USING THE F.E.L.L.O.W.S.H.I.P MODEL OF PRAYER (Part 1)
“But if from there you seek the Lord your God, you will find him if you seek him with all your heart and with all your soul”. Deuteronomy 4:29 (NIV)
Introduction
In our quest to cultivate an intimate relationship with God through personal time of prayer, we have looked at the A.C.T.S.L model of prayer. In this article we will look at the F.E.L.L.O.W.S.H.I.P model of prayer. This follows a ten-step pattern of prayer to enhance and deepen our fellowship with God. Arise and pray. Choose a specific time, select a specific place and follow these steps to pray asking God for a deeper and stronger fellowship with Him:
- Fear of God
- Endurance
- Love
- Light of Glory
- One Thing
- Worthy
- Speech
- Humility
- Insight into Intimacy
- Peace and Joy
Kindly pay attention to the scriptures and the prayer samples given. Do feel free to include yours as well to it. The key is to help you pray as an individual. The only way to learn how to pray, is to pray. So, lets pray:
F: FEAR OF GOD
The Lord promised that He would put His fear into the hearts of His people (Jer. 32:40). He will do this much more as we ask Him to. Therefore, we must ask the Spirit to impart the fear of God into our heart as He unites our heart to His heart and Word (Ps. 86:11). It is far easier to resist sin and not compromise when we feel even a small measure of the fear or awe of God in our heart. Therefore, ask Him to cause you to delight in the fear the Lord (Isa. 11:3). Ask Him to strike your heart with the majesty, awe, and dread of God (Isa. 8:13).
Scriptures
“I will put My fear in their hearts so that they will not depart from Me.” (Jer. 32:40)
Unite my heart to fear Your name. (Ps. 86:11) His delight is in the fear of the Lord. (Isa. 11:3)
“The Lord . . . you shall hallow; let Him be your fear and let Him be your dread.” (Isa. 8:13)
Prayer
Father release the spirit of the fear of God into my heart. Strike my heart with revelation of Your majesty, that I might live in awe before You. Release Your presence with holy dread that causes my spirit to tremble before Your glorious majesty. Unite my heart to Your heart and Word and cause me to delight in the fear of God. I believe that the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom.
E: ENDURANCE
In the New Testament, the words endurance, perseverance, and patience are often interchangeable. All three speak of being faithful in your God-given assignments under pressure without quitting. The word patience means more than not being annoyed with someone or driving within the speed limit. We must faithfully persevere for decades, and never draw back from our pursuit of the deep things of God’s heart. It takes the power of God touching our spirit to keep us from quitting or drawing back.
Ask the Lord to give you endurance to be faithful even in the difficult and dry seasons of life. Ask the Spirit to help you persevere on your fasting days. Another way to ask for endurance is to ask God to give you zeal for His heart and His house (John 2:17; Ps. 69:9).
Scriptures
Being strengthened with all power . . . so that you may have great endurance and patience. (Col. 1:11, NIV)
May the Lord direct your hearts into . . . the patience of Christ. (2 Thes. 3:5)
“Zeal for Your house will consume me.” (John 2:17, NASB)
Prayer
Father strengthen my inner man with endurance, that I may do Your will with zeal and diligence, and not quit pursuing the deep things of Your heart. Impart endurance to me for fasting. Direct my heart into the patience and endurance in which Jesus walked. Give me strength to follow through in my commitments to You and to fulfill my ministry calling even when it is difficult to do.
L: LOVE
It takes the influence of the Holy Spirit for us to love in the way God calls us to. As Paul wrote, “This is my prayer, that your love may abound more and more” (Phil. 1:9, NIV). When we ask for our heart to abound in love, we are asking for the Holy Spirit to inspire us in four ways.
First, we are asking for the understanding of God’s love for us to abound in our heart.
Second, we are asking the Spirit to tenderize our heart so that we can abound in love for Jesus.
Third, we ask Him to help us love ourselves by seeing ourselves as God sees us. Many people despise themselves, and this hinders their walk with God. And
Fourth, we ask the Spirit to cause love for others to abound in our heart.
