Awakening: 21 Days Of Prayer And Fasting DevotionalSample

Day 19

I have a very important question for you, “Do you know what God’s Word says about your situation?” Effective prayer is based on the Word of God.

Effective prayer is not based on our authority, but on the authority of God’s Word! We need to know the Word well enough to pray Word-based prayers. Prayer is not so much about getting what we want but aligning ourselves with what God wants. Matthew 6:33 clearly tells us what He wants. He wants us to seek Him first! Are you pleading for financial breakthrough? Then you need to be aligned with what God says about resources. Are you tithing? We have a part to play in the effectiveness of our prayers, and it has to do with alignment with God’s Word.

Can you see how prayer is actually less about getting from God as it is about aligning ourselves with what God already wants to do. Many times, though, we can get so focused on our own comfort or our own preferences that we don’t even take the time to examine ourselves to see what God’s Word has to say about our situation. We have to align our prayers with the Word, and we may also need to align some aspects of our lives with His Word.

Prayer and fasting is the preparation we go through to create the container that is ready for the new thing God wants to do in and through us. God’s new wine always changes us by expanding our faith, enlarging our purpose and bringing renewed vision. Pray that the Lord will expand your life to glorify Him, giving you boldness to step out and be used by Him.

Excerpts taken from Awakening: A New Approach to Faith, Fasting, and Spiritual Freedom by Stovall Weems (pp. 54-56)