Prayer can be hard! At least it has been for me. I used to think when I read the Bible or listened to worship music I got more from those then I did during my prayer time. Anyone else ever felt this way?
When I’m reading the Bible I can often times hear God speaking. The Bible is the active word of God so it makes sense we will hear God speaking to us through it.
When I am listening to and praising God through worship music there’s just something about the music that almost always puts me into a state of feeling his presence, giving me chills, and moving my emotions with the lyrics + story of the song.
Prayer time on the other hand is me bringing everything I want to see answered in my life before the Lord, and most of the time not hearing him speak or seeing him move in these prayers for a long time. Don’t get me wrong I’ve continually seen God answer prayers throughout my life, but I”m talking about the BIG prayers, the impossible ones that will take a miracle to be answered.
It seems, or at least in the past has seemed, very one sided, so unlike reading the Bible or worshiping through song, prayer has been more a quick thing I do during my day. 5 minutes in prayer honestly felt like an eternity.
I’m going to be 100% real with you guys.
For most of my life I’ve thought that long periods spent in prayer, or those that were called “prayer warriors”, was just something meant for the elderly in the church. It was their calling and why they were called prayer warriors. But it’s not something I considered myself good at or something I needed to worry about doing more of.
But God right??
He has been revealing so much to me in the past few weeks surrounding my prayer life. It is so amazing when you see him speaking so loudly.
Along with everything he has been revealing in my time alone with him, the past two Wednesday night’s teachings at my church have been on miracles and pursuing God for miracles.
Then Thursday evening me and my husband watched the movie War Room, I highly, highly recommend this movie if you haven’t seen it, it is SO powerful!
Then on Sunday my husband randomly (for being the youngest dad at church) received the book “A Battle Plan For Prayer” based off the movie War Room. And to top it off part of Sundays message was on intimacy with the Father and our prayer life. Talk about God clearly speaking, if you still question whether he does speak to you, read my last blog post here.
From what he has been revealing to me, I now view prayer as more important then reading the Bible or worshiping through song. When you look at Jesus’ life you see how often he prayed. If he, being fully God in human form, needed to pray, how much more do you think we need to?
Prayer requires more faith then the other two because you are believing God is hearing your prayers, is who he says he is, and will ultimately answer those prayers. When I’m in prayer I am giving HIM all the control, letting HIM do the work, and trusting HIM even if I don’t hear him, or see those prayers answered right away.
God has been revealing how different my prayer life needs to become in a few ways.
1. Start praying like a two-way conversation.
Stop coming into his presence in such a formal way and start coming with an attitude of having a conversation with someone sitting in the room. Be the same person I am with my husband, the person I am most real, honest and myself with. Bring all of myself including all of the ugly!
“Don’t be pulled in different directions or worried about a thing. Be saturated in prayer throughout each day, offering your faith-filled requests before God with overflowing gratitude. Tell him every detail of your life” Philippians 4:6 TPT
2. Quit acting like a spoiled brat
I can’t keep acting like a spoiled brat and casually asking God for everything then expecting it right away without praying like they did in the Bible. They pleaded, cried out, fasted, continually and passionately asking until they seen their prayers answered. I don’t know about you but I have some HUGE prayers that will take a miracle to be answered. So why would I casually come before the Lord for something as serious and HUGE as some of my prayers??
“Confess and acknowledge how you have offended one another and then pray for one another to be instantly healed, for tremendous power is released through the passionate, heartfelt prayer of a godly believer! James 5:16 TPT
3. Seriously go after your prayers.
God wants to answer them. Rather then praying a short prayer here and there and waiting around for God, earnestly pray until you see them answered. Go after them, fast for them, be serious about them. How is God supposed to take us seriously if we don’t do these things?
“One day Jesus taught the apostles to keep praying and never stop or lose hope. He shared with them this illustration: “In a certain town there was a judge, a thick-skinned and godless man who had no fear of others’ opinions. And there was a poor widow in that town who kept pleading with the judge, ‘Grant me justice and protect me against my oppressor!’ “he ignored her pleas for quite some time, but she kept asking. Eventually he said to himself, ‘This widow keeps annoying me, demanding her rights, and I’m tired of listening to her. Even though I’m not a religious man and don’t care about the opinions of others, I’ll just get her off my back by answering her claims for justice and I’ll rule in her favor. Then she’ll leave me alone.’” The Lord continued, “Did you hear what the ungodly judge said- that he would answer her persistent request? Don’t you know that God, the true judge, will grant justice to all of his chosen ones who cry out to him night and day? He will pour out his Spirit upon them. He will not delay to answer you and give you what you ask for. God will give swift justice to those who don’t give up. So be ever praying, ever expecting, just like the widow was with the judge. Yet when the Son of Man comes back, will he find this kind of persistent faithfulness in his people?” Luke 18:1-8 TPT
4. Start believing he is who he says he is
God wants to answer our prayers NOW! He doesn’t want to wait 20 years to answer them. Do we believe he can or he will?
“But if you live in life-union with me and if my words live powerfully within you- then you can ask whatever you desire and it will be done.” John 15:7 TPT
“Everything you pray for with the fullness of faith you will receive!” Matthew 21:22 TPT
So my question to you is this…
Did Jesus Really Die On The Cross And Suffer The Horrible, Horrible Death He Did For Us Not To Walk Fully In His Power??
“I tell you this timeless truth: The person who follows me in faith, believing in me, will do the same mighty miracles that I do- even greater miracles than these because I go to be with my Father! For I will do whatever you ask me to do when you ask me in my name. And that is how the Son will show what the Father is really like and bring glory to him. Ask me anything in my name, and I will do it for you!” John 14:12-14 TPT
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