|
Delighting in a “Safe” Prayer |
|
|
|
I cannot begin to count how many times a week my path crosses with
another person—as God so leads my steps (Proverbs 16:9)—of whom I have
absolutely no knowledge, much less a personal relationship with. Yet, I
sense the urging of the Holy Spirit to pray a brief silent prayer for
them. How about you? What about the server at the restaurant, the
policeman directing traffic at a busy intersection, the plumber walking
into your neighbor’s house, the cab driver taking you to the hotel from
the airport, and even the motorist who cuts in front of you on the
freeway? Have you ever felt that same Spirit prompting—as I do
frequently—to pray a brief/momentary prayer . . . yet, not be sure what
to pray? Here’s what I pray now, and I believe the Father hears and
takes action!
For so long, I did not respond to such Spirit-let promptings; primarily
because I did not know the person and, therefore, had no clue what his
or her needs were. So, despite the promise in Romans 8:26—about the
Holy Spirit’s desire to intercede for me when I did not know what to
pray—I normally just blew past that encounter and continued focusing on
my agenda for the day.
But, thank the Lord for His patient perseverance that not only kept
providing me with these prayer opportunities through the Spirit’s
prompting, but by His grace—three years ago—He caught my attention with
a simple acronym to pray over a complete stranger’s life: SAFE. Because
I do not know the spiritual condition of the person—but I am confident
my heavenly Father knows it well—I believe my intercessory prayer
responsibility and privilege as a Christian is to simply pray this SAFE
prayer . . . then let the Holy Spirit apply it as the Father sees best.
The acronym SAFE came to mind because one of my excuses for not praying
was a sincere concern about whether what I might pray fits into God’s
heart and agenda for that person. I kept worrying that what I would
choose to pray might not be what He would choose to pray for that
person. “So, Lord, what’s a “safe” prayer for me to pray for someone I
don’t know?” That’s when He answered me with this new and unique way of
interpreting the word SAFE. When He spoke to me about praying this SAFE
prayer, He said—in His “still, quiet voice”—that I could rest assured
that this is a SAFE prayer to pray for someone . . . anytime and any
place; because He always wants people to know Him better!
SAFE stands for: Spiritual Awakening/Fresh Encounter. “Spiritual
Awakening” is for the person who has never been “born again” (John
3:3-7) into God’s eternal family and, therefore, needs the Holy Spirit
to intervene in their life and awaken him/her to the joy of a spiritual
and purposeful relationship with the Father through Jesus Christ!
(Jeremiah 29:11)
The “Fresh Encounter” is for the person who has been “born again” and
has experienced that personal relationship with Jesus Christ in times
past, but—for various reasons—has drifted away from his or her daily
walk with the Lord and is suffering from the loneliness and
discouragement that comes from living apart from intimacy with Christ.
What he or she needs is a fresh encounter of God’s love and provisions
in their life, so he or she can once again experience the joy and peace
of His salvation! (Psalm 51:12)
Thus, when prompted by the Holy Spirit, my prayer for that stranger
goes something like this: “Father, in Jesus Name, I pray a SAFE prayer
for him right now! May he experience You in a special way today like
never before! Thank You, Lord, Amen!”
Sometimes, I will feel that Spirit-prompting as I drive by a work-crew
on the highway or a sports team on the practice field. That’s when I
simply change the pronoun from “him” or “her” to “them”; confident that
the Holy Spirit will manifest His answer to each one individually!
Try this for a few days and see if you sense the same fulfillment of
having responded favorably to the Spirit’s nudge—as well as to God’s
Word (to pray for all men) in 1Timothy 2:1—as I have now daily for the
past three years. What will happen? You may very well see that what you
begin as a “disciplined” response to the Spirit’s prompting becomes a
“delightful” anticipation of “Who do you want me to pray for next,
Lord?”
Perhaps the best part of the SAFE prayer is that strangers will be
blessed as God answers your prayers of concern for them (Psalm 138:8a).
You will be building a spiritual/eternal “ARK” (Act of Random Kindness)
for people who will never know your name nor do anything, in return,
for you personally (Matthew 6:1-3). Your reward will be awaiting your
arrival in heaven (Matthew 6:19-20)
Finally, praying the SAFE prayer regularly is one way I can “pray
without ceasing”--as God desires (1Thessalonians 5:17)--while I
continue fulfilling my daily responsibilities. Try it! It will be a
blessing, I promise!
--Dennis Conner, along with his wife, Betty Jo, is our director of
member relations and our Southwestern representative. They can be
reached at
This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it
.
|
September 2008