* Please click here to
listen to Anne pray this prayer.
The unmistakable sound of the Shofar
could be heard coming from the wall surrounding Jerusalem, echoing
across the sun-scorched valley. The blowing of the trumpet heralded
great public distress and was used to summon the people. It was
the first century B.C. and a severe drought was threatening the very
existence of the city. So the city elders called for the people
to gather outside the city walls. Then they sent for Honi.
Honi was an old
man who, after this day, became known as the Circle-Drawer. Because
when he was summoned, the elders asked him, “Pray that rain may fall.”
Honi prayed, but nothing happened. So he drew a circle around
himself in the dust of the ground, and prayed again, "O Lord of
the world, Your children have turned their faces to me… I swear by Your
great name that I will not stir from here until You have pity on Your
children."
The rain began to
fall, one large drop at a time. But Honi protested, “Not for such
rain have I prayed, but for rain that will fill the cisterns, pits, and
caverns.”
In answer to his
prayer, the heavens opened and the waters descended in a violent
gully-washer that threatened to flood the city. So once again,
Honi pleaded, “Not for such rain have I prayed, but for rain of
goodwill, blessing and graciousness.” It is said, and recorded by
the Jewish historian, Josephus, that in response to Honi’s third
prayer, a long, soaking rain began to fall that ended the three-year
drought. [1] Honi had prevailed in prayer.[2]
As I look ahead into 2016, I feel compelled to draw a circle around
this city, this state, this nation…
and pray! Until God answers. Do the same. Please. On
this first day of the New Year, draw your own circle. Then pray
for everything that’s inside of it.
…Return to the
Lord your God, for He is gracious and compassionate… Who knows?
He may turn and have pity and leave behind a blessing. Joel 2:13-14
O God of creation. We bow before You acknowledging Your greatness and
Your glory. No one compares to You. No one is Your equal. We look
at Your creation and marvel at the infinite power and wisdom that are
Yours. Nothing is beyond Your reach. “You bring out all the
starry host one by one, and call them each by name. Because of Your
great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing…You pitch a
tent for the sun…It rises at one end of the heavens and makes its
circuit to the other; nothing is hidden from its heat…Where can I go
from Your Spirit? Where can I flee from Your presence? If I go up
to the heavens, You are there; if I make my bed in the depths, You are
there.” [3] There is nowhere in all the Universe where You
are not. Surely Your arm “…is not too short to save, nor [Your] ear too
dull to hear.”[4]
I acknowledge You as ___________________
Yet we honestly confess: when terrorists randomly kill; when women and
children detonate themselves as suicide bombers; when innocent people
are grabbed from behind and stabbed in the back; when floods,
tornadoes, and storms ravage our land; when our national leaders don’t
lead; when our business leaders lie; when our political leaders put
their own interests before the people’s; when our spiritual leaders
contradict Your Word; when our social leaders divide; when our allies
become our enemies and our enemies become our allies…what’s going
on? Where
are You?
We are tempted to think You are…
Distracted…disengaged…disinterested,
Inattentive…inactive…impotent,
Out-maneuvered…out-moded…out-classed,
Unable…unaffected…and
even unaware…
of our fear… our helplessness…our confusion…our outrage. Why do You
seem so small while our problems, disasters, and enemies seem so large?
Why ___________________?
Help us to regain our focus.
God of our fathers. Lord of the nations. You are the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth. No one can understand Your ways.
But we turn to You. We return to You. Now. “Are You not the God who is
in heaven? You rule over all the kingdoms of the nations. Power
and might are in Your hand, and no one can withstand You.”[5]
Did we not establish our nation as one under God? Have we not pledged,
“In God We Trust”? But now we find ourselves constantly bombarded with
the shrill voices of those who demand we distance ourselves from You;
that You are just one of many gods, if You are a god at all; that we
cannot risk offending each other by calling on Your name. We hear the
enemy insinuating that You are “not fixing this” because You can’t fix this.
Our faith is being assaulted.
And so our spirits rise up within us and throw off the smothering cloak
of spiritual oppression and political correctness. We shout Your Name.
You are Yahweh. Jehovah--the personal God. The great I AM--the
eternal God. The All-mighty--the Powerful God. You are Jesus. Savior.
Immanuel. God with us, never to leave or forsake us. Your power has not
been diluted or depleted over the ages. You are just as powerful…just
as much in authority…as You were in Creation; in the deliverance of
Your people from Egypt and in the parting of the Red Sea. You are
the One who sends down the fire.[6] Who fells the giants.[7]
Who makes wars to cease.[8] Who raises the dead![9]
I shout Your name: ___________________
As we look ahead into the New Year, we choose to place our trust in
You. If “…the kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers
gather together against the Lord,”[10] we trust in You. If
“…the earth gives way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,
though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their
surging,”[11] we trust in You. Though …”nations are in
uproar, kingdoms fall…,”[12] we trust in You. When
…”the wicked draw the sword and bend the bow to bring down the poor and
needy, to slay those whose ways are upright…,[13]” we trust
in You. We trust You. We
trust You!
