Do you have a tool I can borrow?

Do you have a tool chest? Is it full or are you continually adding new tools to it?

My husband bought a Craftsman tool chest because he had outgrown his smaller toolbox and needed a place to store all of his tools together.

We all have tools we use in life. Some of us have tools like a paint brush, a guitar pick, a computer or even a chef’s knife. What kind of tools do you use in your line of work?

Last night I hosted a new Bible study in my home. We are using the book The Circle Maker by Mark Batterson as a springboard to dive into a study on prayer. My interns and I felt like we needed to do a study on contending prayer before launching into a corporate prayer time focused on sex trafficking in our city.

One of the participants of the study shared with me how she has a hard time going deep in prayer sometimes. I woke up this morning pondering our discussion and thought about my own prayer life. What tools do I go to when I’m stumped in prayer?

Worship is one tool I gravitate towards. I love music and worship music tends to settle my heart and allow me to focus on the Lord. Sometimes I sing along with a worship song and other times I find myself just soaking in the words. Conversation seems to naturally unfolds from my time of worship. Some of my favorite worship CDs to go to are: Housefires II, Live at the Banks House by Will Reagan and United Pursuit, or anything by Harvest Bashta Parker, Kim Walker-Smith, Misty Edwards or Rita Springer.

Another tool I use is the Word of God. If you want to make certain your prayers are in alignment with the heart of God, simply pray His Word.

This morning, I read Proverbs 27  and found myself pausing to take a verse here and there and turn them into prayers. For example, Proverbs 27:6 says,

Wounds from a friend can be trusted, but an enemy multiplies kisses.”

Because our prayer focus last night was on sex trafficking in our city, when I came across this verse, I instantly thought of the way victims are lured into sexual exploitation by Romeo pimps, traffickers who pose as a love interest and say or do whatever is necessary to gain a girl’s trust. He will play on a girl’s emotions and convince her he loves her only to use that love to manipulate her into doing whatever he wants.

Next I read verse 7 that says,

He who is full loathes honey, but to the hungry even what is bitter tastes sweet.”

I thought of how traffickers use a victim’s desire for love and attention against them and how parents and those who work with young people can help fight the issue of trafficking by speaking life into the lives of those around them, edifying them and building them up. If a young person’s love bank is full, then they won’t be searching for someone to fill it up.

Then, dropping down to verse 12, I read,

The prudent see danger and take refuge, but the simple keep going and suffer for it.”

A girl can become a victim if she doesn’t recognize the warning signs or pay attention that inner voice telling her that something isn’t right in a situation. It may be for lack of knowledge or simply feeling invincible as most young people do.

After reading through the remainder of Proverbs 27, I was able to craft a prayer using the verses above, to pray about the very issue we gathered to pray through last night.

Why not give it a try yourself? Choose a segment of scripture and read through it looking for ways to turn it into a personal prayer or feel free to take the verses from above and write one. I would love it if you would share your prayer in the comments.

Hopefully, today you’ve been able to add a new tool to your prayer tool belt. Do you have one you’d be willing to share with us in the comments section? Let us be iron sharpening iron so we both become stronger in our spiritual journey (Proverbs 27:17).