Rest: A Powerful Prayer Posture

Posted on by Jennifer Arimborgo

Dreaming on the grass

“So there is a special rest still waiting for the people of God” (Heb. 4:9, NLT).

Have you ever wondered how to pray for the world’s problems… without feeling overwhelmed? For me, it’s so easy to sense the crushing weight of humanity’s suffering, and feel helpless. So, Holy Spirit has taken me on a learning journey – training me to allow Him to carry it all. This includes the area of prayer.

This is truth: the management of the universe is on Him. The management of the global economy is on Him. The management of the president’s heart is on Him. The management of your city’s daunting challenges is on Him. The management of all human pain everywhere is on Him. The management of your family’s wellbeing and provision is on Him. The management of your interpersonal difficulties is on Him. The management of the tiniest sigh of your soul is on Him. It’s all on Him.

As a missionary to Peru, I used to feel so weighed down by the brokenness I saw all around me. Little by little over the years, He has been showing me that He cares far more than I do about it all. He has also been teaching me that He’s not failing in His job to carry it all. Little by little, He has opened my heart’s eyes more and more to the reality of His sovereign working at every level of His creation. He really does have it all in His hands.

“So there is a special rest still waiting for the people of God” (Heb. 4:9, NLT). Powerful prayers happen from the position of profound inner rest. If we are to pray effectively, we need to do it from this heart revelation: It’s all on Him, and He is carrying out the management of the universe with impeccable precision. He has simply invited you to let His prayers flow through you.

Romans 8 tells us that Jesus and Holy Spirit are praying for us humans (vv. 26, 34). Hebrews goes as far as to say that our Savior always lives to make intercession for us (7:25). That sure sounds like it’s part of His primary focus! He and His Spirit are not sending out feeble, unsure prayers for humanity, either. Their prayers are indescribably mighty and precise, following the course of Daddy’s plans for the timeline of history.

We get the immense privilege of joining in what They are already praying. As we simply ask to do so, They will eagerly involve us in their successful intercession. The powerful precision that characterizes Their prayers will begin to flow through us as we make ourselves available.

As we do so, we learn that prayer is not a heavy thing. You don’t have to think of what to pray for. Just look up. With the eyes of your heart, look at Jesus. Fix your eyes on Him (Heb. 12:2). As you lose yourself in His presence, you will find that He spontaneously starts to share His prayers with you. By His Spirit, they rise up inside and flow through your spirit. Remember: intimacy first. Rest first. Intercession will flow from that place.

Daddy promised, “Even them I will bring to My holy mountain, and make them joyful in My house of prayer” (Isa. 56:7, NKJV). His holy mountain symbolizes the high places in the Spirit. As we offer ourselves to Him as His vessels, He will do this. He will take us up higher. He will make us joyful (the opposite of overwhelmed) in His house of prayer. This is His managerial job, and He will do it. He who promised is Faithful.

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Have you experienced spontaneous prayers bubbling up out of your spirit as you focus on God’s presence?

 

12 thoughts on “Rest: A Powerful Prayer Posture”

  1. To pray without ceasing can be so easily misunderstood ! Just as our heartbeat and blood flow continues without our effort, so can praying without ceasing. At times, Spirit allows me to see that this is happening in my daily life. What does it look like ? I am driving down the road, I see an incident and consciously begin to pray, then discover this was prompted by my spirit being sensitive to the spirit that dwells within me. I say, thank you Lord for sharing this moment with me and making me able to “see and hear” your presence. When my heart rate increases, I notice the change and become aware of some thing happening. When I see God’s hand move in a circumstance in my life, I give thanks and enter into prayer. YES! In all this we can rest, knowing that our Father is doing that which only he can do. Plus [frosting on the cake] we are allowed to be a part of His actions in our lives. Amen Len

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    1. Wow, I really like that metaphor, comparing Holy Spirit’s movements within us to the quickening of our heart rate physically. That is profound and insightful. Thank you so much for sharing it, Len!

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  2. “Powerful prayers happen from the position of profound inner rest.” This line spoke to my soul this morning. As we discover this Intimacy with Holy Spirit we discover this rest… I just hadn’t put words to it yet. Thank you Jennifer…

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  3. Thank you Jennifer. I wept as I read this because it confirmed in my heart what I feel the Lord has been saying to me. I felt the weight lifting off. Your words have truly helped to put things in proper perspective and bring me back to a place of rest and joy in Him. Bless you!

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    1. Oh, Marie, my heart rejoices so much that these words ministered His love to yours! You are so precious to Him! May He continue to take you deeper and deeper into His heart, into His peace, and into His rest for your soul ❤ ❤

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  4. “Powerful prayers happen from the position of profound inner rest.” That sentence stood out to me and stayed with me. When we pray from that position of inner rest in Him, our prayers are more focused on His power to enable them rather than feeling a burden of the enormity of what we are praying for.
    I have shared that feeling of being overwhelmed when praying for things and I thank you so much for sharing this Jennifer.

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  5. Thank you for this reminder. Today this was powerfully true to me when I was at a special ‘exercise program for diabetics and seniors (My husband is diabetic I am in category 2. (With strict corona virus distance restrictions etc.) We were told to lie on the mat and breathe in and breathe out. without even thinking this became like a prayer for me. I focused spiritually ABOVE
    and the rest and the peace were profound but also the certainty that I was in communion with the Lord as I breathed and prayed.

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  6. Yes I have experienced prayers bubbling up when in His presence worshipping Him. Yet, for some reason, when I think of intercession I often think I need to work up some big prayer session. And lately I’ve even said, “God, I’m sorry I’ve been weak in prayer lately in comparison to the great needs in the world—it’s all so overwhelming and I don’t know how to even make a dent!” Enter this blog post! ♥️

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