Hey there, hello and welcome to this episode of The Prayer Podcast.

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On a recent episode of The Burt (Not Ernie) Show…which is a podcast I’ve hosted since 2019 that focuses on knowing and believing God’s promises…I shared a verse from 1 Kings chapter 8. And during my study time for that show, I landed on a verse that is such a great one for this show. In chapter 8, King Solomon, son of King David, is dedicating the temple and part of the dedication ceremony is a lengthy and beautiful prayer.

1 Kings 8:52, and I’m reading from the Amplified today…not the entire verse, just portions:

..that Your eyes may be open to the supplication of Your people…to listen to them and be attentive to them whenever they call to You.

The definition of supplication is this: entreating - humble and earnest petition or prayer -

Prayer coming from a place of humility honors the Lord.

But coupling that humility with an earnestness that we will be heard, and we will receive an answer, that’s a powerful and beautiful way to pray.

When is the last time your prayer time could be described as entreating? An earnest request that is somewhat akin to begging?

That’s our picture of supplication.

And we know as Christians who have read the New Testament that we are not beggars, we are those who are told in Hebrews chapter 4 to come boldly to God’s throne of grace to find help and obtain mercy in our time of need. Begging and coming boldly don’t exactly go together, they kind of feel like a mismatch in a way.

But the humility that comes to mind when someone is really in need and is just flat out begging for the answer to that need, true humility that isn’t always neat and tidy and prettied up, but is so raw and genuine that it isn’t fake or manufactured, let’s think of that kind of humility regarding prayer today.

Bold but humble. Expectant yet grateful.

Lord, today I come before you based on this verse from the book of 1 Kings. Would You hear me as I pray today, and would You respond to my prayers? All of us who are Your children have needs today. Some are huge and some are smaller, but no matter the size of the need, they are all real needs and we need You, our loving Father, to come to our aid at our point of need. Today my prayer is that You will open Your eyes to my supplication on behalf of Your people. Please, Lord, do not be far from us. Do not close Your ears to us today. Draw near and remain near. Do not ignore my prayer today, and do not leave us in this place. But deliver us, protect us, show Your power in the situations that are on our hearts, and speak Your truth over us and over our loved ones, our health, our finances, our work situations, our ministries, our families and our churches, over every big and every small aspect of our lives. O Lord, hear! O Lord, move and act in power. O Lord, respond and quickly. We are crying out to You today, and taking You at Your word, believing that You will be attentive to us in this time, in this season, at this very moment, because we are calling to You. Do miracles in our midst. Vanquish our foes and restore what the locusts have devoured. Strengthen our hearts and our minds as we place all our hope and trust in You. We choose not to try and solve all our problems on our own, but we seek Your first and foremost, and we will follow where You lead and will obey You because Your Holy Spirit in us will help us to follow and obey. We need You every hour, Lord, and in this very hour I am asking on behalf of Your people that You will respond to our needs and will reveal more of You to us in this time, and will grant us all we need in these relationships and circumstances we are praying about today. With all the humility and boldness I can muster, and with the authority of the name of Jesus I pray this today - Amen.

Thanks so much for joining me today and for the privilege of praying for you. Standing with God’s people in prayer - what a blessing!

Also, just an FYI. I am a sponsor for an upcoming online event. The Vibrant Home Life Summit is happening super soon, October 29 thru November 3 2023. It’s a Christian based event that aims at helping families to keep their faith and focus on the Lord. I’m blessed to be part of this event and I’m going to leave a link to grab your free ticket in the show notes. Lots of benefits to checking out a summit like this, not the least of which is being encouraged yourself as you go about your daily roles of both being a disciple and making disciples. Thanks again for listening today and remember you can text me prayer requests anytime via the text option on my website, which is my name, I’ll spell it out J A N L B U R T dot com The text option is right on the main page and the phrasing comes automatically with my website which is built in a CRM, so it says something like a representative will be with you shortly (sounds like a CRM, doesn’t it? Not like a ministry website…haven’t been able to change that verbiage just yet but no representative is gonna call you. I’ll pray for you request and prayer requests are always confidential, started that in my online prayer retreat group and just apply it across the board when I pray, and I’d be blessed to pray for you at any time.)