3x3 PRAYER STRATEGY WEEKLY GUIDE

PREPARATION WEEK(S)

1. Letting God Cry Through Us

In Ezekiel 37, the prophet Ezekiel was led by God to a graveyard of dry bones. And
the Lord asked an interesting question, " Can these bones live?"

Perhaps this is a question that some of us may ask doubtingly within our hearts as
we enter into a month of praying the 3x3 prayer strategy for our lost loved ones and
friends.

Ezekiel, not knowing how to respond, simply said, "Oh, Lord God, you know"
(Ezek 37:3). God's response was to have Ezekiel prophesy to the dry bones and
later to have the wind of the spirit breathe life into the bones, causing them to live
again.

We find at times our faith wavering and in moments difficult to believe, summon faith
to believe that these dry bones can live. Ask God to fill you with His passion to save.
Identify with the aching heart of God to save the lost, to bring salvation to our loved
ones, one by one, family by family. Believe that God will use you to say to them,
" Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord." Ezek 37:4b. Over the next few weeks, we
are going to cry out the word of the Lord back to Him for those who are not only
spiritually dead but even buried for so long that they are just dry bones.

We need to be so convinced that God will save the person we love, the one whom
we pray, that we would be shocked if they didn't get saved. We need to believe God
that is so passionately in love with people that when we cry for those we love, we
realize that we're actually helping Him cry.

2. Why Is Persevering Faith So Important?

First, if we don't really believe God will answer our prayers, we will not pray with any
kind of consistency and diligence. We may sporadically ask Him, but we certainly will
not persevere. We must have motivational faith that truly believe. He is hearing us
and He will answer.

Second, is that our faith really releases God's power. There is a striking story in Mk
6:1-6 about Christ not working any miracles in His hometown of Nazareth. A careful
reading and study of the verses in the original Greek text reveals that Jesus didn't
simply choose not to work miracles, but He actually could not work miracles in
Nazareth because of the unbelief of the people.

There is really a dynamic of faith wherein unbelief can hinder God's power from
flowing to us. We are instructed in:

James 1:6-7

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 But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like
a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. [7] That man should not think he
will receive anything from the Lord;

Unbelief can cause us not to receive what we have asked for, even though it may be
within the scope of God's will.

Galatians 6:9
Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a
harvest if we do not give up.

Again, if we are not able to persevere, which certainly has to do with our faith, then
there will be times when we will not reap what we have asked. Jesus said,

Mark 9:23 ( NKJV)

Jesus said to him, "If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes."

It is imperative to ask in faith when we pray for the salvation of the people we love.
Do not start feeling intimidated, questioning whether you have, or could ever have,
enough faith to pray your loved ones of friend into the family of God. Don't allow
Satan to defeat you before you ever get started. You are of the family of faith. The
Holy Spirit, the author of faith, is in you, and you can and will be able to believe.
Deep within your spirit it is your nature to walk in faith.

3. God Can Turn Our Weakness Into Strength

One of our favorite stories in the Bible is that of Abraham and Sarah believing God's
promise for a son. What most people didn't realize, however, is that they didn't
always walk in faith during the 25 years they waited for Isaac. They wavered in their
faith for receiving a son through Sarah -- so much so that they conceived a plan to
try to fulfill the promises through Hagar, Sarah's maid. Ishmael was the result.

Interestingly, in a seeming contradiction, the New Testament states very clearly that
it was because of Abraham and Sarah's great faith that God was able to fulfil the
promise.

Romans 4:17-22
As it is written: "I have made you a father of many nations." He is our father in the
sight of God, in whom he believed--the God who gives life to the dead and calls
things that are not as though they were.
[18] Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of
many nations, just as it had been said to him, "So shall your offspring be." [19]
Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead--
since he was about a hundred years old--and that Sarah's womb was also dead. [20]
Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was
strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, [21] being fully persuaded that God
had power to do what he had promised. [22] This is why "it was credited to him as
righteousness."

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Hebrews 11:11-12
By faith Abraham, even though he was past age--and Sarah herself was barren--
was enabled to become a father because he considered him faithful who had made
the promise. [12] And so from this one man, and he as good as dead, came
descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on
the seashore.

Does the New Testament contradict the Old Testament? Absolutely not.

Rom 4:20 tells us that they" grew strong in faith". And here is the incredibly good
news: They grew into this incredibly strong faith in three short months, at which time
Isaac was conceived. Twenty three years of unbelief was overcame in three months!
From the point of unbelief until Isaac's conception three months later, something
transpired to transform them from unbelief to the great faith spoken of in the New
Testament.

If God could do this for them, He can do it for you! Abraham and Sarah were not
even born again as you are. They didn't have thew Holy Spirit aiding within them.
Surely we who live on this side of the Cross, with a "better covenant" and "better
promises"

Hebrews 8:6 :
" But the ministry Jesus has received is as superior to theirs as the covenant of
which he is mediator is superior to the old one, and it is founded on better promises."

We can rise to a level of faith as quickly, or even more so. Don't underestimate the
Christ I you

Col. 1:27:
" To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches
of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

Let the weak say, I am strong (Joel 3:10 KJV). And see the unbelievers around you
not as threats but as opportunities. They really can live, and you can really believe it.

During the next four weeks, pray for the nine names during the synchronized
prayer time using the week by week guide. The • Bullet Point is an indication of
where you can look at some scriptures to pray along, agreeing with or claiming
the truth and promises of the Word of God.