live, be significant, and knowthat this attack of the enemy wasn’t going to stop him.In fact, it was going to make him strong enough to bea help to his brothers. Satan wanted to beat him, but,in Heaven, there was a different plan and conversationunfolding.

The Western Church, in my belief, has a flawedunderstanding of the Trinity. We picture a large figureof authority (the Father), a medium figure of grace(Jesus) and a bird (the Holy Spirit)! Inadvertently, we

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downgrade the Holy Spirit’s power in our life – whatcan a bird do, after all?

I greatly prefer the Eastern Church’s view of theTrinity: three equals, sitting at a round table, talking.If Jesus is sitting at the right hand of the Father,interceding, and the Holy Spirit is there, prayingaccording to the will of God, then there must be aconversation amongst the Three going on. Don’t youwonder what they are saying about you in any givensituation? What’s the conversation inHeaven over your life right now? Byexploring and seeking out thisheavenly dialogue, we can learn whatGod’s will is for a situation and, byextension, what we should be praying.

By seeking the conversation in Heaven forourselves, we embark on a great spiritual adventure,where we are conformed to the will of God. It’s afascinating way to live, because it allows us to riseabove our circumstances and pray in line with a Godwho adores us, and wants us to be supremelyconfident in doing His will. He wants us to find joy inour situation, and to understand that there’s nothingout there that can beat us, because of who He is in us.By listening in to the conversation in Heaven, welearn that a single situation can have massiverepercussions on a number of people. Isaiah listened

‘‘There will be no peace aslong as God remains unseated

at the conference table.’’Unknown

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to the conversation in Heaven and discovered thewill of God for himself (see Isaiah 6). We become aprophetic voice in that circle, proclaiming anddeclaring God’s will, and praying it out. ‘‘What elseare You up to?’’ we ask God. ‘‘I know You . . . Youcan’t just do one thing!’’ God is always doing fifteenor twenty things around our lives, and by seekingout His will before we pray, He shows us Hisworks-in-progress.

Amazingly, we will find that God is working in themost unlikely people and the most difficult situations.As we prove ourselves faithful in the little prayers andissues, God gives us greater favor to pray out His will.We look at Uncle Cedric or Aunt Jean and God givesus a prayer for them – not just for the single issuethey’re facing, but a complete, whole prayer.Suddenly, our prayer lives are electric with excitementand we can’t drag ourselves away from intercession!

‘‘You need to rejoice, guys, and then pray withoutceasing,’’ Paul told the Thessalonians. Unceasingprayer comes when a person has found the will of Godand prays until the situation reflects what He wants todo. An intercessor like that already knows theoutcome of the time he or she has invested in prayer,so they pray with joy and excitement. It doesn’tmatter how long it takes for the situation to resolveitself, our prayer is about all of the other stuff God is

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doing while He’s waiting for that moment to come.We just pray without ceasing.

How do we listen in on that conversation inHeaven? First, we enter God’s presence withthanksgiving. Then we still ourselves, finding andresting in that secret place He has set aside for us.God will reveal Himself to us in a number of ways.We have Scripture because it tells us what the heartand mind of God is in certain situations. It’s like aHeavenly cheat sheet. God has given you a bookfull of His words, and the Holy Spirit will lead you toa particular passage. ‘‘Hmmm,’’ you’ll say as you readit. ‘‘Yes,’’ God will reply. ‘‘Use that as a base, becauseMy heart’s in that for you right now.’’ The answermay come in another way, in a dream or animpression. I suggest looking back through yourjournal, or considering prophetic words that havealready been given to you. Sometimes we ask God tosay something He has already said. We can actuallyuse ingredients from older prophetic words in ourprayer.

God is very generous and the kindest Person I haveever met. He wants us to know what His will is. Helongs to release His children from worry and fear. Hedesires to show us what He’s doing in a situation andin our lives. He hungers for us to pray what He ispraying.

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Crafted Prayer

My child, the weapons of your warfare are more than a match for

the enemy.

Whatever has made you feel small can be turned around with the

right weapon.

Child, this is not an equal fight!

Every small thing I give you is a significant weapon against your

adversary.

The odds are always in your favour.

Remain childlike and simple in your walk with Me.

I want you to enjoy these experiences I send to you.

Through them I will teach you to smile, to laugh and to enjoy the

power of your Sovereign Lord.

This next season, everything will start to fall into place for you.

Only look at everything through the eyes and a heart of a

trusting child.

You are My special treasure, my precious one. I have set this next

phase of your journey aside for the purpose of you walking in

simplicity and adoration of Me . . . enjoy!

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crafting our prayer

Prayer is not meant to be used like a fisherman’s netto trawl for the will of God. Instead, we use prayer topray the will of God, and that brings us into a place offaith and proclamation. We grow in confidence in thewill of God, as our prayers change us to be more likeHim. We have decided to follow the process that Godhas ordained in the circumstances He has allowed tounfold.

‘‘For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to beconformed to the image of His Son,’’ Paul wrote inRomans 8:29. In every situation, there is a pathwaythat enables you to become more like Jesus. A part ofyour prayer initiative is to find what it is that Godwants you to do to become more like Him. There isalways an area of our life where we need to becomemore like Christ, and the Lord is sayingto us: ‘‘If you will follow the way that Iwant you to pray, you will not onlyhave the answer to that prayer, but youwill grow in Me. There is a predestined,predetermined thing I want you tobecome in every situation. I want to give you more ofMyself.’’

Every obstacle, every problem, every attack isallowed and designed to teach you to become more

‘‘I know the plans I havefor you . . . to give you a

future and a hope.’’God, through Jeremiah

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like Jesus. That’s why every problem comes with aprovision attached to it. As Christians, we must standin the midst of the problem, knowing God’s promise,and expect a provision. All things work together forgood in the economy of God. There are no GreatDepressions or stock market crashes. ‘‘Who shallseparate us from the love of Christ?’’ Paul asked inRomans 8:35. Nothing, he answers a few verses later:‘‘Neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalitiesnor powers, nor things present nor things to come, norheight nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall beable to separate us from the love of God which is inChrist Jesus our Lord.’’ I am convinced, in fact, thatall of the things Paul mentioned are actually designedto reveal God’s love for us.

