Changing the Way I Pray Challenge
Another devotion about prayer.
Another blog post about prayer.
{Sigh}
“I pray all the time and nothing changes.”
I know how you feel. I used to yawn when I heard another word about prayer. Please don’t yawn and hang in there with me.
First let clarify something right out of the gate, I am not an expert on prayer. I am just a woman who prays. I pray about everything, parking spaces, good deals at Target, sick friends, and list goes on.
I am just a woman who prays.
I pray when I don’t feel like it. I pray when I don’t know what to say. I pray rubbing my sleepy eyes in the early morning. I pray rubbing my sleeping eyes in the dark of night. And I pray anytime in between.
The more I pray the less sophisticated my prayers are. And you know what? I have come to realize God wants our simple words and uninhibited thoughts. He desires real conversation about our real issues tempered with our real emotions.
At the end of my devotion I invited here to learn to simple steps to a I am Changing the Way I Pray Challenge. I had my list of “simple” steps ready to share. As I write this post sense the Lord changing my words.
Pray when you don’t feel like it.
Pray when you don’t know what to say.
Pray rubbing the sleepy out of your eyes in the early morning.
Pray rubbing your sleepy eyes in the dark of night.
Pray anytime in between.
Be a woman who prays.
Amen and thank you Lord for the awesome privilege of talking to you anytime about anything.
AMEN!
Thank you for this encouragement, Wendy. I wonder if perhaps the Lord was seeking to convey to you that in addition to asking, that He wanted you to also bring worship and praise into your prayer life. The Lord’s prayer is Jesus’ example of prayer to us, and He starts with Praise, then repentance, asking, and yielding (Thy Will be done). Many have used the acronym “PRAY” – Praise, Repentance, Asking, Yielding to guide their prayer life.
Ceasing to ask is clearly against what Jesus teaches us in Scripture. Mark 11:24, Luke 11:3-9, Matthew 21:22, John 14:13-14 are all the teachings of Jesus, where He is saying, ASK of Me. Yes, He is all powerful, and Yes He is always with us. But He says ask – why? John 14:13-14, “Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.”
His purpose in us asking Him is so that the Father may be glorified through it. So that we may bear much fruit, and prove to be His disciples, and that we have reason to thank Him. So that we may know the power at work within us to bear fruit in this world. Wendy, you are God’s wonderful instrument working great things through your faithful prayers.
Wendy, I LOVED your devotional on P31 today. I feel like The Lord has spoken that same sentiment to my heart when I daily pray for my girls’ safety. I hear “I’ve got that.” Thanks for the reminder to praise Him for answering those prayers. All boils down to trusting Him, I think.
Thank you. I’ve heard so many sermons on prayer… God wants my “raw thoughts and emotions.” I feel so much freedom in these new thoughts. …Even for the deals in Target! 🙂
I have been wondering about just this topic lately. I feel that I pray for the same things every day, safety for my kids, help with my husband’s business and blessings for my friends. I feel like, why am I reminding God about things he already knows about? So thank you for the reminder to look for the answered prayers and praise Him for those!
Wendy, thank you for the encouragement to change the way I pray. It’s something that has been bothering me on how I pray…the same things. This too has been in my spirit to begin to praise God for what is already doing, because He, (The Father is already working) in my life, my family and friends! We must remember to come before His presence with singing, and praise.
Thank you so much for this. God has really been dealing with me about my prayer life. I know I need to pray more, but I want to be efficient, as well as productive in that time. I feel I need to pray specific prayers for specific people. Through faith, I will continue to praise Him more and talk less.
Hi Wendy
I just found your blog on line. It truly blessed me. will read it more often.
bless you and thanks for the lesson on prayer, and truly God knows
what we’re praying about and is working on them as we speak. Bless his heart.
