On Prayer Agendas
- Erica McWhorter
- Apr 5, 2022
- 9 min read
God calls us to boldly confident, vulnerably specific, and intentionally sustained prayer.
So we keep on praying for you, asking our God to enable you to live a life worthy of his call. May he give you the power to accomplish all the good things your faith prompts you to do. - 2 Thessalonians 1:11 (NLT)
The what
A prayer agenda is simply a collection of specific requests, decrees, praises, or gratitudes that have been identified and then purposefully and regularly prayed to God.
This requires 3 things:
Your attention to the Spirit (or God speaking to you)
Your commitment to bring what was brought to your attention back to God
Your faith that God exists and that He will hear you, meet you, and answer you
The goals
The first objective of the agenda is to focus the prayer and the pray-er on concrete issues that are being brought to God or declared over a person, place, or thing.
The second objective of any prayer agenda is position the pray-er in their proper place of authority and faith when they pray.
Considering what to pray and being confident that your prayers are heard and will be answered by God or heaven's movement in response, is essential for keeping an effective lookout as an intercessor.
Some hows
A prayer agenda concerns the things needing the attention of God or intervention of the Spirit. These prayer points or agenda items can come from many sources, such as
Words of God from the Bible
New or ongoing requests of God
Your pain points (issues of personal sensitivity, upset, disruption, or trauma)
Your spiritual discernment (promptings of the Spirit, intuition, instinct)
Your observations about the world and your sphere of influence
We know the Bible guides us on how and why to pray. A prayer agenda takes that instruction and refines the act of prayer into a practice of attentive, regular, and faith-based conversations with God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.
God does not intend for our prayers to be formulaic or full of religiosity or based purely on the law. And that is not what a prayer agenda is intended to be either. Instead, the agenda is supposed to spur relevant and timely action, such as:
Critical thinking about the issues (the 5 W's of who, what, when, where, why; our part in the issues; other possible or existing impacts of the issues; those who may be impacted by the issues; short and long range consequences of the issues, etc.)
Engagement with Scripture for the solution (literally or inspired by it)
Obedience and reverence to bring the issues and solutions to God through prayer
Exercising faith and hope (confident expectation) to believe God will respond on time and to the benefit of His people
A series of whys...
Let us count the whys...jump to any of the whys using this dropdown list.
Obedience to God
Pray always. Pray in the Spirit. Pray about everything in every way you know how! And keeping all this in mind, pray on behalf of God’s people. Keep on praying feverishly, and be on the lookout until evil has been stayed. - Ephesians 6:18 (VOICE)
It is out of obedience to these instructions and examples that we choose to use God’s words to pray solution oriented prayers for the ecclesia and our world.
A prayer agenda is literally a directive by God for His people to be on the Lookout.
The Word is super clear on this, including how we should do it. The Amplified translation of this verse requires "specific requests" and "at all times" including "on every occasion and in every season" and that we "stay alert" in the act of "interceding in prayer" for "all of God's people." Sounds like the recipe for an agenda to me!
Jesus emulation
Jesus answered by quoting Deuteronomy: “It takes more than bread to stay alive. It takes a steady stream of words from God’s mouth.” - Matthew 4:4 (MSG)
At the most basic level, in the beginning was God. In the beginning was Jesus. (John 1:1 EXB) The Voice that brought it all into being. Jesus is the living Word who was and is and will forever be God's presence, His Voice, His love, His power manifest for us.
Jesus spoke God’s words and encouraged us to do the same. Even more than that, He said God's Words were vital to life. When we speak the Word of God. We are speaking the presence, power, love, and voice of God Almighty - we are speaking directly to and about Jesus. We are speaking life-giving power.
Jesus modeled this for us when He told us that when we pray, we should ask without a doubt in our mind that what we say will happen and what we believe for we will receive. That when our prayers are grounded in faith we can speak to mountains and they will move. God's power in our mouths will do it for us. (Mark 1:22-24)
God’s power in our Words is the same power Jesus used in His.
The guarantee
It is the same with my word. I send it out, and it always produces fruit. It will accomplish all I want it to, and it will prosper everywhere I send it. - Isaiah 55:11 (NLT)
God promises the Words He gives us, He will back up. He wants us to trust that He will always do His job. Our job is to speak the Word He gives us.
This is all about His supremacy and ultimate power, and our authority in Christ to echo in decree the divine Words and plans of God, and fully expect Him to fulfill His own Words.
Power to create
God is not a human being, and he will not lie. He is not a human, and he does not change his mind. What he says he will do, he does [will he not do it?]. What he promises, he makes come true [will he not fulfill it/make it come true?]. He told [commanded] me to bless them, so I cannot change the blessing. - Numbers 23:19-20 (EXB)
God's "do" in this verse is literally translated "create". God spoke and created. We see this time and again across the Bible where God speaks and people, circumstances, and the world change at His direction.
He also speaks intentionally through people (e.g., Moses, Aaron, Elijah, Isaiah, Jeremiah, and many others). Giving specific instruction for them (and us) to speak His words to leverage His power to instruct, birth, move, and destroy. And nothing anyone says can change the power in our God-given words!
The same is true for us. God will create when you decree. What you decree he will establish. We've been given a command to bless. What we bless with our mouth, God will irrevocably create through it.
We are the change we seek
Then the Eternal reached out and touched my mouth, and He gave me His divine message. This very day I appointed you to speak with My authority over nations and kingdoms. Your word—My word—will have the power to uproot and stamp out; it will destroy and upend. And then your word—My word—will rebuild and plant anew. - Jeremiah 1:9-10 (VOICE)
God has called each of us to live our best lives in line with His call upon each of us. He gave us everything we need from the gifts of the Spirit to the fruit of the Spirit. ()
He has also gifted us with permission to use His Words and power to create change in the world with those Words. Every moment we speak is an opportunity to be the change we seek in this world and in our own lives.
