Power Tools
I LOVE power tools. I’m like a kid in a candy store when I am in a tool store. I like to build things. I like to renovate houses. I like to fix stuff. I know that seems strange coming from a woman, but……
My father was a Home Missions pastor that was hands-on when it came to building and remodeling churches. Like most preacher’s kids, I had to participate in all things church, including construction. I learned many basic skills including how to use various tools of the trade. Proper use of tools is important for accurate work speed, efficiency and safety. The right tool gets the job done completed more quickly and more perfectly.
Although I learned how to use many tools with my dad, the invention of new power tools has piqued my interest in how to use them and how they can be helpful to the task I would like to accomplish. How did I learn to use them? By watching and listening to others. I like to watch skilled craftsmen using tools and I ask a lot of questions. Google has also been a great educator on this quest for knowledge.
In light of our current world circumstances, many people are turning to prayer. Why? They are searching for peace, healing, provision, direction. Life has gotten out of their control. People often turn to God as a last resort when they have nowhere else to turn. Many have little or no experience in prayer, and they don’t know how to pray effectively. Can we show them? I learned how to pray by watching my grandmother, my father, my mother, and church members. I learned how to be an intercessor from an evangelist, Sis. George. When you were in a prayer meeting with her, you knew that mountains moved in the spiritual realms. My greatest desire is to pray effectively in areas that don’t involve my wants or needs, but make a big difference in His Kingdom.
Prayer is a tool. Just like there are different tools, there are different ways to pray. We need to use the right tool for the right circumstances. Let’s talk about these tools.
1. Some situations require ordinary tools that most people have, like a hammer or screw drivers. Those with little skill can complete small task with them. I compare this to the whispered or thought prayer. You know, those little things we ask God for and are sometimes a little surprised when He answers.
2. Some require leverage, like a dolly, wedge or a pry bar, something to make them easier to move, lift or carry. This is where you pray scripture. God WILL honor His word. You CAN stand on His promises. There are thousands of them in the Bible.
3. Some situations require reinforcements, tools that hold or lift things while you work on them. These are tools like jacks, braces, anvils. These tools lift, support and hold securely. Pray in the Spirit (tongues). Call on your prayer partners. Strong prayer partners will reinforce you and your prayers.
4. Some require a force that is beyond our human capabilities. This is intercessory prayer. The kind of prayer where you find a secluded place and allow the Holy Ghost to pray through you, with fervor and warfare in the spiritual realm. Sometimes you will know who or what you are praying for. Many times, you will not know. You’ll just feel a heaviness come over you and a strong need to find a place to go to war on your knees.
What are you wanting to build or tear down? You can build a small shelter or a mighty fortress. You can tear down a wall or a satanic kingdom. All can be done through prayer. It’s time to pick up our power tools and go to work building great things in our lives and in our world for the Kingdom of God!
“We tend to use prayer as a last resort, but God wants it to be our first line of defense. We pray when there’s nothing else we can do, but God wants us to pray before we do anything at all. “ ~ Oswald Chambers
Written by: Sandra Chambers, Louisiana District Singles Director.