Scriptures
I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment. (Phil. 1:9)
The love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit. (Rom. 5:5)
May the Lord make you increase and abound in love to one another. (1 Thes. 3:12)
May the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God. (2 Thes. 3:5)
You formed my inward parts . . . You covered me in my mother’s womb. I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; marvelous are Your works, and that my soul knows very well. My frame was not hidden from You, when I was made in secret, and skillfully wrought. (Ps. 139:13–15)
“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.” (Mark 12:30)
“As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love.” (John 15:9)
“. . . that the love with which You loved Me may be in them.” (John 17:26)
. . . that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height—to know the love of Christ. (Eph. 3:17–19)
Prayer
Father pour out Your love into my inner man by the Holy Spirit, that my heart may overflow in love back to You and to others (Rom. 5:5). I also ask that You impart Your love for Jesus into my heart (John 17:26). I ask for grace to love God with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength (Mark 12:30). Allow me to comprehend Jesus’ love for me and to abide in it—stay connected to it (John 15:9). Let me see myself through Your eyes and love who You created me to be (Ps. 139:13–15).
L: LIGHT OF GLORY
On the day of Paul’s conversion, he saw Jesus on the road to Damascus in a great light from heaven (Acts 22:6–11).
Moses prayed to see God’s glory (Ex. 33:18). Afterwards, his face shone with the light of glory. Like Moses, we can also ask to encounter the realm of God’s glory.
Jesus said that His disciples would see an open heaven in which they would see the angels ascending and descending (John 1:51). Ask the Lord for supernatural encounters that include seeing angels and experiencing His glory and presence in dynamic ways. Ask Him to shine the light of His countenance on your heart.
Scriptures
Suddenly a great light from heaven shone around me [Paul] . . . And since I could not see for the glory of that light, being led by the hand of those who were with me, I came into Damascus. (Acts 22:6, 11)
And he [Moses] said, “Please, show me Your glory.” (Ex. 33:18)
“You shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending.” (John 1:51)
“I [Elisha] pray, open his [Servants] eyes that he may see.” Then the Lord opened the eyes of the young man . . . The mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. (2 Kings. 6:17)
Lord, lift up the light of Your countenance upon us. (Ps. 4:6)
His countenance was like the sun shining in its strength. (Rev. 1:16)
Oh, send out Your light and Your truth! Let them lead me . . . bring me to Your holy hill. (Ps. 43:3)
Prayer
Father let me see the light of Your glory. Give me Holy Spirit encounters—dreams, visions, angelic visitations, manifestations of Your light, fire, and wind—as You gave to Moses, Isaiah, Ezekiel, the disciples on the day of Pentecost, and John on the island of Patmos (Ex. 33–34; Isa. 6; Ezek. 1; Acts 2; Rev. 1).
O: ONE THING
It is essential to consistently spend time before the Lord in His Word. In other words, to be a man or woman of one thing like David (Ps. 27:4), or Mary of Bethany, who sat at Jesus’ feet (Luke 10:42).
Set your heart to be a person of one thing. Commit yourself regularly to be a person of one thing and ask the Holy Spirit to help you to not lose this focus. I ask the Lord to show me, to intervene and speak to me, when I start to drift away from this one thing lifestyle. I ask Him to speak to me from Scripture, through dreams, or just by His still, small voice. As I pray this prayer regularly, I am far more sensitized to receiving the Lord’s help and correction when I lose my “one thing” focus.
Scriptures
One thing I have desired . . . that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord. (Ps. 27:4)
“But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part.” (Luke 10:42)
One thing I do . . . reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. (Phil. 3:13–14)
I have set the Lord always before me; because He is at my right hand I shall not be moved. (Ps. 16:8)
Prayer
Father, I commit to live as a person of one thing. Help me to regularly sit at Your feet as Mary of Bethany did. Strengthen me to desire and maintain a lifestyle that has regular times before You in Your Word. When I lose this focus, send Your Word to deliver me, as You did for the saints in the early church (Rev. 2:4–5, 3:1–3, 15–20).
Intentionality is key to intimacy with the Lord our God. Let us keep praying for a deeper walk with the Lord by following the F.e.l.l.o.w.s.h.i.p model of prayer daily.
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