When we craft a prayer, our crisis becomes anopportunity for God to work. Everything is useful toour growth in the spirit because God is for us in everysituation. Look at the list of what cannot separate usfrom the love of God: accusation, condemnation,tribulation, distress, persecution, famine, exposure,peril, the sword, death, life, angels, principalities,things present, things to come, height, and depth. Itdoesn’t matter how big and powerful the thing againstus is – God has made us more than conquerors. Prayeris about certainty. There should be boldness in ourhearts when we pray. Heaven is listening to our

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prayers. Everything in God’s heart wants to tell you,‘‘This is what I want to do. Pray like this.’’

Jesus said in Mark 11:24

‘‘Therefore I say to you, whatever things you askwhen you pray, believe that you receive them,and you will have them.’’

When we pray in the will of God, whatever we askwill be given. There is no difference between ananointed prayer and an unanointed prayer. Prayer isprayer to God. Sometimes our emotions are presentwith our faith; other times, they’re not. Fortunately,God is so good that He will look at us, even whenwe’re so lost we cannot put a prayer into words, andsay, ‘‘Just groan, I’ll understand what you mean. Ipromise.’’ God can and does interpret our groans.

Crafted prayer is a wonderful tool. We can look atour situation, take time to study the Word, take timefor thanksgiving, and bring our heart into line withwhat God wants to do. Then we craft a prayer thatcovers the whole issue. Write your prayers out,over and over, until you feel it seep into your heart.Write them with your friends, helping one another,learning from one another, and inspiring oneanother. Then commit yourself to praying the craftedprayer.

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The whole point of crafted prayer is that it releasesGod’s greatness in you, making you great. What is theglory of His inheritance? The glory of Israel goinginto the Promised Land was that God’s presence wentwith them. No one could stand against God’s greatnessin them. This is who we are. We have to get ourhearts and minds out of a poverty mindset ofspirituality and into a place where we understand thatthe majesty of God and the majesty of His Church isthe same thing. We are the people of God, andnothing can come against us. We must be a confidentpeople and know that God is for us. It’s our identity,our destiny, our inheritance. No weapon fashionedagainst the Church will prosper! God’s power is here.‘‘Every place where the sole of your foot treads, I havegiven it to you,’’ God said. The Church is condemnedto victory!

It’s time to use prayer to turn the tables on theenemy. We can make the devil tired, weary, depressed,discouraged, exhausted, and in need of psychiatriccare. In fact, we can wear him out exactly as he hasworn out the Church. Where is this place of vengeanceand favor that Jesus spoke about when He read Hisinheritance word, Isaiah 61? You have favor with Godand man, and your vengeance is that every attack theenemy throws at you will be turned around by Godand used to bless you.

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It’s a promise that is found in Ephesians 3:14–21:

‘‘For this reason I bow my knees to the Father ofour Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the wholefamily in heaven and earth is named, that Hewould grant you, according to the riches of Hisglory, to be strengthened with might through HisSpirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell inyour hearts through faith; that you, being rootedand grounded in love, may be able to comprehendwith all the saints what is the width and lengthand depth and height – to know the love of Christwhich passes knowledge; that you may be filledwith all the fullness of God.

Now to Him who is able to do exceedinglyabundantly above all that we ask or think,according to the power that works in us, to Himbe glory in the church by Christ Jesus to allgenerations, forever and ever.’’

God wants you to be strengthened with powerthrough His Spirit. He dreams of you being confident,bold, and joyful, because you walk with Him whoknows and sees and does everything. Yourunderstanding of who God is for you will grow untilyou’re filled by it, and you have more confidencethan you know what to do with. In fact, you can be so

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full of God that no one around will be able to standin unbelief. In our little bodies, there can be theconfidence and anointing to take an entirecommunity for God. One person with the Lord isalways on the side with the power and the victory.Who would you rather have on your side – athousand people who can’t kill one, or one personwho can kill a thousand?

We are too used to mediocrity, to thinking in smallthings, but we are called to more than that. We havemet Jesus, a Man who is incredibly powerful, deeplyintentional, and overwhelmingly confident. Nothingfazes Him, nothing worries Him. He is so full of joythat He even sings over His people. He looks at theenemy and laughs. ‘‘Is that all you’ve got?’’ He says.‘‘Just bring it!’’ We have made allowances for losing,but a good fight is one that we win. If we could justlearn to walk with God in the way that He wants, wewould be victorious, again and again.

Ephesians 3:14–21 is a prayer about identifyingwith the Father, and being strengthened by Him onthe inside. God’s will is that Christ would dwell withinyou, rooting you in His love. His children aresupposed to be eagles, soaring on the wind, but we’reall too content to be chickens. Fullness is our destiny,but emptiness is our crutch. We must shake thisweakness off, once and for all. In Christ, we are God’s

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champions, born to proclaim and declare His greatnessand His goodness. We are meant to be an inspiredpeople who live in confidence. We’re not arrogant oroverbearing, but cheerful and confident in God’sprovision for us. The joy of the Lord truly is ourstrength.

Crafted prayer brings us to a confident focus onGod so that the enemy cannot trap us in fear anddoubt. The enemy always uses the same line first:‘‘Has God said?’’ With a crafted prayer, we can flipover a piece of paper and shoot back, ‘‘Well, God hassaid it, thank you very much. Here is His prayer righthere!’’ I love crafted prayer and the comfort the HolySpirit packages with it. I love that faith remains in mewhen I pray the things God has told me I can pray. Ilove persevering in prayer; it has become a pleasure,not a chore.

David’s journal

Prayer was a similar pleasure for David, as we can seein his journal, which we refer to today as the bookof Psalms. Many of his psalms are crafted prayers.Take Psalm 51, for example, a passage David wroteafter the prophet Nathan came to him and exposed hisadultery with Bathsheba and his hand in the murderof Uriah the Hittite.

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Imagine for a moment the conversation that wasgoing on in Heaven over this situation. The Father,Son and Holy Spirit are seated at a round table,looking at David, who is feeling ashamed andcondemned. David is humiliated and feels about aninch high. His heart is broken, and he is worried thatGod is going to remove the Holy Spirit from him. Hewants to be cleansed.

Imagine the conversation the Trinity is having.‘‘Well, you know, he needs to understand Mygrace. He needs to learn about loving kindness. Heneeds to know that I have compassion for him.He needs to be washed, cleansed and purified. Heneeds to learn that there’s truth in the inner man.He needs wisdom from here on high. He needs to berestored, and he definitely needs the joy of hissalvation restored.’’

It goes on. ‘‘He needs to know that I’m going toblock out his transgressions. I can give him a cleanheart, a steadfast spirit, and I’m not going to take theHoly Spirit away from him.’’

