Prayer - What is it Intended For?

What do we know of prayer?  The definition of prayer is simply put . . . communication with God.  Because God already knows our hearts, He knows what we are thinking and what we are feeling.  So prayer can be spoken words, written words, thoughts, or even songs.  Usually, when we have a relationship with another person, we have a way of communicating with them.  This keeps us connected in the relationship.  When we stop all communication, we usually wouldn't consider that we have much of a relationship anymore.  Maybe this is how God feels with us.  

I have been doing some reading and I came across some article that talks of how God really wants and desires to commune with us.  The article went on to say that prayer is one way of communing with Him.  Another thing the article hit on was how Prayer is not for us to selfishly pray and plead and beg God to do things our way or to give us what WE want, but it is more a way to honor and glorify God while spending time with Him.

This particular part really convicted me. Like I mentioned before, I am one that grew up being taught that God cared about EVERYTHING in our lives.  I still believe he does and I still pray for the small and big things, but I do think I have def. erred on the side of using prayer as a way for me to MANIPULATE God into working things my way. I usually start out with some praises and things I am grateful for, because we are supposed to come to the Lord with Thanksgiving in our Hearts, so I usually start that way.  However, I always tend to spend more time on the "asking God to do things for me or my family" part. 

So frustrating, but I have to be honest and admit when I am wrong. I guess over the years, I have sat under certain teachers that have spoke about how we can "prophecy our future in a positive way" and though I like the idea, I don't think that is what Prayer was really intended for.  I could be wrong, but who am I to think that if I keep speaking all the positives into my future, that life will turn out just the way I want it to?  I fear I have managed to error on the side of trying to manipulate God, and that isn't good at all.

I have often looked at prayer as a conversation I am having with God, however, when I am talking to a friend, I talk and then I wait and let them talk. I listen to what they have to say about what we are talking about.  However, because God doesn't verbally speak back to me in an audible voice, sometimes, I find my conversations with him are pretty one sided.  I don't always realize it because my mind is constantly in conversations with God, but I realize how very few times I stop to hear what he has to say.  For example, I often stop to listen and I promise Him that I am handing it all over to Him so he can work out a certain situation, and then sometimes within minutes, I think I have it figured out and I get all excited. I start to let my mind run with all the cool things I THINK God is doing and I go back into the one direction communication where I am doing all the talking.  :(

Now, I know that God speaks to us in different ways too. Sometimes through strong thoughts impressed on our hearts, or through his word, even through another spirit filled person speaking Godly wisdom.  Most of all, I believe God speaks to us through is Holy Spirit, and that can happen at any time of the day and even through the night, with dreams or thoughts. 

My Daily Devotions today was on Luke 18:1-8 and this kind of struck me too. . . .because I seem to think that a delay to my prayers being answered is a denial, but I don't think it is. 

Luke 18:1-8

New International Version (NIV)

The Parable of the Persistent Widow

18 Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. ² He said: “In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared what people thought. ³ And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, ‘Grant me justice against my adversary.’

⁴ “For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, ‘Even though I don’t fear God or care what people think, ⁵ yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won’t eventually come and attack me!’”
⁶ And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. ⁷ And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? ⁸ I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?”

So, even though, above I mentioned that we should not try and manipulate what we want God to do but just pray for His will, we also are to PRAY WITHOUT CEASING, taking it before the high judge.  So confusing since there must be a fine line of praising, asking and just trusting what He has in store.  I guess I gave myself a lot more to work on here.  Need to revamp a few of my usual prayers. :)




Matthew 21:22 And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith.”


Mark 11:24 Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.


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


Philippians 4:6-7 do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

My Heart's Search on Prayer - Part 1

I have been struggling a lot lately with "prayer" and how it works. I was raised to believe that prayer is the most powerful tool we have in our tool bag and that it should not be a last resort, but instead it should be the first thing we grab when facing any trial in life.  I grew up praying for even little things, like a good hair day, or that a friend I liked would sit beside me so I wouldn't be sad in school.  As a little girl, I prayed for ALL the trivial things that were significant in my little girl mind, because I believed God loved me and cared even about the smallest details. I didn't always get the answers I wanted even as a little girl, but for some reason I never questioned the prayer thing, I just literally believed and kept on praying.  I guess that is where the "child like faith" comes in.  :)
 
As I got older, I had some heartaches, the typical dating hurts, and friendship hurts, and losing a pet I loved hurts.  I relied a lot on prayer in my high school years, praying for very specific things like, my future husband and my future children, and that I would GRADUATE.  I prayed a lot about who I dated and about the friends I hung out with. I would always tell God what I wanted and how I thought things should go, but then I would always end with telling Him that ultimately I wanted His will in my life and His perfect plan.  I knew He knew what I needed more than I did.  So even when I felt that what I wanted had to be what was best for me, My mom taught me that the only way to be happy in life is to be in God's perfect will for your life.  That has kind of always been a prayer of mine also.
 
