Praying For Your Bean Patch
You have a bean patch—a sphere of influence that no one else has. You can stand and defend it through prayer.
I use the term “bean patch” from the persistence and bravery of one of David’s three mighty men, Shammah, whose name means “God is there”. He defended his ground, his field, and the Lord brought the victory!
“The Philistines were gathered into a troop where there was a plot of ground full of lentils (beans) and the people (Israelites) fled from the Philistines. But he (Shammah) took his stand in the midst of the plot, defended it and struck the Philistines; and the LORD brought about a great victory.” (2 Samuel 23:11)
When you identify your bean patch to pray for it probably includes: family and close friends; your neighborhood; your city; (Jeremiah 29:4-14); your own nation and other countries God puts on your heart; other people or concerns.
At the beginning of any prayer time, it is helpful to confess any unforgiveness, judgmental attitude, hatred, disappointment, unbelief or anything that is displeasing to God. Give Him the “junk” that you have allowed to plug up your pipeline of communication with Him. With the lines of communication open, expect to receive an answer to your prayer.
When Praying For Others
Sometimes I add warfare to my prayer efforts—to stand against the enemy’s tactics, by quoting the Scriptures as Jesus did when the enemy came to tempt Him in the wilderness. He said, “Be gone, Satan, for it is written…” I quote scripture and ask the Holy Spirit to show me how to pray so my prayers are aligned with God’s will.
What Are Our Weapons?
- The word of God is living and powerful..sharper than any two-edged sword.(Hebrews 4:12)
- The name of Jesus—our authority. (Mark 16:17; Luke 10: 18-19)
- The blood of Jesus.( I John 1:7-9; John 129)
- Praise. To glorify God, terrify the enemy.( 2 Chronicles 20:22-31)
- Clap and shout. (Psalm 47:1; Psalm 95:1-2; Psalm 100:1; (Psalm 144:1)
- Joy and laughter. (Psalm 126:1-2; Genesis 21:6)
- Pray as led by the Holy Spirit. (Romans 8: 28; Ephesians 6:18; Jude verse 20)
- Fasting. (Isaiah 58:6; Nehemiah 1:4,7;Matthew 4:2; Matthew 6:16-18)
Suggestions For Praying
- Be specific. See Luke 11:5-13. He asked specifically for three loaves of bread.
- Be persistent (Luke 11:5-9).
- Keep asking, seeking, knocking. “The three imperatives are in the Greek present tense: denoting a continuous asking, seeking, and knocking. Persistence can be translated overboldness or shamelessness—the persistence is for our benefit, not to overcome God’s reluctance to respond to our requests” (Spirit Filled Life Bible, NKJV, edited by Jack Hayford, p. 1535).
- Learn faith-building Scriptures to use in daily prayer and in a crisis.
- Ask God for Scripture promises and cling to those for your loved ones, believing that God is faithful. Pray Scriptures aloud at times.
- Pray for God to send Christians across the path of your loved ones to talk to them about the things of God.
- Get a prayer support team to stand with you.(Matthew 18:19) I think it is helpful to have a special prayer partner who will pray for him/her on a regular basis—for individual needs/requests. Married couples can be a strong prayer partnership.
- Hold onto your faith that with God, nothing is impossible (no one is hopeless).
- Personalize scripture for your situation.
- Don’t be a worry “pray-er”. Jesus said, “Be not anxious.” Live in faith, not fear. Do not dwell on all the negatives—the things in the natural that are wrong but pray believing that God has the answer on the way.
- Don’t box God in by your own expectation and timetable. We may be tempted to tell Him how we want our prayers answered and when, but remember He knows best and His ways are higher than our ways. Be open to the Holy Spirit.
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