That’s the conversation in Heaven. David, broken,sat down and began to write his prayer, listening towhat God wants him to pray:

Have mercy upon me, O God,According to Your lovingkindness;

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According to the multitude of Your tendermercies,

Blot out my transgressions.Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,And cleanse me from my sin.

For I acknowledge my transgressions,And my sin is always before me.Against You, You only, have I sinned,And done this evil in Your sight –That You may be found just when You

speak,And blameless when You judge.

Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity,And in sin my mother conceived me.Behold, You desire truth in the inward parts,And in the hidden part You will make me to

know wisdom.

Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.Make me hear joy and gladness,That the bones You have broken may rejoice.Hide Your face from my sins,And blot out all my iniquities.

Create in me a clean heart, O God,And renew a steadfast spirit within me.

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Do not cast me away from Your presence,And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.

Restore to me the joy of Your salvation,And uphold me by Your generous Spirit.

Do you see how all of the key words from theconversation in Heaven have found themselves inDavid’s psalm? There is symmetry between what Godwants to do and what David prayed. As Jesus prayed,‘‘Let it be done on earth, as it is in Heaven.’’Eventually, David received an answer to his prayerand was set free from his sin.

We see another of David’s crafted prayers inPsalm 57. At the time, David was not yet king. He hadbeen anointed king by Samuel many years before, butSaul was still chasing him around the wilderness,trying to kill him. David is hiding in caves, rarelysleeping in the same place twice. He’s leading a ragtagband of mercenaries, some of whom would love toturn him in and collect Saul’s reward offer.Throughout the countryside, others are watching forhim, also looking to ingratiate themselves to KingSaul. Who can David trust? Why is it so hard tobecome king, when Samuel himself prophesied itwould happen? What is the conversation in Heavenover this issue?

Again, the Trinity is sitting at their table, talking.

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‘‘David needs to know that I am his refuge. He’shanging out in caves, and using that as a refuge, buthe needs to truly know that I want to be his protectionand his refuge. There is mercy for him. He needs toknow that if he calls out to Us, I will save him. I amwith him and I am against his enemies. I want to givehim a steadfast heart. He needs to learn how to use hiscircumstances to awaken praise and worship in hislife, because that will bring him confidence. Let’steach him how to use these circumstances to bringhimself to a place of exaltation.’’

That was the conversation in Heaven. Now read thiscrafted prayer of David, and see if you can spot theexact moment the prayer turns into a crafted psalm ofthanksgiving. That’s what crafted prayers do whenthey are prayed in confidence. You cannot pray in thewill of God with confidence and not have your heartturned towards praise.

Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me!For my soul trusts in You;And in the shadow of Your wings I will make

my refuge,Until these calamities have passed by.

I will cry out to God Most High,To God who performs all things for me.He shall send from heaven and save me;

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He reproaches the one who would swallow me up.God shall send forth His mercy and His truth.

My soul is among lions;I lie among the sons of menWho are set on fire,Whose teeth are spears and arrows,And their tongue a sharp sword.Be exalted, O God, above the heavens;Let Your glory be above all the earth.

They have prepared a net for my steps;My soul is bowed down;They have dug a pit before me;Into the midst of it they themselves have fallen.

My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart issteadfast;

I will sing and give praise.Awake, my glory!Awake, lute and harp!I will awaken the dawn.

I will praise You, O Lord, among the peoples;I will sing to You among the nations.For Your mercy reaches unto the heavens,And Your truth unto the clouds.Be exalted, O God, above the heavens;Let Your glory be above all the earth.

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The psalm takes its turn into thanksgiving at theline, ‘‘My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart issteadfast.’’ It is the destiny of every Christian to havetheir prayers answered. It is part of our inheritanceto be, above all, secure and confident in the willof God.

presumption

It is not, however, part of our inheritance to bepresumptuous of what God’s will is. The first questionwe have to ask in any crafted prayer is what God’splan is. ‘‘Is this life or is this death?’’ We must firstunderstand His will, even if we don’t initially agreewith it. We must ask the tough questions; we cannotwrite a crafted prayer out of presumption.

I had another friend, George (not his real name),who was deathly ill. His church and family had beenpraying and praying, but he had completelydeteriorated. While I was away, traveling, the Lordshowed me that George’s time was ending. He wasgoing to die.

When I returned home, I went to see George. Hewas in a bed, surrounded by his loved ones. He lookedat me and asked the most difficult question of his life:‘‘Don’t b.s. me, Grae. Am I going to live or die?’’

‘‘Have a great death,’’ I gently and lovingly told

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him. George’s family was horrified, and sat stunned.George was also silent for a few moments.

‘‘Grae, I’m going to have the greatest death you’veever seen,’’ he replied.

Immediately, the atmosphere in the room changed.George made up a list of 24 people – friends,neighbours, co-workers, and nurses – who he wantedto see. His attitude brightened. Nurses and physiciansbegan to ask to stay with him because they lovedbeing there. God wasn’t going to heal George, but thetwo had entered into a fellowship of suffering; therewas much grace in the room.

One by one, George met with the people on his list.One by one, each accepted Christ. Death had becomeGeorge’s stepping stone, literally and physically, into adifferent place with God. The 24th person on his listwas a veteran nurse who he asked to come and sitwith him during his final hours. It took someconvincing, but she came. That night, they talkedabout life, death, and God. Severely weakened, Georgesuddenly sat bolt upright. With a huge smile on hisface, and a peaceful heart, he told her how excited hewas to see Jesus. It was his final moment – he diedthereafter. The nurse was stunned by the wholeexperience. She fell to her knees and accepted Jesus.George had led 24 people to Christ during his finaldays. His funeral was a lively celebration of the life of

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a man who changed people’s worlds. There was noblack; in fact, George had asked everyone to wearHawaiian shirts.

There will be times when it will be difficult to crafta prayer. Our natural inclination will be to pray forwhat we think is best. We must resist that presumptionand discover what God’s will is.

a testimony

Crafted prayer didn’t just work in David’s time; itworks today. My friend John had been diagnosed witha brain tumor, which had grown from the size of a peato almost the size of a tennis ball. It was huge, andpressing in on all kinds of things. He was havingblackouts and epileptic fits. The doctors were baffledby its size. They were afraid to operate at first, so theypumped John full of medication.

