Next week, we’ll look at some sample prayer maps.  I’ll walk you through some life scenarios and show you how to problem-solve them with the concepts we’ve learned over these past months.  But for today and tomorrow, I’d like to answer some questions that are commonly asked.  I’ll address the first two today.

Q & A

1. Christine, I don’t know where to start.  You’ve addressed many issues: generational bents, soul ties, hearts of stone, inner vows, and how the enemy works to compromise someone’s boundary lines.  Frankly, everyone in my life needs a prayer map.  Where in the world do I start?

While so many can benefit from a prayer map, not everyone is ready for one.  God knew you’d be learning this material.  He also knew there would come a day when you’d be ready to construct a customized prayer for someone in your life.  So, in preparation, He’s been working behind the scenes in the heart of someone close to you.  He’s been readying them to respond to the prayers you’ve yet to write and bring before the throne.  Only He knows the right person for you to focus on.  Start asking God to show you who that person is.  Perhaps as you read this, a face/name dominates your thoughts.  Chances are, God is already speaking to you.  If not, He will.  

• Someone in my family has abandoned their faith.  They say they no longer believe.  How do I approach this in a prayer map?

No one abandons their faith out of the blue.  Unbelief is preceded by something that happened. Reactions based on wrong interpretations of events took off like a runaway train.  Remember ~ the enemy is anxious to interpret painful things when they happen.  Unless a believer diligently examines his thoughts to keep or discard what is true or untrue, there is a risk of becoming a casualty to the distortions.  Someone who decided he didn’t want, trust, or love God anymore dealt with anger or disappointment that colored everything.  God’s character was maligned.  The resulting pain became a stumbling block.  If you’re writing a prayer map for them, ask God to show you the origins of their unbelief to target those roots.  

Prayer Mapping is all about being as specific as possible with our requests. It’s about getting to the roots of an issue. Praying generalized prayers such as ~ “Lord, help them change” Or “Be with them and bless them” ~ is easier, but praying such things lacks the specificity to track the miracle God wants to do.  There is a ‘Goliath-sized spot’ on the enemy’s head, a target that the tip of the ‘sword of the Word’ wants to penetrate.  Prayer invites us to take aim.