This is much appreciated. My prayer life actually flat-lined for a while. I am new to prayer and though I would share my thoughts with God throughout the day, I never stopped to listen to what He had to say and honestly if He did say something, I didn’t hear it. When I did begin to pray, I used prayer books, prewritten, fill-in-the-blank prayers. I don’t mean to condemn this, the prayers were effective. God heard me, I believe He appreciated my efforts, many times it was a springboard and I would begin to pray on my own. The enemy of course attacked this with thoughts like, “you can’t even pray without a book, you’re prayers are weak”. I finally had a breakthrough. I learned how to enter in God’s presence with praise and worship. When I do this it creates an atmosphere for prayer and I share whatever comes to mind – aloud, that was a big step. I’ve discovered a dialog, not just “these are my needs”, or a rote list, but a conversation. I just talk to Him and I stop, just like a pause in a conversation with a friend. I don’t answer every thought. If it lines up with scripture, I’ll address it, if not, I tell Him, I need confirmation from you, or ignore it. I’ve discovered there really isn’t a wrong way to pray as long as it is addressed to Him in Jesus name. I grew up believing that prayer was more or less one-way conversation to be done silently with a revered, but distant God. That is sad, He speaks so many things to me, even waking me before the dawn with a vivid dream or to tell me something. He is my 24-hour best friend. I can and will call on Him at 3:00 in the morning if I need to. There aren’t many people I have that connection to. He is transforming me now through prayer in ways I never imagined. When I read this I just had to share in hopes of helping someone else that may be struggling.
Wendy, Thank you for the simplicity of your devo and blog post. It’s truth, pure and simple. I’ve struggled with the same thoughts about my “tired” prayers. Thank you for sharing another way that He himself would appreciate. Also, how neat that the God of the universe spoke to you and changed your blog post so He could speak to us through you! Have a great weekend!
Bless you, Wendy, for your encouraging words! I, too, pray for parking spaces & every other “little” thing. I remember walking home from kindergarten when I was only 4 & having an ongoing conversation with God. Even when I was making some poor – & sinful – decisions in my 20’s, I still kept communicating with my Heavenly Father. Now, with an estranged & prodigal 18 yr. old son (for the past 2.5+ yrs.) who wants no contact with us whatsoever, I pray 24/7 ! I have gone from a panic stricken, sobbing, babbling mess to praising God for what HE is doing in all our lives. I’ve had that “aha” moment where I realize HE is answering the prayers I prayed when Sam & his sister were babes in cribs. It has been a journey I never would’ve chosen ( in good company w/ Job, Joseph & countless others ) but resting in knowing that GOD is in control! Oh, yes, I still have those meltdown moments – days – but GOD ALWAYS is faithful ! HE sends a whisper, a song on the radio, a sermon – even HIS own creation ministers to me in some way that brings me to praise HIM for all HE has given & done for us & especially HIS SON, Jesus Christ! ~ Bless you, Wendy, for sharing your heart & encouraging us! ~ Fideliitas Dei !
P.S.- Re: my previous comment…1 Thes. 5:17-18 (AMP) ~ 17″ Be unceasing in prayer [praying perseveringly];
18 Thank [God] in everything [no matter what the circumstances may be, be thankful and give thanks], for this is the will of God for you [who are] in Christ Jesus [the Revealer and Mediator of that will].” !~ Romans 8:26-29 (AMP) ~ 26 “So too the [Holy] Spirit comes to our aid and bears us up in our weakness; for we do not know what prayer to offer nor how to offer it worthily as we ought, but the Spirit Himself goes to meet our supplication and pleads in our behalf with unspeakable yearnings and groanings too deep for utterance.
27 And He Who searches the hearts of men knows what is in the mind of the [Holy] Spirit [what His intent is], because the Spirit intercedes and pleads [before God] in behalf of the saints according to and in harmony with God’s will.
28 We are assured and know that [[j]God being a partner in their labor] all things work together and are [fitting into a plan] for good to and for those who love God and are called according to [His] design and purpose.
29 For those whom He foreknew [of whom He was [k]aware and [l]loved beforehand], He also destined from the beginning [foreordaining them] to be molded into the image of His Son [and share inwardly His likeness], that He might become the firstborn among many brethren.”
Trish, my prayer life also flat lined and I am having a difficult time getting back where I was in prayer. Your testimony has helped me b/c I also used prayer books to pray and the devil said the same thing to me my prayers are not been heard and they are weak b/c I was praying from the prayer book. So I know I need to start back worshiping. I thank you for sharing. I almost gave up. Thank you also Wendy Pope for your obedience to God for the message and blog.
Please continue to pray for a release in my prayer life.
I meant Tania
Tania, my prayer life also flat lined and I am having a difficult time getting back where I was in prayer. Your testimony has helped me b/c I also used prayer books to pray and the devil said the same thing to me my prayers are not been heard and they are weak b/c I was praying from the prayer book. So I know I need to start back worshiping. I thank you for sharing. I almost gave up. Thank you also Wendy Pope for your obedience to God for the message and blog.
Please continue to pray for a release in my prayer life.
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