When I heard about his situation, I drove a hundredmiles to see him. That night, there was a prayermeeting for him in his church. I walked in andslammed into a wall of unbelief. There were more than200 people in this prayer meeting, but no unity. Somewere binding and casting this thing out, others werecursing it, and some were praying ‘‘If it be Your will,do something.’’ There was every shade of prayer thatone could imagine.

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‘‘Father, what on earth is going on here?’’ I askedGod.

‘‘They don’t know what I want to do,’’ He answered.‘‘Well,’’ I said, ‘‘what do You want me to do?’’‘‘I want you to walk around and just find out right

now, just in your spirit, just discern those who arewaiting and listening, by faith,’’ He said.

I walked around the room and found thirty-fivepeople who were just being still. I called John and toldhim that we needed to have a prayer meeting, withthese people, in his house the next evening. The endof John’s life was drawing close, so there was no timeto waste.

The group gathered the next evening and Iexplained that we needed to do nothing but worshipGod in order to change the atmosphere in John’shouse. ‘‘We’re going to come to a place where God

will tell us what He wants to do forJohn and His tumor,’’ I said.

We worshiped for more than twohours that night, starting with thankingGod, moving into praising Him, andeventually stepping into a place of

ministering to God. The atmosphere in the room hadchanged. ‘‘Let’s meet again tomorrow night,’’ I said.

Again, we met and began worshiping God. After anhour, I stood up and handed everyone a piece of paper

‘‘I remember my mother’sprayers and they have alwaysfollowed me. They have clung

to me all my life.’’Abraham Lincoln

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and a pen. ‘‘Find yourself a quiet place in the house orthe gardens and so on, and just sit before the Lordand ask Him what He wants to do for John,’’ I said,giving everyone half an hour. ‘‘When you’re learninghow to hear the Lord, He doesn’t speak to you inwhole sentences, but in key words and phrases. Justbe still before the Lord and let God breathe on you.Whatever comes into your conscious mind, writeit down.’’

When everyone came back, we went around theroom and wrote the key words and phrases on a flipchart. As words were repeated, I put a check markbeside them. By the end of it, some of the wordshad as many as twenty-five ticks. Taking thoseoft-repeated words and writing them down again, Iasked the intercessors to go back to their quiet place,meditate on the words, and form them into a prayer.

An hour later, the group came back together, full ofexcitement and confidence. They marched in like anarmy, eyes bright, with faces smiling broadly. Peoplewere almost jumping on their seats. ‘‘Okay,’’ I said,‘‘we’ll start reading them out loud, one sentence at atime.’’ I wrote down the first person’s openingsentence. ‘‘Anyone else get that first sentence?’’ Iasked. Eight or nine people waved their hands. Faithin the room shot up another notch. ‘‘Anybody have anapproximate to that first sentence?’’ I asked. Another

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six people put up their hands. We went through thewhole exercise and found that most people had putthe words and phrases in the same order. By the endof the evening, the room was hopping. Hearts were sointense that I thought to myself, ‘‘I better let theseguys pray or they’re going to kill me.’’

We wrote out a prayer and came to an agreementthat this is what we would pray. This is veryimportant: there is one thing to pray – and one thingonly. What happens with most of us is that we startoff praying in our fear and panic and we give God somany choices that the situation overwhelms us. Weend up losing heart and quit praying at all.

That night at John’s house, we prayed the prayeronce – just to keep people from exploding – and setanother prayer meeting for the next evening. It wasthe fourth straight day we had met. That night, I hada tape recorder and transcripts of the prayer ready.‘‘We’ll worship the Lord for an hour or so, becauseHe’s worth it, and then we’re going to pray this sameprayer, one by one. But when you come to pray, youhave to totally let your heart and your faith lift beforeGod, and you have to pray it with whatever faith,passion, intensity and power that you possess.’’ Werecorded the prayers onto the tape. You could feelthe intensity grow. At the end of the evening, you felt12 feet tall.

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‘‘Okay,’’ I said, after everyone had a turn. ‘‘Nowwe’re going to pray until God tells us to stop, becauseperseverance in prayer is about praying at the samelevel of passion, power, intensity and faith on the91st occasion as we did on the first. The same level!We’re going to pray, and when you come to the nextprayer meeting, you must listen to this tape and comein at that same level.’’

We actually prayed for John 73 times, but it waslike a picnic. We found it incredibly enjoyable. Themore we prayed, the more God did: the moreconfidence John had, and the more relaxed andpeaceful his home became. ‘‘How can you be likethis?’’ the nurses would ask, and John would tell themabout Jesus.

His family, many of whom were unbelievers, askedJohn how he could live like this. ‘‘I know what God isgoing to do,’’ he answered. I think God didn’t healhim immediately because He wanted to accomplishall of these things first, moving on the hearts of hisfamily and nurses. John’s faith grew to the point thathe began to proclaim what God was going to do. Hebegan to minister to the people who were supposed tobe ministering to him.

We came to his home the night before the doctorshad scheduled him for surgery and prayed in completeconfidence. ‘‘John, when you go in tomorrow, you

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need to ask for another CAT scan,’’ I said. ‘‘Don’tsubmit to the knife, ask for a CAT scan. There is nooperation here.’’

‘‘We’ve already done about a dozen,’’ John replied.‘‘Well, lucky thirteenth,’’ I said. ‘‘Ask for a CAT

scan. If they don’t want to, tell them I’ll pay for it.’’The next morning, John went in and asked for one

more CAT scan. It took some convincing, but finallythey did it. There was nothing there. Thinking thescanner was broken, they put John in a cab and tookhim across town to another hospital. Again John wasscanned. Again there was nothing. ‘‘There’s absolutelynothing,’’ the doctor said. ‘‘Not only is there nothingthere, but there doesn’t seem to be any trace thatanything ever was there.’’

My favorite part of this story was what John toldthe doctors moments before they gave him the finalCAT scan. ‘‘You’re not going to find anything there,’’he had said. When he came out, he said, ‘‘I told youso.’’ On his medical records, the medical staff addedtheir explanation: ‘‘We know that he belongs to astrong, praying community and we put this down toan act of God.’’

Our circumstances are not just about the situationbeing resolved. It is also about us being changed!We are learning to have increased confidence thatthings will work out for good (see Romans 8:28).

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It is not just about my personal good but aboutpeople around me seeing something of God in mycircumstances. When we know what God wants to dofor us, we can then turn our attention to what Godwants to do in us and around us to others. Now, withcrafted prayer taking care of the problem, we are freeto pursue the wider purposes of God in our situation.

