Are You Praying for the People or Preying on the People?

By Leonard Ford

"Are you praying for the people, or are you preying on the people?” Leonard Ford received a specific mandate from the Lord to bring this question to the Body of Christ, revealing the dangers of being a spiritual predator. He explains, "When you pray for people, you give them the advantage they need in the affairs of their lives. On the other hand, when you prey on people, you take advantage of them and rob them of their quality of life.” With a strong biblical emphasis, this book outlines God’s priority to pray for others while urging us to look closely at our motives and make any necessary changes to avoid becoming a spiritual predator. Included is a "spiritual checkup list” that provides specific details to consider and a valuable explanation of the need to respect and submit to a spiritual father. This book will strengthen you and equip you to succeed in God’s plan.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Feb 6, 2024
• ISBN: 9781304636911

Book preview

PREFACE

On Thursday evening of August 18, 2022, as I was preparing to meet with our prayer team, I heard these words: "Are you praying for the people, or are you preying on the people?" I thought the Lord was going to give me a sermon, so I went on to meet with the prayer team, not giving this topic any further thought.

However, the next morning, I was in my prayer chamber praying in other tongues and fellowshipping with God. Suddenly, at 4:53 a.m., the Word of the Lord came to me for the second time, saying, "Are you praying for the people, or are you preying on the people?" I thought to myself, The Lord is going to give me the content of the sermon, so I should get my legal pad. (I keep a legal pad in my prayer room to write down whatever the Lord speaks to me.)

At the time, I was still thinking the Lord was giving me a sermon. Yet, over the next few hours, as I wrote the things the Lord was saying to me, I realized this was not a sermon—but a book! Over the next few days, I went to my prayer chamber and wrote as I was moved by the Holy Ghost. This book and its contents are the results of that encounter with the Spirit of God. I pray that as you read this book, God will give you ears to hear what the Holy Spirit is saying and the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of what He is saying to you through this book.   

Chapter 1: Are You Praying for the People or Preying on the People?

Praying for people is what you and I are called and commissioned to do. The Spirit of God will always lead and anoint you to pray for others. When you do, you become instrumental in making their lives better. Through prayer, you assist God in bringing good things to those for whom you pray. Through praying for people, you help them gain victory in life.

God told us in His Word to pray for one another. James 5:16 says, The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. Now allow me to share the whole verse with you from The Amplified Bible, Classic Edition.

James 5:16 (AMPC)

Confess to one another therefore your faults (your slips, your false steps, your offenses, your sins) and pray [also] for one another, that you may be healed and restored [to a spiritual tone of mind and heart]. The earnest (heartfelt, continued) prayer of a righteous man makes tremendous power available [dynamic in its working].

When you pray for people, you become an instrument in the hand of God, aiding in their success. By praying for them, you make their lives better. Your prayers add assistance to their endeavors and bring them spiritual support.

The Apostle Paul said he received a supply of the Spirit when the Church prayed for him.

Philippians 1:19

For I know that this shall turn to my salvation through your prayer, and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ.

The Word of God instructs us to pray for the sick and weak, for those who are bound and under heavy burdens, and those who are overtaken by sin. Through prayer, we become our brother’s keeper.

Prayer works best when the bowels of your compassion are opened to or by the needs of the person you are praying for. Prayer prevents jealousy, strife, envy, and animosity from living in your heart towards your brethren.

I want you to check your spirit right now as I ask you a question that will help you check your own heart. When you hear that someone is weak or feeble-minded, do you undergird them with prayer? Is that your first response? Prayer gives you the ability and the opportunity to strengthen your brethren. 

So, I will ask you the question that is the foundation and motivation for this writing. Are you praying for the people, or are you preying on the people? When you pray for people, you give them the advantage they need in the affairs of their lives. On the other hand, when you prey on people, you take advantage of them and rob them of their quality of life. When you pray for people, you make them victorious, but when you prey on them, you make them victims. When you pray for people, you cause them to succeed in life. Yet, when you prey on them, you cause them to fail in life. Again, I ask, are you praying for the people, or are you preying on the people? 

The Spirit of God leads and anoints you to pray for the people, while the devil, through the spirit of greed, teaches you to prey on the people. The Spirit of God teaches you to build and enhance the lives of people, while the spirit of greed teaches you to defraud and deceive the people to enhance your own causes. When you pray for the people, you meet the needs of the people, but when you prey on the people, you use them to meet your needs and fund your ungodly lifestyle.

Again, I ask: are you praying for the people, or are you preying on the people? Are you a prayer or a predator? Are you praying, or are you preying? You need to ask yourself these questions and answer them honestly before God.

God is pleased when you pray for people. The devil is appeased when you prey on the people of God. So, my question to you is: Are you pleasing God or appeasing the devil?

Whichever answer you give, please know that God loves you. He is looking for and asking someone to pray for you. God loves you even if you are a predator, and He does not want you to receive the recompense of your doings. His love for you compels Him to seek out someone to pray for you in your present state of mind.

As we investigate what Ezekiel had to say about this, it will help you see God’s position in this matter. Pay attention to how low the nation and its leadership had fallen. God tried to warn them, but they would not listen to the reproof through the Word of God. Let’s read the entire 22nd chapter so you can see and hear the heart of God in this situation. You will see that God did not pour out His wrath overnight. Instead, He was very long-suffering.

Ezekiel 22

1 Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,

2 Now, thou son of man, wilt thou judge, wilt thou judge the bloody city? yea, thou shalt shew her all her abominations.

3 Then say thou, Thus saith the Lord GOD, The city sheddeth blood in the midst of it, that her time may come, and maketh idols against herself to defile herself.

4 Thou art become guilty in thy blood that thou hast shed; and hast defiled thyself in thine idols which thou hast made; and thou hast caused thy days to draw near, and art come even unto thy years: therefore have I made thee a reproach unto the heathen, and a mocking to all countries

5 Those that be near, and those that be far from thee, shall mock thee, which art infamous and much vexed. (God tried to embarrass them to the point of repentance.)

6 Behold, the princes of Israel, every one were in thee to their power to shed blood.

7 In thee have they set light by father and mother: in the midst of thee have they dealt by oppression with the stranger: in thee have they vexed the fatherless and the widow.

8 Thou hast despised mine holy things, and hast profaned my sabbaths.

9 In thee are men that carry tales to shed blood: and in thee they eat upon the mountains: in the midst of thee they commit lewdness.

10 In thee have they discovered their fathers’ nakedness: in thee have they humbled her that was set apart for pollution. (That is incest.)

11 And one hath committed abomination with his neighbour’s wife; and another hath lewdly defiled his daughter in law; and another in thee hath humbled his sister, his father’s daughter. (That is full blown sexual immorality!)

12 In thee have they taken gifts to shed blood; thou hast taken usury and increase, and thou hast greedily gained of thy neighbours by