Author name: Tom Stuart

Praying a Hedge of Protection

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One of the critical aspects of intercessory prayer is praying for a hedge of protection. The hedge as a metaphor for spiritual protection is used at least five time in the Bible to describe God’s means of protecting both individuals and nations, Israel in particular. In each context it affords us a view beyond the veil that separates the natural from the spiritual world and gives us a glimpse into the spiritual warfare that is often required for the fulfillment of God’s purposes.

Our first introduction to the hedge of protections is in the book of Job. Here we see Satan asking God for access to afflict Job. “Have you not put a hedge around him and his house and all that he has, on every side?” (Job 1:10) This hedge was obviously placed there by God to protect Job and was so effective that even Satan could not get at him. As the story unfolds we see what can happen when God removes a hedge and how even in doing so He uses it to work good in Job’s life by giving him a deeper revelation of Himself.

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Praying for those who don’t know Jesus

1 Comment / Prayer /

Previously, in my post Turning Promises into Prayers, I explained the simple process of crafting prayers using scripture and made a case for the power that is released in persistently praying God’s Word back to Him.

Now as an example, I want to share a scriptural prayer that I wrote for use in praying for the people in my life who do not yet have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. I have found that this prayer releases great faith in my heart as I regularly pray through it. And it encourages me to be persistent in praying because I know that it is both God’s way and God’s will for people to come salvation.

I would encourage you to printout this prayer and try using it for at least seven times in praying for those on your prayer list who are not yet Christians. You can insert their names in the blanks. Be intentional as you pray this prayer to do it with both feeling and conviction.

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Turning Promises into Prayers

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“If you keep knocking long enough, he will get up and give you whatever you need because of your shameless persistence.” Luke 11:8

One of the virtues of prayer that Jesus specifically encouraged was that of persistence. He gave illustrations to drive this important truth home by telling parables about such people as the audacious friend needing bread at midnight and persistent widow badgering the unjust judge. (Luke 11:5-9 & Luke 18:1-5)

While initially God’s silence or seeming lack of response to our prayers may appear to be a “no”, it typically is more like a “not yet.” Timing, as they say, is everything and there is with God a mystery in His ways that requires an attitude of dependently waiting upon Him for the answer. The preparation process in delivering an answer is as much, if not more about what He is doing in us as it is about what He plans on doing for us.

The one practice which I have found to be the most helpful in praying persistent prayers over the long haul is that of turning His promises into prayers. Here are some practical tips, by no means original with me, for doing that.

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The Most Easily Overlooked Prayer

Prayer /

Recently I had an aha moment! It happened while I was going through my prayer list of people for whom I pray regularly. The list, which has grown to over a hundred people, includes family members, relatives, friends and those who serve in the ministry and as missionaries. Since they are people I consider as given to me by God, just as Jesus viewed those the Father had given Him, I have been using His John 17 prayer as a model for similar ways to pray for them. (See Pray Like Jesus for Family and Friends)

As I was praying I heard the Holy Spirit whisper to me “Do you know what people in your life are missing from this list?” Pause . . . . “Your enemies.” I thought to myself, “But why would I want to pray for them, they’ve hurt me?” But no sooner had that thought formed as a bubble poised above my head than a pin prick of truth from the Bible popped it. The words of Jesus came darting into the picture “But to you who are willing to listen, I say, love your enemies! Do good to those who hate you. Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who hurt you.” (Luke 5:27-28) Ouch!

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An Antidote for Murphy’s Law

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It never ceases to amaze me how all evidences of sanctified spirituality seemingly drain away when the littlest thing comes along to unnerve a person. That leaking joint did it for me. After several hours of running back and forth halfway around the house to turn the sprinkler system on and then off to test the connection, I finally gave up. I put my tools away and called it a day.

To be honest I even lost some sleep over it that night, praying and trying to figure out what to do to stop the leaking. The next morning, as I began my daily intercession time, I felt reluctant to even bother praying anymore about that ridiculously insignificant piece of plastic. Why with so many people suffering the world over and so many serious, life and death issues at stake, how could I waste God’s time and any more of my time on that stupid leak. And so I chose to forget about it and pray for others.

After breakfast, on an impulse I asked my wife Susan to take a minute and bow with me in prayer that God would somehow intervene to provide some answer for the leak. Having said “amen” I decided to walk out onto the deck and down the stairs to survey the challenge. It was then that I noticed a van parked in front of the house next door and the lettering on the side spelled the name of a local nursery. My neighbor was out talking to a young man who appeared to be the truck’s driver. To my delight, it turns out the guy was there to open up and test my neighbor’s sprinkler system. What a sight for sore eyes he was.

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