This is where we can start to become prophetic.Romans 8:28–31 tells us that in every set ofcircumstances there is a pre-determined path for us tofollow that is guaranteed to make us more like Christ:

‘‘And we know that all things work together forgood to those who love God, to those who are thecalled according to His purpose. For whom Heforeknew, He also predestined to be conformed tothe image of His Son, that He might be thefirstborn among many brethren. Moreover whomHe predestined, these He also called; whom Hecalled, these He also justified; and whom Hejustified, these He also glorified.’’

We are ‘‘predestined to be conformed to the imageof His Son’’ in this current set of circumstances. Thispassage talks about the here and now, not somefuture heavenly state (when we’re all going to bechanged in a twinkling of an eye, anyhow!).

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A crafted prayer is not a magic formula. It will takea process, over time, to be answered. We are now freeto be conformed to the image of Jesus. We are freefrom the stress of the situation to begin to interactwith God personally to increase our intimacy anddevotional walk.

The questions we must ask as the situation unfoldsare, ‘‘What is it that God wants to be for me now thatHe could not be at any other time? What is God doingin me to make me more like Jesus? What else is Goddoing through me to the people around me as I gothrough these circumstances?’’ We must begin to seethe wider purposes of God at work. These are the ‘‘all

things’’ of Romans 8:28 that we havetypically missed in past situations.If we pray, in confidence, and thesituation does not change as quicklyas we would like, we must not bedisheartened. You are praying God’s

will, so learn to persevere, to pray with joy; theanswer will come.

Often the reason for the wait regarding the answeris because we are learning to wait on Him. We arelearning how much the Father is for us, according toRomans 8:31. What are the things that the Fatherwants to freely give us? There may be more for us toinherit in this present crisis than we realize. Crisis now

‘‘A prayer may not beanswered until all of

God’s wider objectives havebeen achieved.’’

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becomes an even greater opportunity to see themajesty of God.

Why did we have to pray 73 times for John overfive months? What else was happening as we prayedwithout ceasing? He changed. He lost his ability toworry and be nervous – things that had characterizedhis life before. He became more confident andpeaceful.

His family radically changed through watching himgrow in his new persona and faith. The medical staffwas astonished! They began asking searchingquestions about the Lord, peace, and faith.

Work colleagues, friends, neighbors, and somechurch members were shaken by the quality of hisfaith and his confidence. His unshakable peace shookthem all up! People don’t read the Bible, they readthe people of God. We must not be double-minded(see James 1:5–8) but have a confident conviction ofGod’s nature to us.

crafted prayers develop our character

There are prayers that God has given me in my lifeand ministry that have absolutely saved me. In aministry like mine, people will often speak against youand criticize you. In an average month, I’ll receiveseveral letters disparaging my ministry. These letters

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can be savage, criticizing everything that I am. It’s nowonder that more than half of the prophetic people Istarted out with 30 years ago have had a nervousbreakdown, left the ministry, and live in rejection orbitterness.

To deal with these letters, I have a crafted prayer.It is a few sentences that have become the first placeI retreat to. ‘‘Father, I’m weary of beingmisunderstood,’’ I pray. ‘‘I’m tired of the ungraciousscrutiny of others. Hide me, dear Lord, in the secretplace of Your presence. Keep me from people whospeak about me, but not to me. I am helpless againstthe riptide of their words. I cannot defend myself.Refresh my heart to look on them with love. I acceptthis part of Your cross. Change my heart to speak withYour love and sculpt my life through these situations.Let their hard words chisel away my roughness,forming Christ.’’

I pray that and then read the letter. It saves me fromgetting angry, getting twisted, getting resentful, andgetting bitter. We should have a joyful, butdisciplined, approach to God, because it producesfaithfulness in us. I have crafted prayers for my wife,my sons, my daughter, my friends, my church, and myenemies. I have a book full of crafted prayers that I’mstill praying. I use a prayer until the situation changes,and then put it into a filing cabinet. It doesn’t matter

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how difficult a situation is, I can just sit down, openmy prayer book, and start to pray. There are dayswhen I pray with passion and faith, and days where Ijust pray with whatever I can muster. Usually, I reachthe end of the prayer and a smile breaks out on myface.

how to craft your prayers

Jesus was the One who taught us the most aboutprayer. ‘‘Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and youwill find; knock, and it will be opened to you,’’ He saidin Matthew 7:7. He guaranteed that our prayers wouldbe answered. Prayer is not rocket science. God wantsus to be confident in prayer.

Paul wrote in Philippians 4:4–7,

‘‘Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say,rejoice! Let your gentleness be known to all men.The Lord is at hand. Be anxious for nothing, butin everything by prayer and supplication, withthanksgiving, let your requests be made known toGod; and the peace of God, which surpasses allunderstanding, will guard your hearts and mindsthrough Christ Jesus.’’

We must combine our supplication, our need to know

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how to pray for a specific situation, withthanksgiving. When we don’t know how to pray,we should enter God’s presence with thanksgiving,and then ask Him questions:

" ‘‘So, what are You up to?’’" ‘‘What’s happening here?’’" ‘‘What is it You want to do?’’" ‘‘I know You, You’re up to something . . .

what is it?’’" ‘‘What does that look like?’’" ‘‘What’s the plan, Father?’’" ‘‘What do You want to do?’’

Supplication reminds me of something I used to dowith my children, when they were younger. I wouldoften take them out on day trips, to give my wife achance to, well, recover from all of us. We would pileinto the car, with all of the necessary provisions, andjust go. I wouldn’t tell them where, which drove themto ask endless questions. ‘‘Where are we going, Dad?What are we doing? What’s going to happen?’’ Aftera few minutes, I would give them my map, with thedestination marked. God reminded me of these daytrips when He was teaching me about prayer.

‘‘Grae, I have a plan,’’ He would say.‘‘What is it? Where are we going?’’ I’d answer back

impulsively.

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‘‘I want you to know.’’ So I would worship and askGod to show me His ways and teach me His path. Hisanswers have become the foundation for all of mycrafted prayers. Today, my supplication looks like this:

‘‘Father, I praise You for this situation. I knowYou have a plan and a purpose for me. I give Youthanks that You are with me and that You are forme. I ask You to show me Your ways, teach meYour paths, show me Your will, oh Lord, that Imay become conformed to the image of Jesus inthis situation. Show me Your will that I mayconfidently and joyfully co-operate with You.’’