I trust You when ___________________
I trust You for ___________________
We are told that we can worship You in our own churches, but we cannot
bring You into the marketplace or the workplace; into the State House
or the school house; onto the battlefield or the football field; into
the courtroom or the back room or the bedroom. As though the God
of gods can be contained, boxed in, restricted, bound, hidden. We laugh
at such foolishness and exalt You as the Most High God who strides the
winds of the earth. The clouds are the dust of Your feet.[14]
The heavens, even the highest heavens, cannot contain You.[15]
How much less any local church building. We invite You to have
Your way in our lives. In our state. In our nation. Within
our circle.
I invite You into my ___________________
Now arise, O Lord God. Look on us, Your people who are called by
Your name. Listen to us, as we cry out to You on behalf of our
nation. Do not reject us. Have pity on us.
We feel the encroaching evil. Darkness and gloom are descending.
Those who hate us are infiltrating us. Those who are dedicated to
destroying us are all around us. Are You at the head of this
army? Is this the beginning of the Day of the Lord? Have we tried
Your patience and crossed the line into Your judgment? Are You holding
us accountable for our sin and rebellion and defiance, for our
profanity and blasphemy and idolatry? “You alone are to be
feared. Who can stand before You when You are angry?”[16] Are You?
Most Holy God. As we draw a circle around ourselves, we want to
make everything right with You within that circle. So we confess
our sin. You are righteous. We are not. You always do
the right thing. We have done wrong. We are covered with shame because
we know better. We have had generations of blessing and prosperity, yet
we have refused to thank You, and instead give ourselves credit for
what has come from Your hand. We have agreed with those who contradict
Your Word. We have turned away from Your truth, and believed lies. We
have treated life casually. We have destroyed our environment
selfishly. We have passed by the needy uncaringly. We have demanded
entitlements defiantly. We have not listened to those who have warned
us of the consequences of drifting from You.
I confess my sin of ___________________
I will stop ___________________
I will turn away from ___________________
Thank You for forgiving and cleansing me of ___________________
And now, as we look into 2016, we come face to face with a mess. What
can be done to save us from ourselves? Even as the question
reverberates in our minds, the answer is given: the solution to our
spiritual and moral meltdown—to the restoration of the crumbling
foundation of our nation—is not politics, nor the economy, nor health
care, nor welfare or immigration reforms, nor free higher education,
nor the court system, nor corporate or Wall Street regulation. You are
the Answer. You are the Solution. Yet instead of turning to You, we
seem to be turning farther and farther away from You. But not now.
Now we turn back. We turn around. We re-turn to You.
We run to You. We cling to You. We plead with You…
Turn to us!
Draw near to us![17] If You do not help us, we will be
defenseless. If You do not protect us, we will be exposed to
danger. If You do not deliver us from evil, we will be overcome
by it. If You do not have plans to give us hope and a future, we will
slide into the past tense as a nation.[18] Into
oblivion.
Father of all mercies. You have said that our land is a land that You,
the Lord our God, care for; that Your eyes are continually on it from
the beginning of the year to its end.[19] As You look
on our nation from this day forward, from January 1st to December 31st,
2016, we ask for what we know we don’t deserve. We ask for Your
blessing. Please…
- Bless our national and
local elections. Raise up men and women who will lead us
back to you. Raise up another Asa, who was fully committed
to the Lord all his life.[20] Raise up another
Jehoshaphat who did what was right in the eyes of the Lord.[21]
Raise up another Josiah who renewed the covenant of his people
with You—“to follow the Lord and keep His commands.”[22]
Raise up leaders of moral and spiritual integrity who have a
strong faith and a healthy reverence for You and therefore the wisdom
to make right decisions. Put Your choice in the Oval Office.
- Bless our homeland
security teams. Give them eyes to see the bad guys, ears to
hear the evil chatter, minds to understand the tweets and codes,
and the will to act before the enemy does. Protect us from evil.
- Bless our policemen and
firemen, our armed forces and border patrol—all those who risk
their lives to keep us safe. Restore to them the respect they
deserve. Protect their lives and their families. Bring to
the light of justice any corruption and abuse so that we can trust
those in uniform. Guard those who guard us.
- Bless our judges and
prosecutors. Cause them to serve faithfully and wholeheartedly,
remembering that they are accountable to You.[23]
Punish those who do wrong. Encourage those who do right.
- Bless my
___________________
You are the Fountainhead from whom all blessings flow. The list of our
needs and our requests is endless. Please. Bless our doctors.
Our lawyers. Our bankers. Our teachers. Our commissioners. Our farmers.
