This morning I was reading through Nehemiah to prepare for The Better Together Conference next week and read these words by Pastor T.D. Jakes. I couldn’t have needed them more. They brought me to a much-needed place of prayer between me and God–of confession, and restoration of my heart.
I wonder if you need to read these words too? I pray they bless your soul.
Naked Prayer, T.D. Jakes
In the Word of God, we occasionally read about a place of naked prayer. People who pray in this way have been stripped of their self-consciousness, their concern about the opinions of others, and their pride. Hannah was a woman who prayed like this. When she came to the temple and poured out all her locked-up bitterness, she appeared drunk (see 1 Samuel 1:12-18). Even the priest did not recognize this kind of consuming, passionate prayer.
God is raising up some men and women who will blow the minds of the most religious people! Radical Christians–those who have nothing to lose–are coming to the forefront. Like Christ, they have been laid bare on the cross and are speaking the truth under the threat of nails and spears.
When your options run out, your faith will grow. Think about it. Who needs faith for water when you can turn on a faucet? Who needs faith for the parting of the sea when there are bridges standing strong? faith is reserved for those times when there are not alternatives, when you must look to the Invisible to do the impossible!
Your crisis is a privilege God has given you to experience a deeper realm of a miracle-working power. Get up and start shouting! You have been chosen for a miracle. Faith must have the incubator of impossibility to grow. Don’t panic. This trouble is just a test–a test with a reward. So don’t stop short of the prize. The greater the conflict the greater the conquest.
Lay aside every sin that could trip you up. Forgive everyone who ever hurt you or disappointed you. Slip the spirit of heaviness from your shoulders–the old depression that is weighting you down. When you are stripped down to nothing but prayer let your request be made known to God.
You may have to walk the floor and pray. You may have to confess some issues you have not wanted to confront. You may have to forgive someone who wasn’t even courteous enough to ask for forgiveness. Do it anyway. Considering what God has done for you, you can’t afford any barriers to prayer.
Let the cool waters of His Word rinse the residue from your past. Spread before Him every issue; He can’t cleanse what you will not expose. Bathe your mind in the streams of His mercy. This kind of bathing is as holy as a christening and as refreshing as a shower. It brings the renewal that can only occur in the heart of a woman who has been through enough to open her heart, to board up her past, and to stand in the rain of His grace. The only way you can dress up for God is to undress. Present yourself as a living sacrifice offered on the altar in naked prayer.
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