And then I’m simply still. And I listen. And Imeditate on God, waiting for Him to speak. He willgive you key words and phrases and a sense of Hisobjective. Then He might supplement that withScripture or pictures. Write everything down, as itcomes to you. As you do, a peace will fall on you,and a confidence will begin to rise in your spirit.

Prayer should be a joyful experience. Paul wrote inPhilippians 1:3–4,

‘‘I thank my God upon every remembrance of you,always in every prayer of mine making requestfor you all with joy.’’

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When we know how God is going to answer ourprayer, happiness fills our heart. When a personknows what God is going to do, they can’t wipe thesmile off their face. As a Church, we know how topray with depression all too well, but prayer with joyis the experience we are destined to have. For toolong, we have prayed with anxiety, with fear, withnervousness, with unbelief, with doubt. It’s time forjoy to return to our prayer life.

Prayer is a paradox – two apparently conflictingideas contained in the same truth. Yes, God wants us

to be spontaneous and move freely inHis will; but He also wants us to beplanned, purposeful, intentional, andrehearsed. The Bible is a great exampleof that dedication to order, a Bookwhich took centuries of divine

planning and purpose.Spontaneity has become an unnecessary crutch for

the Spirit-filled Church. We have relied solely onbeing spontaneous, as if God abhors planning. Yet it iswhen we are planned, purposeful, rehearsed and havewritten our revelation down that we are released totruly be spontaneous. If all we have is off-the-cuffspirituality, we will never mature in our faith. In fact,this spontaneity makes us inflexible to the Spirit.How do we pray when our heart gives out? How do

‘‘Call to Me and I will showyou great and mighty things

which you do not know.’’God, through Jeremiah

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we remember what we prayed yesterday? Truespontaneous spirituality arises out of a heart that issoaked and prepared by a relationship with the HolySpirit. Knowing that God is intentional, I can be surethat I am not quenching the Holy Spirit when I usecrafted prayers. God is prepared and well-planned;we must return the compliment.

Simplifying our faith is also helpful in prayer. I tryto be childlike in my confession of faith: ‘‘God said, Ibelieve it, that jolly well settles it.’’ Jesus did the samething in Matthew 22:37–40:

‘‘You shall love the Lord your God with all yourheart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.This is the first and great commandment. And thesecond is like it: You shall love your neighbor asyourself. On these two commandments hang allthe Law and the Prophets.’’

Jesus was telling His disciples that when their faithwas tested and their hearts began to fail, there werejust two simple commands to follow: Love Me andlove the person next to you.

Crafted prayer works especially well in families andsmall groups, as intercessors are able to encourage oneanother, compare notes, and seek answers together. AsJesus said in Matthew 18:19–20,

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‘‘Again I say to you that if two of you agree onearth concerning anything that they ask, it will bedone for them by My Father in heaven. For wheretwo or three are gathered together in My name, Iam there in the midst of them.’’

Together, we can discover and pray into what Godwants to do through every situation.

What is an effective prayer? Very simply, it’s aprayer that God gives you permission to pray, prayedfervently, full of passion and power. These areP.U.S.H. prayers – Pray Until Something Happens.Crafted prayer is about intention, aligning ourrequest to God’s will. There are prayers that you needto write about your current circumstance. There areprayers you need to write about your family and yourfriends.

Throughout the rest of this journal, you will findnumerous exercises and examples to help you writeyour own crafted prayers. I strongly encourage you towork through this book, either individually or in agroup, and create a journal of your own prayers.These prayers will be sustenance for your prayer life,and provide marvelous answers and strength in yourtime of need.

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Learning to stand

My child, in this next season I am going to radically change your

perspective.

You will begin to understand both the Power that is behind you

as well as the Power that is within you.

I will teach you how to stand on the word of your God.

Know that as you stand on My word, so at the same moment you

stand on the evil one.

I have put a sword in your hand and confession and proclamation

upon your lips.

You are learning to stand in the Presence of God and those I send

to assist you.

Know that you are being watched over and protected.

Therefore I say to you . . . stand up, stand upon, and stand against

and you shall prevail.

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conclusion

Prayer, done correctly, will stir up a spirit of boldnessin our lives. Before we know it, we’ll have slipped intoproclaiming the greatness and wisdom of God. Thereis nothing like the rush of faith and adrenaline thathappens when a person is praying and suddenly shiftsgears into proclamation. It’s as if they have hit themother lode and have begun to prophetically proclaimGod’s will for the situation they are praying for. Thisspirit of proclamation is part of our DNA as aChristian. When we know God’s will, we enter into acertainty of the outcome. The confidence of the Holy

Spirit fills us, and we become God’svoice in a specific situation.

Wonderfully, we’re not praying toget an answer, we’re praying with theanswer. Because we know what Godwants to do, we are free to follow the

process God has ordained for us in the circumstancesthat He has allowed.

It is time to use prayer as a weapon – we must growup in our intercession, becoming the joyful, confidentmen and women God has destined us to be. Our prayerlives can be the most richly rewarding part of ourwalk with God if we just take the time to enter Hispresence with thanksgiving and to still ourselves until

‘‘I want to knowGod’s thoughts. The rest

are details.’’Albert Einstein

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we can rest in His secret place. Then we can ask theHoly Spirit to reveal to us what the conversation inHeaven is over our situation, and we can craft aprayer which will be answered.

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appendix 1

inheritance words

When crafting a prayer for yourself, it is important toask God for an inheritance word. These are usuallypassages of Scripture that He highlights and asks youto meditate on for long periods of time. As a son ordaughter of the Almighty, you have an inheritance,and God wants you to know what it is. Jesus Himself,after spending 40 days and 40 nights being tested inthe wilderness (see Luke 4), returned to civilization andwent straight to a synagogue. He opened the Scripturesto Isaiah 61 and proclaimed it as His inheritance.‘‘Today, this word is fulfilled in your hearing,’’ He said.

God will give you an inheritance word, if He hasn’tdone so already. The word will set you up to discoverwhat you’re going to experience during the next stageof your journey of faith. It may be two or threepassages of the Bible, but He will put it in your heart,

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and it is your inheritance. Ask for it. When youreceive a passage, don’t read anything else for a while.Read it and re-read it. Memorize it, if you can. Take itapart, piece by piece. Study it. Look it up in Biblecommentaries. Research the original language. AskGod to illuminate His truth in it. Every ounce ofrevelation is yours to experience. This passage is partof the conversation in Heaven about you, so use it forall it’s worth. Then write a crafted prayer about it,asking for the things that have been laid out aspromises in your inheritance word.