Sure enough, he gave me my soul mate, Micah.  The story was a little rocky and there were times I did question God along the way, but I kept coming back to trusting in His plan for my life.  Now, here I am married to my best friend and loving it!!! 
 
Another thing I prayed for my whole life, was for my children.  I currently have 2 wonderful children that make me smile every day.  They didn't come easy though.  Things were tough and there were lots of times (still are) I question God "why this way?".  I am not doubting who He is and I am not angry at him by any means, but I just don't always get the reasons behind all of His Plans.  Again, when things didn't go as I had planned with my daughter Ava or my son Christian, I continued to remind myself that God ultimately knew what was best and He was the one I trust.  Don't get me wrong, I am not disappointed at all in my life or my hubby or my children, but there are SPECIFIC things I have prayed for in my children and it seems the opposite happens.  Things I literally prayed against, hoping to prevent them from the struggles I have had and yet, it seems more prominent in them than it was in my own life.  I will go into more details later on.

I read books about praying for my unborn children, while they were in the womb.  I read books about praying and believing positive things into my.  I read articles and books on how to pray for your spouse and your family. I read about praying to break generational curses and was taught tons on how to pray for healing in areas of our lives.  I have prayed with the faith of a mustard seed for a dear friend's healing from a horrible disease.  I have prayed for couples that I know that God would restore their marriage.  I have prayed for miracles straight from Bible time.  Sometimes, often times, I did see some of the prayers answered, but usually not to the degree I was EXPECTING, or to the way I thought would be best.  This brought the question to my mind and I have been fighting this question for a few years.  What is Prayer?  How are we to use Prayer? 
 
I think that is where I am now.  I have studied prayer over the past few years, and really tried to figure out how to use this awesome tool God gives us that we can communicate with HIM.  Wow, what a privilege when you think of it, we can talk to our creator.  Pretty awesome.  However, I think my questioned area is . . . what is prayer really for?  Do our prayers really ever have any sway with God?  I don't even know if sway is the right term but I guess I mean, if we pray diligently for someone who is heartbroken, and the Bible says God is near to the brokenhearted, then do our prayers really help or is God planning to be near to them regardless of our prayers?  Is HE there for them more if we are praying?  Does He give them extra peace or more comfort because we carry this heartbroken person to His feet in prayer, or is He going to comfort them the same either way?  Is He going to comfort someone more because I pray and ask him to comfort them.  If our child is sick and we pray for them to get better, but God already knew they were not going to get better, than was it a waste to have prayed?  The Bible says He hears our prayers.  I do believe he does, but how does He choose when to answer them?  Or maybe the question should be, how does He choose when to say yes or no to our prayers?

So, over the next few weeks, I am planning to do my own study of my heart on what prayer is to me and what I believe.  Hopefully through this, God can reveal to my heart what he wants me to see and He can restore my broken spirit to be renewed and whole again.  I do believe the BIBLE and everything in it, so I know Prayer is real and I want to know what God intended it for and how he intended us to use it.

Till We Meet Again - Love you Jess

On November 14, 2011, my life changed forever.  A huge hole, that I never imagined would come to my life, came.  One of my dearest friends went to be with our Saviour.  I got the call Monday morning and I can't really remember much of the week's events after I got the call.  I know many of the questions that followed were painful and raw.

The call was vague and gave no details other than the horrifying truth.  I had lost a friend and didn't get to say goodbye. This particular friend was one that I talked with on a regular basis, a daily basis.  We worked through hard times and laughed through good times.  She used to tell me I was the friend she called when she needed someone to say all the nice things, even if they weren't always true.  I told her I was honest, but just did it in a nice way. We would joke around that we were Xanax for each other, when we had reached our limit for Xanax that day.  :)

I got the call from Micah, and again, I remember little from that point on.  I remember I was holding Jameson as a baby in my arms and when Micah told me the Jess was gone, I remember hearing myself screaming loudly over and over as I ran back and put Jameson in his crib.  The Shock was overwhelming to say the least and the phone calls started coming in asking if we had heard.  A good friend took Christian for us and we headed directly over to the house. 

Jess had battled bipolar for many years and she had put up one heck of a fight but the battle was so intense and in the end it won her over.  She had suffered so much and finally couldn't battle it anymore.  The sorrow and grief that followed in those next few months and years are too much to mention but God was there the whole time guiding everyone for sure.  

Jess had wanted nothing more in life than to be a wife, mother and friend the way God intended her to be.  She was able to have a son and she was a fantastic mom to him and fantastic wife to her hubby.  She had gotten pregnant and then miscarried and that grief was alot of what had overtaken her in the end.  She missed her baby.  

