What is a prayer goal? A prayer goal is simply committing to regularly pray for a specific thing, person, situation or issue for the year-or until an answer arrives.
Now don't get me wrong. I'm not suggesting that we write out a rigid set of prayers goals to which we adhere, and pray about nothing else. That would be foolish. I "am" suggesting it would benefit us to target specific areas in our lives. PERSISTENT, FOCUSED PRAYER BRINGS RESULTS.
HOW DO WE KNOW "WHAT" TO PRAY ABOUT? Think about what's on your mind and heart. What is troubling you? What are your dreams? What one thing about yourself would you change, if you could? Those are good places to start. And remember-you can pray about what to pray about. Ask God to show you what areas in your life to target in prayer this year.
WHAT IF IT'S NOT GOD'S WILL BUT I'M PRAYING FOR IT? I assure you, the time/space continuum will not warp. In my experience, when I pray outside of God's will, one of two things happens: my heart changes so that I change "how" I'm praying, or God clearly convicts me of wrong motives and shows me that this prayer is not His will. That always stops me in my tracks. God is sovereign, and we can trust Him to answer our prayers within the bounds of His will.
HOW SPECIFICALLY, EXACTLY, SHOULD I PRAY? As specific as you can get. I lay it all out to God and include everything I can think of. I make my "specific" requests known to Him. At the same time, I trust God to accomplish "His" plan and purpose in that area or situation-not mine. If the results of my prayer don't match my specific requests, that's okay. God is in control-not me.
For me, one of the benefits of annual prayer goals is having a record of all the prayers God has answered. I recently came across two prayer lists from several years ago, and God had answered every single one...most of them in an radically different way than I expected...but that's a different subject entirely. *grin*
"Pray at all times, on every occasion, in every season, in the Spirit, with all manner of prayer and entreaty." - Ephesians 6:18
How about you? Do you have prayer goals for 2011? Leave a prayer request in the comments and I will pray for you this week.
Origin: http://witchcraftforall.blogspot.com
