Praying for You
Prayer has always been an important part of my life as a believer. I wouldn’t necessarily classify myself as a prayer warrior. And I’m probably not going to be the one who stops to pray with you in the middle of Wal-mart when we run into each other, unless you ask. Then I will. Otherwise, I’ll take your concern home with me and include it in my daily times of prayer. But despite these shortcomings in my praying, I know how vital prayer can be in our lives.
I’ve seen God work through prayer time and again in my own life and the lives of those around me. I’ve seen God change circumstances. I’ve seen God heal. I’ve seen God provide, lead, and strengthen through prayer. More often than not, I’ve experienced God changing my heart and mind about things through prayer. I’ve drawn close to Him through worshipful prayer. I’ve cried to Him in my darkest times. I’ve surrendered my dreams, my desires for my family, and my will to His many times through prayer. Prayer is powerful.
Prayer is also a gift. It’s our way to come to our heavenly Father with the good, the bad, and the ugly and watch what He does with it. And it’s a gift we’re meant to share with others. Scripture tells us to bear one another’s burdens and to rejoice with those who rejoice and mourn with those who mourn. One of the best ways we can do this is by taking one another to God in prayer. Consider how often Paul spoke of keeping fellow believers in prayer. It was important then, and it is important now.
Prayer isn’t like wishing on a star or rubbing the genie’s lamp. We don’t throw out everything we want and sit back and watch it fall from the sky. God’s hears and answers the prayers of those who follow Him. Scripture promises that. What it doesn’t promise is that our prayers will be answered exactly how we think it should be done. It says if we ask anything according to His will God hears us. That’s probably the hardest part of prayer. Telling God what our very human selves want out of a situation but accepting the attitude of “not my will but Yours be done” in our hearts. Those are some of the times when God’s answer might be a change of heart instead of a change of circumstance.
Another time we might require an attitude check is when God’s plan takes time. My mother and I have met daily for almost a year for prayer together. There was a family situation that came up that drove us to our knees. There was nothing we could do to change it, and the throne of God was the best place for it anyway. Like I said, it’s been almost a year. We’ve seen God moving in the situation through that time, but we’ve only recently seen more substantial change in what’s happening. We continue to pray trusting it to work out God’s will, God’s way. We’ve grown a lot through the year. So has our list of people and situations to pray for. Even when this situation is fully resolved, we will continue praying for the needs of our friends and family and praising God for what He has done, is doing, and will do in the future.
As a writer of faith, I covet your prayers for my writing ministry. I desire to do only what God would have me do in the way He would have me do it. But I also want to encourage and lift up my readers, both of my blog and my books. To do so, I’m going to ask for prayer requests during the last week of each month. I will use whatever prayer requests and praises you pass on in my prayer times during the next month. I will start with the month of August. You can put your requests and praises in the comments, or you can message me with them anytime. I look forward to praying for you!
The Conversation
Thanks for offering to pray.
We have to go an hour away on the highway tomorrow for my hubby to have surgery for a detached retina. Appreciate prayers for him and for me as I drive , that the truckers will be polite. It was supposed to happen this morning but the specialist said it had to be a different kind of surgery. Then we have to go back on Weds for a check up. We had rain this morning so it was a little nerve wracking, but on the way home it was dryer. Tomorrow promises to be sunny.
I want you to know I prayed and have been praying for your travels and health. I hope you got to all your appointments safely!