Many years ago, God gave me an inheritance wordfor the next phase of my life, through Psalm 91.‘‘I want you to study this and I don’t want you to readanything else in Scripture for the next nine months,’’God told me one day. ‘‘Grae, I want you to read it,study it, memorize it. Everything in that psalm isyours to experience.’’ I remember that after threemonths of reading the same sixteen verses, I wasdesperate for a little bit of Timothy. I flipped to theNew Testament and immediately my eyes went out offocus. ‘‘What did I say to you?’’ the Lord chided. Ifound the bookmark and returned to Psalm 91, andmy eyes went back to normal. ‘‘Grae, I need you to getthis,’’ the Lord said. ‘‘This is your Bible right now. Thispsalm is everything I want to show you. You mustcome into this so I can do what I want to do.’’

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Psalm 91 is a powerful passage:

He who dwells in the secret place of the MostHigh

Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.I will say of the LORDORD, ‘‘He is my refuge and my

fortress;My God, in Him I will trust.’’

Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of thefowler

And from the perilous pestilence.He shall cover you with His feathers,And under His wings you shall take refuge;His truth shall be your shield and buckler.You shall not be afraid of the terror by night,Nor of the arrow that flies by day,Nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness,Nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday.

A thousand may fall at your side,And ten thousand at your right hand;But it shall not come near you.Only with your eyes shall you look,And see the reward of the wicked.

Because you have made the LORDORD, who is myrefuge,

Even the Most High, your dwelling place,

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No evil shall befall you,Nor shall any plague come near your dwelling;For He shall give His angels charge over you,To keep you in all your ways.In their hands they shall bear you up,Lest you dash your foot against a stone.You shall tread upon the lion and the cobra,The young lion and the serpent you shall

trample underfoot.

‘‘Because he has set his love upon Me,therefore I will deliver him;

I will set him on high, because he hasknown My name.

He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him;I will be with him in trouble;I will deliver him and honor him.With long life I will satisfy him,And show him My salvation.’’

I’ve written several crafted prayers out of thispassage, and seen God, time after time, turn back theattacks of the enemy. God has allowed Satanists andthe occult to come against me, to lure them into atrap He has set – for them! Psalm 91 was a test forme, to learn how to live in God’s refuge, sovereignty,and majesty. A Satanist once took a seat next to meon an airplane, with a specific assignment to curse

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me. When we reached our cruising altitude of 35,000feet, he introduced himself.

‘‘I’m a Satanist,’’ he said. ‘‘My whole coven hasbeen given a commission to curse you to death.’’

I looked at him – he was dressed like a successfulbusinessman. I smiled.

‘‘Okay,’’ I said. ‘‘Let’s hear it.’’ He proceeded tocurse me, my health, and my ministry. It wasinteresting how his face and language changed. Hiseyes became hooded and his voice low and sibilant.Finally, he ceased. I had held his eyes the wholetime.

‘‘Is that it?’’ I said, feigning disappointment. ‘‘Thelast Satanist to curse me was much better. The Lordreally used his words to bless me. I was hoping thiswould be another such situation. Every word you sayagainst me, the Lord will turn into a blessing. So whynot think about it for a while, take a deep breath, andstart again.’’

He declined. I continued the conversation.‘‘Actually, you’re not really here to curse me,’’ I said.‘‘You are here because the Holy Spirit has anassignment on your life. You’re hear to listen to themessage that the Lord is pursuing you with love. Hewill be to you like the hound of Heaven – you cannotget away. How do you like those apples?’’

The Satanist got up, spoke with the flight attendant,

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and switched seats. Bless his heart. I had confidence inwhat God was going to do, because I knew myinheritance. I knew that God has promised me that noevil shall befall me, and that I will trample the lion,the cobra, the young lion, and the serpent. That is thepower of an inheritance word made into a craftedprayer.

Let’s pray together that God will give you aninheritance word.

Father, I thank You. Of all people in the earth,we are the most confident. We’re the happiestpeople on earth because of who You are. Werepresent Your Kingdom of joy. I thank Youthat You’re only acquainted with grief, thatYou are the happiest person that lives.

Father, I pray in the name of Jesus that Youwould give us a spirit of wisdom and revelationin the knowledge of You. I ask that You shouldshow us our inheritance for the next stage ofour journey, and I pray that You will enable usto study, to think into that, to meditate on Yourword. I pray, Holy Spirit, that You would giveus inspiration and insight into that word. Bringus into an experience of that word through thecircumstances that You allow, so that we areestablished in the inheritance that You show to

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us. Help us to grow rapidly, to be expanded,and to go deep in who You are.

Raise us to higher level in the Spirit. So Ipray, reveal our inheritance in word form andinspire us to seize it, so that our hearts wouldbe filled with Your confidence and certainty. InJesus’ name, Amen.

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appendix 2

crafted prayer in the Bible

There are many prayer triggers in the Bible, craftedprayers that have been handed down by God throughthe ages. These are prayers that are earthed inScripture and get an automatic yes and amen.

" ‘‘Be merciful to me, a sinner’’ (Luke 18:13).

" ‘‘Set my mind on what the Holy Spirit wantstoday’’ (Romans 8:5).

" ‘‘Let me be led by the Holy Spirit today’’(Romans 8:14).

" ‘‘Control my life by Your Spirit’’ (Romans 8:10).

" ‘‘Help me put to death the deeds of flesh thatYour life may reign in me’’ (Romans 8:13).

" ‘‘Help me, Father, to count myself dead to sin,but alive to You’’ (Romans 6:11).

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" ‘‘Show me Your ways, Lord. Teach me Your paths.Lead me in the way everlasting’’ (Psalm 25).

" ‘‘Let me hunger and thirst for Yourrighteousness’’ (Matthew 5:6).

" ‘‘Renew my mind, O God. Let me love You withall my heart, soul, mind and strength’’ (Mark12:30).

" ‘‘One thing I ask, Lord: to live in Your house andbehold Your beauty’’ (Psalm 27:4).

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exercise

Over the next few months, I want to challenge you tosit down with a group of friends and seek God forcrafted prayers for your life. Go through every area ofyour life and ask Him, ‘‘What is it I am supposed to bepraying in this situation?’’ Find out what the Lord isdoing in each area. If there is a stronghold of sin inyour life, pray ‘‘This thing has always beaten me, sohow do I beat it? What is the prayer I can use torelease the power and presence of God in my life?’’

