3-WORD PRAYERS

 
 3WEEKS OF 3WORD PRAYERS We’ll experiment with a simple prayer of only three words. Discovering your 3 words is adventurous! Our mission is to grow closer to our Lord by approaching Him with our core desire for union with Him, communicated in three, simple, heart-felt words. Your 3-Word Prayer will be different than everyone else’s. This prayer-focus is not so much about the exact words as it’s about recognizing your inborn desire to be closer to Him and articulating it concisely. “I love you.” Wow… that’s concise and leads to powerful connections in life. Get it! God is always near, always listening and always ready to communicate with each of us. That’s just His fatherly and friendly nature, His promise and His delight. Our part in this two-way conversation entails a tuned-up spiritual focus. Let’s ask the Lord to tweak our sensitivity, so we can pick up on His thundering voice, His casual chat and His soft whisper. Why so few words? Only three words? The following Scriptures attest to the great value of limiting the quantity of our words: “In the multitude of words there wanteth not sin: but he that refraineth his lips is wise” [Pr.10:19]. “He that hath knowledge spareth his words…” [Pro. 17:27]. “Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter any thing before God: for God is in heaven, and thou upon earth: therefore let thy words be few” [Ecc. 5:2]. “For a dream cometh through the multitude of business; and a fool's voice is known by multitude of words” [Ecc. 5:3]. “A fool also is full of words…” [Ecc. 10:14]. “But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking” [Mat. 6:7]. THREE WORDS ARE PLENTY WHEN THEY’RE HEARTFELT! WHAT IS MY 3WORD PRAYER?  AN EXAMPLE My personal 3WORD PRAYER is simply “Color me Jesus.” This may not make sense to everyone at first glance. However, between the Lord and me it works. Here’s why! These three words embody a beautiful truth that encourages me and empowers me to grow up in Christ. You see, the first word of my prayer, “color,” stems from the KJV word “manifold,” in these verses: “To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God” [Eph. 3:10]. “Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations” [1 Pet. 1:6]. “As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God” [1 Pet. 4:10]. The Greek word for “Manifold” means multi-colored, motley, diverse, variegated colors. We see manifold or multi-colored wisdom, temptations, and grace (which is my favorite) in these three verses. The picture in my head is simple: Life is like The Artist’s canvas. While still living, each day is potentially filled with new brushstrokes of His colors. Each day the picture of my old life is being covered with new paint, new colors, and the vital imagery of godliness. The goal of Christ-likeness is a work of “manifold grace,” many colors of divine enablement. The painting develops day-by-day with fresh hues, shades, and tints of His choosing. These daily brush stokes come as victory over temptations, openness to wisdom and empowerment by grace. How I respond to these color-opportunities invites my Creator to “Color me Jesus.” I want to be like Jesus responding like He did in temptation, wisdom, and most of all, living by grace as the Man Jesus, the Son of man, did. “Color Me Jesus” is the epicenter of my daily prayer. It’s an attitude that expresses an ever-present desire to be like Him. God is my Hero. “C o l o r m e J e s u s.”  The ugly flip side of my hopeful prayer is that I’m also being colored every day by life’s experiences. If the Holy Spirit is not influencing me then who’s? As long as the clock ticks and our hearts beat we are changing, we are being colored for good or evil. 4 STEPS TO DISCOVERING YOUR 3WORD PRAYER  1. WHAT IS YOUR 3WORD PRAYER? What is your core desire? What do you really want out of life, out of your relationship with the Giver of Life? Keep the big picture in mind, those lifelong goals, when answering this question. While we live with demanding drives in daily life, we also live knowing that our earthly existence is relatively brief. Find three simple words that express your heart toward the Lord. Other examples of 3WORD PRAYERS: Give me life I want You Please love me Build me Jesus Feed me Jesus Drive me Jesus Color me Jesus Surprise me God Get me God Help me God Fix me God Show me Jesus Show me Love Tell me something SUBSTANTIATE THE BIBLICAL BASIS FOR YOUR 3WORD PRAYER Search the Bible using a concordance or an online Bible program to build your 3Word Prayer on a sure foundation of Scripture. 3. CHRONICLES OF GOD & ME Jesus made it perfectly clear; we live by every word that comes from the mouth of God, just as the Israelites were fed manna in the wilderness. Collect your daily bread; record your personal words and impressions from the Lord. Write in your sweet, pocket-sized notebook, or journal format of your choice. Q Can we use jell-pens? A Sure Q Can I change my 3Word prayer to a different 3Word prayer? A Yep! Relationships grow. Q Will anyone else ever read my 3Word prayer journal? A That’s your choice Q Why do I have to this? A This prayer challenge is intended to build our awareness of the Lord’s activity in our lives. We live by His living word to our hearts as much as we live by food on a daily basis. This prayer challenges is also intended to reveal our personal need to respond to Him. It’s a great reality-check. Scripture is replete with examples of people who neglected their prayer lives. They let the personal words of God slip by. They didn’t pay attention in the classroom of the Spirit, so to speak (Num. 16:32). Ouch! “Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip” (Heb. 2:1). Let’s be like Samuel. Even as a growing child, the Lord was with him, and he did not let any of God’s words fall to the ground (1Sam. 3:19). He gathered them, meditated upon their meaning, and became the message he spoke to his generation. Let’s Get God’s Word! It’s like manna; it’s food, it’s truth, it’s life, it’s our way of growing in our relationship with Jesus. He is our Daily Bread. Bon Apatite! HOW DO I RECEIVE MY 3-WORD PRAYER? 4 steps to your 3Word Prayer. 3Word prayers are handy, on-the-spot prayers that work in daily life. Anytime, anywhere we can pray. This works! 1. Quietly pray and introspectively meditate. This is the most important step is receiving your Prayer. Ask the Lord to reveal your core desires, which only He can satisfy. Your 3Word Prayer will be born out of your desires. Make a private list of your deepest desires that you know God wants to fulfill. 2. Search for Scriptures. Use Biblegateway.com or any other Bible program, Bible study books or a concordance to find punchy Scriptures that validate your prayer needs. Follow the example above wherein the Lord revealed three Bible verses that inspire the author to pray “Color Me Jesus.” 3. Ask the Lord for your personal 3 Word Prayer. 4. Walk-It-Out! Begin using your new 3Word Prayer throughout the day. See how the Lord will answer with words of encouragement and power for new life. Prove Him right! Remember, we live by every word that comes from His mouth. Hearing Him is Life - right where we walk - today, tomorrow and forever.