Prayer is power. A faith-filled solution-oriented prayer using the very Words of God is capable of revolutionary, life altering results, if only we put it to use.
Because the Spirit prays with us
And in the same way—by our faith—the Holy Spirit helps us with our daily problems and in our praying. For we don’t even know what we should pray for nor how to pray as we should, but the Holy Spirit prays for us with such feeling that it cannot be expressed in words. And the Father who knows all hearts knows, of course, what the Spirit is saying as he pleads for us in harmony with God’s own will. - Romans 8:26-27 (TLB)
Sometimes the meditations of our heart and the words of our mouth seem strained, inadequate, or nonexistent. We find ourselves present or longing to be present with nothing to offer. Instead of feeling guilty, confused, overwhelmed, underwhelmed, or over it, let go.
Ask the Spirit to intercede for you. (I do it at the outset of every prayer, as my own "just in case", "bases covered", and to keep in my awareness the Spirit's ever constant presence.)
Know that the words you have and those you don't are already in transit to the ears of the Almighty. Don't confine the encounter with God to the moments that you are speaking. His Word says that the day will come that while we are yet speaking, He will say "Here I Am". (Isaiah 65:24)
Relax and let the Spirit flow through the words you can utter. Wait for it. The understanding, connection, peace, and answer will follow.
Preservation & motivation
The Lord answered me: “Write down what I show you. Write it clearly on stone tablets so whoever reads it can run to tell others. - Habbakuk 2:2 (ICB)
A prayer agenda has the power to mark time, hold memory, and motivate long after the initial prayer is crafted.
There is opportunity in a written, intentionally crafted prayer. Opportunity for specificity. Opportunity for clarity. Opportunity for revelation. Opportunity for sharing. Opportunity for remembering what was asked and how God answered. And opportunity for a repeat performance!
The common sense approach
For He whom God has sent speaks the words of God [proclaiming the Father’s own message]; for God gives the [gift of the] Spirit without measure [generously and boundlessly]! - John 3:34 (AMP)
It is out of plain old logic and common sense that we choose to use God’s words as mantras, affirmations, and meditations to steady our minds, heal and still our hearts, fill bones with courage, and grow our knowledge of God and His truth.
His Words are filled with His Spirit. His Words are filled with power. This means when our words are His words, we are speaking from the Source! And there's never any wrong in that.
Heal thyself & others
Are you having troubles? You should pray. Are you happy? You should sing. Are you sick? Ask the elders of the church to come and rub oil on you in the name of the Lord and pray for you. If such a prayer is offered in faith, it will heal anyone who is sick. The Lord will heal them...pray for each other. Do this so that God can heal you. Anyone who lives the way God wants can pray, and great things will happen. - James 5:13-16 (ERV)
Praying specifically for the circumstances we face is a powerful way to pray. God can and does heal.
When we pray earnestly from a position of reverence and faith, that power translates into effective requests with amazing results. We are hindered only by a lack of faith and unwillingness to articulate our need.
The Amplified translation puts it this way: "The heartfelt and persistent prayer of a righteous man (believer) can accomplish much [when put into action and made effective by God—it is dynamic and can have tremendous power]."
So don’t wait. Don’t just rely on others. Open your mouth with His words about the healing, wellness, and wholeness you seek. Your prayer activates God’s healing power.
Closed mouths don't get fed
Ask and it will be given to you. Search and you will find. Knock and the door will be opened for you. The one who asks will always receive; the one who is searching will always find, and the door is opened to the man who knocks. - Matthew 7:7-8 (PHILLIPS)
God makes clear that if we need something, we need to speak up. When we do, the answer is always made available.
But there's more. Prayer must be specific, well intentioned, and in line with God's will. This means submitting yourself to God and examining your own motives in your asking.
We have not, because we ask not. When we ask, we don't get what we want when we aim only to fulfill our selfish desires or self-centered agenda. (James 1:2-3)
A prayer agenda can help with this. Prayer can focus the believer on the will of God, to pray prayers worthy of His call on us, filled with faith for Him to perform good works, and with perseverance and reverence and awe. Open heart, mind, and mouth to God.
Because God is on the Lookout too
For the eyes of the Lord roam throughout the earth, so that He may strongly support those whose heart is completely His. - 2 Chronicles 16:9 (NASB)
As the Message translation puts it "God is always on the alert, constantly on the lookout". If God is on the lookout for us, it's our privilege to be on the lookout for Him and others. Being totally committed to God and His plans, means being fully cognizant and purposely engaged in conversation with Him.
Join Him on the Lookout! Let Him see you looking out (and calling out) for Him.
Foolproof & eternal
For with God nothing is ever impossible and no word from God shall be without power or impossible of fulfillment. - Luke 1:37 (AMP)
His Words are eternal. Like Him they never fail. With Him they enlighten, encircle, and engrave truth and light and life and love on us.
His Words are the basis and function for many parts of the armor of God: the Sword of the Spirit (which is His Word), the belt of truth (which is knowledge we receive upon reading, hearing, and understanding the Word), and a steady walk in our shoes of peace (which we gain upon closeness to Him through study and committed focus).
Keep going. Write it down. Say it loud. There is power your prayers because there is power in His Word.
A call to action: Prayer action.
Are you ready to get serious about a powerful life of prayer?
God is on the Lookout with us to see that our words - His Words - are made manifest.
If you are ready, grab the sword of the spirit, lift your shield of faith, look around and within to discern God's vision, and speak God's Words over your sphere of influence and this world!
The Lord said to me, “You have seen correctly, for I am watching to see that my word is fulfilled. - Jeremiah 1:12 (NIV)
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