- Bless our preachers,
Bible teachers, and seminary professors. Like Ezra of old,
stir their hearts to be devoted to You first, then to the study
and the preaching of Your Word.[24] When they preach or
teach, compel them to preach the Word, not books about the Word.
Motivate them with holy fear of standing before the Judgment Seat
of Christ to give an account for the way they have impacted others
by their words and by their deeds. Remove those whose lives
are out of sync with their lips. Raise up a generation of
spiritual leaders that You approve of as workmen who do not need
to be ashamed because they correctly handle the word of truth. [25]
Fill them to overflowing with Your Spirit.
- Bless our families. The
unloving spirits of infidelity, dishonesty, treachery, hypocrisy,
immorality, pornography, and adultery are sweeping through our
homes. The enemy seems to be attacking us on every level, on every
front. A vast army of evil seems to have been unleashed
against the home. Especially the homes and families of
Christ-followers. “We have no power to face this vast army that is
attacking us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are
upon You.”[26] We plead for Your divine
protection. We plead for Your divine wisdom to counter the
attacks so that our families are strengthened in their
relationship with You. Be the center of our homes.
- Lord of love, we pray
for You to bless our enemies. Yes, we do. Open their ears to the
Truth. Open their minds to understand the Gospel. Open their
hearts to long for Your love. Draw them to Yourself as moths are
drawn to a flame. Your Light is stronger than their darkness.
Bring them into the Light. Save them for all eternity. BUT if they
reject You, we ask that You turn them on each other. Distract
them. Destroy them. Prevent them from continuing to attack
and persecute the righteous.
- Lastly, O God our
Father, bless us. Bless me. Make me into a vessel of honor,
an instrument “…for noble purposes, made holy, useful to our
Master and prepared to do any good work.”[27] I know the
night is coming when work for You will cease.[28]
Help me to redeem the time. Use me now for Your Kingdom and Your
glory. Open my lips to boldly and fearlessly make known the
Gospel:[29] the Good News of redemption for the
past…hope for the future… joy for the present regardless of
circumstances… love that is unconditional, boundless, and eternal[30]…found
at the Cross. Open my lips to just give Jesus to a world
that is increasingly desperate. Use me as an ambassador of peace
on earth by first leading people into a right relationship with
You, then with each other. When the world around me unravels, help
me to stand strong on my faith in You. And when people see me
standing strong, help them to see You.
Bless me.
- Make me into
___________________
- Help me to
___________________
- Use me for
___________________
And now, God of grace, as we preprayer for the New Year, we ask
bottom-line that You fill our circles with Your glory. Send down Your
Holy Spirit in fullness. Ignite the fire of revival in our own hearts.
Protect us. Defend us. Comfort us. Empower us. Equip us as we put
on the full armor of God so that we can stand against the devil’s
schemes…so that when the day of evil comes, we may be able to stand our
ground…taking up the Sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God…and
pray. With this in mind, we remain self-controlled and alert while we
keep on praying until we prevail in prayer.[31] And we keep
on watching expectantly. Is 2016 the year of Your return? We hope
so! Come
Lord Jesus…[32]
For the glory
of Your name…
Amen.
* Please click here to
view the PDF version of this prayer.
[1] I first read the story of Honi in
the introduction to Mark Batterson’s book, The Circle Maker. The account
I’ve shared in this book is based on the writings of Josephus, a
first-century scholar and very credible historian who was born in
Jerusalem shortly after the first coming of Jesus Christ. His writings
are held in high regard, and have been used by the secular world as the
primary source for both Jewish and Christian history.
[2] Taken from The Daniel Prayer;
Chapter 7; Anne Graham Lotz; by permission Zondervan Publishing; May
2016
[3] Isaiah 40:25-26, Psalm 19:4, 6;
139:7-8
[4] Isaiah 59:1
[5] 2 Chronicles 20:6
[6] 2 Chronicles 7:1
[7] 1 Samuel 17:1-50
[8] Psalm 46:9
[9] 2 Kings 4:1-37; Luke 7:11-16;
8:40-42, 49-56; Ephesians 1:17-21
[10] Psalm 2:2
[11] Psalm 46:2-3
[12] Psalm 46:6
[13] Psalm 37:14
[14] Nahum 1:3
[15] 2 Chronicles 6:18
[16] Psalm 76:7
[17] James 4:8
[18] Jeremiah 29:11-13
[19] Deuteronomy 11:11
[20] 2 Chronicles 15:1-17
[21] 2 Chronicles 19:4-20:32
[22] 2 Chronicles 34:1-33
[23] 2 Chronicles 19:8-11
[24] Ezra 7:10
[25] 2 Timothy 2:15; 4:1-2
[26] 2 Chronicles 20:12
[27] 2 Timothy 2:21
[28] John 9:4
[29] Ephesians 6:19
[30] Ephesians 3:14-19
[31] Ephesians 6:10-18; 1 Peter 4:7
[32] Revelation 22:20
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