Write a prayer about your own relationship withGod, asking Him for what you want in your life.

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steps to crafted prayer

General preparation (Ecclesiastes 5:1–7)1. Keep ‘‘updating’’ your information about God’s

love, His purposes, His ways be reading andmeditating on relevant Bible passages(2 Timothy 3:14–17).

2. Review and meditate on crafted prayers in theBible (Matthew 6:9–15; John 17; Romans12:14–21; Ephesians 1:15–23 and 3:14–19;1 Timothy 2:1–2).

Steps for an individual1. Be thankful to God for His promises towards you

(Jeremiah 29:11–14).2. Be thankful to God for what He has already done

(Philippians 4:4–7).3. Begin to worship God as your thanksgiving

brings you into His presence (Psalm 100).4. Come to a place of stillness inside – prepare your

heart to listen to God (Psalm 46).5. Clarify and simplify the current area for crafted

prayer.6. Ask the Lord to show you what He wants to

accomplish first in the situation, and second, inyou through this time.

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7. Seek to discover what the Father, Son andHoly Spirit are praying for this situation(Hebrews 7:23–25 and Romans 8:22–30).

8. Gather the thoughts and words that God givesyou. Write them down.

9. Take these thoughts and words back to the Lordand pray for further clarification. Write downany further insight you receive.

10. In the place of stillness, craft a prayer thatincludes the key elements (words, ideas, andphrases) that God has made known to you.Don’t rush or push.

11. Take your crafted prayer back to the Lord. Askfor confirmation or alteration, if necessary, untilyou are as confident as you can be that you havethe mind of God on how to pray.

12. Move into a time of proclamation of what Godwill do based on your faith in who God is andyour understanding of His will.

13. Accept the fact that God will do things in Hisown time and His own way!

14. As God leads you, continue to pray and proclaimwith confidence what God has shown you untilresolution comes.

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Steps for a group1. Be thankful to God for His promises towards you

(Jeremiah 29:11–14).2. Be thankful to God for what He has already done

(Philippians 4:4–7).3. Begin to worship God as your thanksgiving

brings you into His presence (Psalm 100).4. Come to a place of stillness inside – prepare your

heart to listen to God (Psalm 46).5. Clarify and simplify the current area for crafted

prayer.6. Ask the Lord to show you what He wants to

accomplish in the situation and in the life of thegroup or church through this time. Also ask Himwhat He wants to accomplish in your life.

7. Seek to discover what the Father, Son andHoly Spirit are praying for this situation(Hebrews 7:23–25 and Romans 8:22–30).

8. Individually gather the thoughts and words thatGod gives you. Write them down.

9. Come together and share the words and phrasesyou believe God has revealed to you. Identifyany that have been received by a number ofgroup members.

10. Take these common thoughts and words backto the Lord and pray for further clarification.Write down any further insight you receive.

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11. Together, enter that place of stillness and craft aprayer that includes the key elements (words,ideas, and phrases) that God has made known toyou. Don’t rush or push.

12. Take your crafted prayer back to the Lord.Ask for confirmation or alteration, if necessary,until you are as confident as you can be that youhave the mind of God on how to pray.

13. Move into a time of proclamation of what Godwill do based on your faith in who God is andyour understanding of His will.

14. Accept the fact that God will do things in Hisown time and His own way!

15. Individually, as God leads you, continue to prayand proclaim with confidence what God hasshown you until resolution comes.

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crafted prayer worksheet – individual

1. Begin with thanksgiving and worship.2. Come to stillness inside – prepare your heart to

listen to God.3. Clarify and simplify the current area for crafted

prayer.

4. Ask the Lord to show you what He wants toaccomplish in the situation.

5. Ask to be shown what is the desire and prayer ofthe Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

6. Gather the thoughts and words that God givesyou – write them down.

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7. Bring your list of thoughts and words to the Lordand pray for further clarification. Write downany further insights you receive.

8. Enter that place of stillness and craft a prayerthat contains the key words and phrases youhave received.

9. Take your completed crafted prayer back to theLord for clarification.

10. Move into a time of proclamation of what Godwill do.

11. Accept the fact that God will do things in Hisown time and way.

12. As God leads you, continue to pray and proclaimwith confidence what God has shown you untilresolution comes.

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crafted prayer worksheet – group

1. Begin with thanksgiving and worship.2. Come to stillness inside – prepare your heart to

listen to God.3. Clarify and simplify the current area for crafted

prayer.

4. Ask the Lord to show you what He wants toaccomplish in the situation, group, and yourself.

5. Ask to be shown what is the desire and prayer ofthe Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

6. Gather the thoughts and words that God givesyou – write them down.

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7. Come together and share the words and phrasesyou believe God has revealed to you. Which arecommon to a number of you?

8. Take these common thoughts and words to theLord and pray for further clarification. Writedown any further insights you receive.

9. Together, enter that place of stillness and craft aprayer together.

10. Take your completed group-crafted prayer backto the Lord for clarification.

11. Move into a time of proclamation of what Godwill do.

12. Accept the fact that God will do things in Hisown time and way.

13. Individually, as God leads you, continue to prayand proclaim with confidence what God hasshown you until resolution comes.

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stillness exercise

Being still is a vital part of hearing the conversationthat is going on in Heaven over your life andsituation. Ironically, the time you most need stillnessis when everything is chaotic around you. Peace islike having an equalizing pressure inside of you whichkeeps you from being crumpled by outside pressure.

Try this exercise in being still:

1. Find a comfortable place.2. Put on a worship CD for a few minutes. Sing

along.3. Slow your breathing down. Inhale and exhale

deeply.4. Just be silent before the Lord.5. If your thoughts wander, bring them back to

God.6. If you have a stray thought, turn it into

something positive. (For example, you mightsuddenly think, ‘‘I need milk for the kidstomorrow.’’ Turn that thought into a prayer ofthanksgiving for your children and God’sprovision.)

By chasing your stray thoughts down, you trainyour mind to be still before the Lord. There will come

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a point when your thoughts will be under control.Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 10:4–6:

‘‘For the weapons of our warfare are not carnalbut mighty in God for pulling down strongholds,casting down arguments and every high thingthat exalts itself against the knowledge of God,bringing every thought into captivity to thebringing every thought into captivity to theobedience of Christobedience of Christ, and being ready to punish alldisobedience when your obedience is fulfilled.’’

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crafted prayer

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