I know where she is and I know she is safe and sound.  My niece shared with me a dream she had after Jess died.  My niece was in Heaven and Jess was sitting in a rocking chair, rocking her baby she had miscarried while here on earth.  She was rocking her baby and smiling.  My niece asked her if she was at peace and Jess shook her head yes while she rocked her baby, smiling sweetly.  That image is what I hold onto in my head when I think of sweet Jess.  When I see her family left behind here on earth still missing her so much, I am reminded that Jess is finally at peace.  After many years of fighting that utter inner turmoil, she is at peace.  Thank you Lord for that.  Thank you for bringing Jess home to you and healing her mind there in Heaven.  

Prayer in the Desert

I have been having a bad week this week, sad about things passed and things to come and things with unknown outcomes.  I feel as though I am very tired, weary and in need of some reason to get up out of bed some days.  The burdens of everyone elses pain seems to be weighing so heavily on me and then of course the pain I carry of my own.
I say all this to say, Thursday night, after a pretty emotional day, I headed to band practice for our church praise band.  I loved the songs that were chosen for us to sing this upcoming Sunday, but the one that hit me  the hardest was the song by Hillsong, - Desert.  The lyrics grabbed me and picked me right up off the ground.  Songs tend to minister to my heart when I am down anyway, but this one was like a breath of fresh air. 

The Desert Song Lyrics

Verse 1:

This is my prayer in the desert

And all that's within me feels dry

This is my prayer in the hunger in me

My God is a God who provides



Verse 2:

And this is my prayer in the fire

In weakness or trial or pain

There is a faith proved

Of more worth than gold

So refine me Lord through the flames



Chorus:

And I will bring praise

I will bring praise

No weapon formed against me shall remain


I will rejoice

I will declare

God is my victory and He is here



Verse 3:

And this is my prayer in the battle

And triumph is still on it's way

I am a conqueror and co-heir with Christ

So firm on His promise I'll stand



Bridge:

All of my life

In every season

You are still God

I have a reason to sing

I have a reason to worship



Verse 4:

This is my prayer in the harvest

When favor and providence flow

I know I'm filled to be emptied again

The seed I've received I will sow


I guess the song is just a reminder to me of what I need to feel in my heart. . .no matter WHAT circumstances are in my life, no matter what BATTLE  I am going through, I have the God of all God's on my side and He is the one that will carry me through.  The truth is that God is still God, no matter what season of life we are in.  Change is hard and along with Seasons of life come so much change, but if God is still God and still in charge, then what do I have to fear? Right?  God gives me a reason to sing and a reason to worship. . . even when circumstances don't seem joyful or worthy of even a smile.
 I especially like the last verse, where it talks about how we know we are filled to be emptied again, and how we are responsible to sow the seeds God gives us. I feel as though I keep trying to get filled and then I want to rest and never get empty again, because that is just easier.  So here is my new heart's desire.  I want God to fill me with HIM so I can sow the seeds in others, be emptied again, and come back to be filled by Him and only HIM.

Deuteronomy 28: 1-14

Praying for my children is a hard one because I am not sure what to pray. Sometimes I feel so very overwhelmed because I feel there is so much I need / should be praying and I feel as though I am going to MISS something and mess them up for life.  I had a friend share this with me and I have started to speak this over my children often when they are leaving the house to go somewhere or even while they are sleeping.  I  thought I would share this with all of you too. :)

Deuteronomy 28: 1-14


If you fully obey the Lord your God and carefully follow all his commands I give you today, the Lord your God will set you high upon all the nations on earth.

All these blessings will come upon you and accompany you if you obey the Lord your God.

You will be blessed in the city and blessed in the country

The fruit of your womb will be blessed, and the crops of your land and the young of your livestock – the calves of your herds and lambs of your flocks.

Your basket and your kneading trough will be blessed.

You will be blessed when you come in and blessed when you go out.

The Lord will grant that the enemies who rise up against you will be defeated before you. They will come at you from one direction, but flee from you in seven.

The Lord will send a blessing on your barns and on everything you put your hand to. The Lord your God will bless you in the land he is giving to you.

The Lord will establish you as his holy people, as he promised you on oath, if you keep the commands of the Lord your God, and walk in his ways.

Then all the peoples on the earth will see that you are called by the name of the Lord, and they will fear you.

The Lord will grant you abundant prosperity – in the fruit of your womb, the young of your livestock, and the crops of your ground – in the land he swore to your forefathers to give you.

The Lord will open the heavens, the storehouse of his bounty, to send rain on your land in season and bless all the work of your hands. You will lend to many nations but will borrow from none.

The Lord will make you the head, not the tail. If you pay attention to the commands of the Lord your God that I give you this day and carefully follow them, you will always be at the top and never at the bottom.

Do not turn aside from any of the commands I give you today, to the right or to the left, following other gods and serving them.