Prayer changes things. Though it might sound or seem simple when someone offers to pray for you, but the truth of the matter is, it is enormous.
Genuine prayer is an intimate conversation with God. You share your concerns, your hopes, your requests, and you submit all to Him. Prayer takes time, but it deepens your relationship with God in special and remarkable ways.
Your Prayer Life
Do you offer to pray for people? Or when people share concerns and say pray for me, do you quickly agree? This is important: if you agree or offer to pray for someone, be sure you do.
I am currently working in a coffee shop so I interact with a number of people on a daily basis. We often have nice little interactions and exchanges. People share worries or concerns, and might mention the need for prayer. If I offer my prayers, I follow through as soon as possible. I might whisper a prayer at the next pause I have or as I prepare their drink. It is so important to follow through if you agree to pray for someone.
In other instances, I have prayers I pray every night and in the morning as I wake up. In the evenings, I’ll pray my specific things and anything I have on my heart, and then I’ll mentally search my day and consider interactions and how I might come before God with them. Perhaps someone mentioned that she has been struggling with her rheumatism or arthritis. I pray that God would bring her some relief and help her know what to do to make it feel better.
If something is especially weighing on me, I submit it to God. I share my thoughts with Him – though I know He knows them – and ask Him to help me have the right response, the right heart towards this situation.
Though I typically bow my head and close my eyes out of respect to pray, there are many times throughout the day that I will talk to God internally while I serve customers and continue my work. It’s not about pomp and circumstance, it’s about knowing God is always with us and listening.
Pray Like it All Depends on God
Have you heard the quote, “Work like it all depends on you and pray like it all depends on God“? I think that sums it up perfectly! There’s also, “You can’t lean on a shovel and pray for a hole.”
I believe that prayer grows your faith. And we know from Scripture that faith without works is dead. Thus, we must pray like it all depends on God and work like it all depends on us! Put in the work, show up day after day, always pressing onwards and upwards!
Prayer isn’t like magic. We don’t say a prayer and magically get a prize. But I can’t help but think that prayer is the most powerful tool that we as humans possess. Prayer changes things: it changes our attitudes, our hearts, and sometimes even our circumstances. Prayer helps us to humble ourselves and submit our expectations and our plans to our Father.
Prayer draws us closer to God and helps us keep our focus where it should be – on Him!
If You Haven’t Seen the Results of Your Prayers Yet…
We’ve all been there, haven’t we? We pray and pray and pray and pray…and nothing. What do we do when we don’t see the results of our prayers? Don’t we all long for this magic answer? I’ll tell you what it is: keep praying.
Even when you don’t see results yet, even when things seem just the same, even when you don’t know why you would because you haven’t been able to see a difference from your prayers yet: keep praying.
Faith is the evidence of things not seen. Prayer builds faith. Prayer helps us submit to God – the place we all should be! – and keeps our focus on Him! I truly believe that God wants our hearts and our attention. He wants to be our A#1.
Submit to Him, share you heart, your thoughts, your longings, your hopes and pray, pray, pray like it all depends on Him – because it does. But remain faithful in prayer, like it all depends on you!
I don’t know about you, but when my precious prayer comes to pass, I want to be able to boldly declare, I believed for this! Even when there was no evidence of it, I believed what God put on my heart! I was faithful in prayer and I knew God would deliver on His promises to me!
Pray without Ceasing
Prayer changes things. Pray like it all depends on God and work like it all depends on you. Prayer draws us closer to God and there’s no better place to be! May God inspire your prayers and lead you on the adventure of your life!
Until Next Time!
Hope.
PS. Keep reading: https://www.theamericanlady.com/2024/04/17/dont-give-up/