How can we pray in crisis ? – At Your Feet

As a disciple of Jesus, I wanted during this time of war in Israel, to actively pray (Roman 11). If like me you don’t know where to start or how to lead your people to pray together. I propose you this guided pattern, for spending an hour in prayer, individually or with your people.

Spend five minutes on each segment, leading to 60 minutes, but time can vary (be sensitive to how the Holy Spirit leads you). These verses are focused on times of crisis and disaster.

1. Praise: Start your prayer hour by praising the Lord and His character. Praise Him for His presence with people in Israel, that He is good and longs to save people. Psalm 34:18. Gen 50:20. Psalm 66:10-12.

Praise “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” Psalm 34:18. “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.” Gen 50:20. “For you, God, tested us; you refined us like silver. You brought us into prison and laid burdens on our backs. You let people ride over our heads; we went through fire and water, but you brought us to a place of abundance.” Psalm 66:10-12.

2. Wait: Spend this time waiting on the Lord. Be silent and let Him bring to mind people and ways to pray and respond. Lamentations 3:18-33.

Wait “So I say, “My splendor is gone and all that I had hoped from the Lord.” I remember my affliction and my wandering, the bitterness and the gall. I well remember them, and my soul is downcast within me. Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.” The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord. It is good for a man to bear the yoke while he is young. Let him sit alone in silence, for the Lord has laid it on him. Let him bury his face in the dust— there may yet be hope. Let him offer his cheek to one who would strike him, and let him be filled with disgrace. For no one is cast off by the Lord forever. Though he brings grief, he will show compassion, so great is his unfailing love. For he does not willingly bring affliction or grief to anyone.” Lamentations 3:18-33.

3. Confess/Lament: Ask the Holy Spirit to show you anything to repent of in your life or on behalf of other people or places. Make a prayer of confession so that you might be cleansed. Lament to the Lord about the people in Israel and Palestine : Tell the Lord what happened, how you feel, & what was the hardest part. 2 Cor 7:10. Lamentations 3: 39-41.

Confess “Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.” 2 Cor 7:10. “Why should the living complain when punished for their sins? Let us examine our ways and test them, and let us return to the Lord.” Lamentations 3: 39-40.

4. Read the Word: Spend time reading examples of crisis/disaster in scripture. Matt 24:7, 14. Titus 3:14.

Read the Word “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” Matt 24:7, 14. “Our people must learn to devote themselves to doing what is good, in order to provide for urgent needs and not live unfruitful lives.” Titus 3:14.

5. Ask: Make general requests on behalf of yourself and others. Ask God to bless you to be a blessing in the midst of this war. Ask God to turn people to Him, heal, and recover His design through this war. Lamentations 3:55-57. 2 Cor 1:3-7.

Ask “I called on your name, Lord, from the depths of the pit. You heard my plea: “Do not close your ears to my cry for relief.” You came near when I called you, and you said, “Do not fear.” Lamentations 3:55-57. “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ. If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we suffer. And our hope for you is firm, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our comfort.” 2 Cor 1:3-7.

6. Interceed: Make specific requests on behalf of yourself and others. Matt 5:4. 1 Thess 1:6. Romans 12:15.

Intercede “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.” Matt 5:4. “You became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you welcomed the message in the midst of severe suffering with the joy given by the Holy Spirit. And so you became a model to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia.” 1 Thess 1:6-7. “Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn.” Romans 12:15.

7. Pray the Word: Pray specific passages and/or Psalms that involve crisis. John 16:33. 1 Peter 5:8-10. Heb 11:32-38.

Pray the Word “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” John 16:33. “Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings. And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.” 1 Peter 5:8-10. “And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson and Jephthah, about David and Samuel and the prophets, who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies. Women received back their dead, raised to life again. There were others who were tortured, refusing to be released so that they might gain an even better resurrection. Some faced jeers and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. They were put to death by stoning; they were sawed in two; they were killed by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated—the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, living in caves and in holes in the ground.” Hebrews 11:32-38.

8. Thank: Give thanks to the Lord on behalf of you, your family, disciples, and churches. Thank Him for the opportunity to be a blessing to others in the midst of this. Romans 8:38-39. 2 Thess 1:3-7. 2 Cor 12:10. Romans 5:3-5. Psalms of crisis/disaster that lead to praise.

Thank “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:38-39. “We ought always to thank God for you, brothers and sisters, and rightly so, because your faith is growing more and more, and the love all of you have for one another is increasing. Therefore, among God’s churches we boast about your perseverance and faith in all the persecutions and trials you are enduring. All this is evidence that God’s judgment is right, and as a result you will be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are suffering. God is just: He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you and give relief to you who are troubled, and to us as well. This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels.” 2 Thess 1:3-7. “That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” 2 Cor 12:10. “Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.” Romans 5:3-5.

9. Sing: Sing a new song or songs of praise and worship. Focus on God’s character and remembrance of what He has already done.

Sing or read songs of praise or worship or a hymn or spiritual song.

10. Meditate: Ask the Lord to speak to you. Have a pen and paper ready for impressions He gives you. 2 Cor 4:7-11, 16-18.

Meditate “But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that his life may also be revealed in our mortal body.” 2 Cor 4:7-11. “Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” 2 Cor 4:16-18.

11. Listen: Spend time merging the things you have read, prayed, and sung to see how the Lord brings them all together to speak to you in the midst of hard times. Matt 11:28-30.

Listen “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”Matt 11:28-29.

12. Praise: Praise the Lord for this time to spend with Him and the impressions He has given you. Praise Him for His glorious attributes. James 1:2-5.

Praise “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.” James 1:2-5.

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