Here are some shake up type prayer thoughts from these verses.

Those who declare publicly that they belong to me, I will do the same for them before my Father in heaven. But those who reject me publicly, I will reject before my Father. Those who do not take up their cross and follow in my steps are not fit to be my disciples. Those who try to gain their own life will lose it; but those who lose their life for my sake will gain it. – Matthew 10:32, 38-39 GNT

May ______ know that whoever acknowledges You, Jesus, before others, You will also acknowledge before Your Father in Heaven. But whoever disowns You before others, You will disown them before Your Father in heaven. May ______ be one who acknowledges You before others, Lord.

May ______ know that anyone who does not take up their cross and follow You is not worthy of You. May ______ be willing to take up their cross and follow You, Jesus.

“ Those who try to gain their own life will lose it; but those who lose their life for my sake will gain it. ” May ______ be willing to lose their life for Your sake, Lord.

I cannot help thinking still of Ezra and how much his prayer, in front of everyone, changed them.

While Ezra was bowing in prayer in front of the Temple, weeping and confessing these sins, a large group of Israelites—men, women, and children—gathered around him, weeping bitterly.  Then Shecaniah son of Jehiel, of the clan of Elam, said to Ezra, “We have broken faith with God by marrying foreign women, but even so there is still hope for Israel.  Now we must make a solemn promise to our God that we will send these women and their children away. We will do what you and the others who honor God’s commands advise us to do. We will do what God’s Law demands.  It is your responsibility to act. We are behind you, so go ahead and get it done.” – Ezra 10:1-5 GNT

I also think of Peter who had God in a nice little box and then He was able to shake him up during a time of prayer.

He saw heaven opened and something coming down that looked like a large sheet being lowered by its four corners to the earth.  In it were all kinds of animals, reptiles, and wild birds. A voice said to him, “Get up, Peter; kill and eat!”

But Peter said, “Certainly not, Lord! I have never eaten anything ritually unclean or defiled.”

The voice spoke to him again, “Do not consider anything unclean that God has declared clean.”  This happened three times, and then the thing was taken back up into heaven. – Acts 10:11-16 GNT

God can do the same for me.

“Shake yourself up a little, my brother. If you are too precise may the Lord set you on fire, and consume your bonds of red tape! If you have become so improperly proper that you cannot commit a proper impropriety, then pray God to help you be less proper, for there are many who will never be saved by your instrumentality while you study propriety.” Spurgeon

Look at the emotion of these shake up thoughts from Flannery O’Connor.

How can I live—how shall I live. Obviously the only way to live right is to give up everything. But I have no vocation & maybe that is wrong anyway. But how eliminate this picky fish bone kind of way I do things—I want so to love God all the way. At the same time I want all the things that seem opposed to it—I want to be a fine writer. Any success will tend to swell my head—unconsciously even. If I ever do get to be a fine writer, it will not be because I am a fine writer but because God has given me credit for a few of the things He kindly wrote for me. Right at present this does not seem to be His policy. I can’t write a thing. But I’ll continue to try—that is the point. And at every dry point I will be reminded Who is doing the work when it is done & Who is not doing it at that moment. Right now I wonder if God will ever do any more writing for me. He has promised His grace; I am not so sure about the other. Perhaps I have not been thankful enough for what has gone before.

The desires of the flesh—excluding the stomach—have been taken away from me. For how long I don’t know but I hope forever. It is a great peace to be rid of them.

Can’t anyone teach me how to pray?