Sequel to Effective Righteous Prayer
Write this as the shift from judgement to identification, as a personal testimony in the spirit of Andrew Murray, for today
ChatGPT Prompt
I used to think powerful prayer meant strong words and intense passion.
I thought if I just said it loudly enough, believed hard enough, or quoted the right verse, God would move.
And yet, in some situations, my prayers felt like they hit a wall.
Then the Lord began to show me something I’d never seen:
the wall wasn’t just out there — part of it was in me.
It started when I was praying for someone I loved who seemed trapped in destructive habits.
My words were full of frustration:
“Lord, change them! Open their eyes! Break their chains!”
One day, reading Matthew 7:3 —
“Why do you see the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log in your own?” —
the Spirit whispered:
“You’re not praying with Me yet. You’re praying at them.”
That stung.
But in His kindness, the Lord took me to the Cross.
There, I saw Jesus not pointing at my sin from a distance,
but stepping into my place, identifying with me so completely that He bore my shame:
He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. — 2 Corinthians 5:21
Something shifted. I began to pray differently:
“Lord, forgive us. We both need Your mercy.
I stand here with them, not over them.
Break the chain in me that mirrors the chain in them.
Let Your grace flow into both our lives.”
That’s when the atmosphere changed.
My heart softened, my prayers gained weight,
and — over time — I began to see God dismantle the very stronghold I’d been asking Him to break.
It didn’t happen because I “won” in prayer,
but because I surrendered at the Cross and prayed with Jesus,
not just for results.
I’ve learned that identificational prayer — standing in humility, identifying with those we pray for — is the most powerful prayer there is.
James says “the prayer of a righteous person has great power” (James 5:16),
and in Christ, that righteousness is ours by grace, not by performance.
When we pray from that place, the strongholds don’t stand a chance.
Reflection
- Is there someone you’ve been praying at instead of with?
- What “log” might God want you to lay down so your prayer can be filled with grace (Matthew 7:3)?
- Will you dare to stand at the Cross with them, trusting grace to do what judgment never can?
Prayer
Lord Jesus, teach me to pray like You — stepping into the gap, not from pride but from love. Thank You for identifying with me at my worst (Isaiah 53:12). Let that same grace flow through me to others, so strongholds crumble and Your Kingdom comes. Amen.
Radically Happy 
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