"That's All We Can Do"

So I absolutely HATE when people say, "Just pray. That's all we can do!"
I know they don't mean anything bad by it, but I guess unknowingly, they are undermining / underestimating the power of prayer.

If praying is all we can do, then that is essentially everything.

How blessed are we to have the absolute PRIVILEGE of being able to speak to the Creator of the universe, any time we want to?!

I was thinking about the power of prayer the other day because one of my New Year's resolutions for 2016 was to be more intentional with prayer and to remain in continuous prayer - constantly talking to God throughout the day.
Reflecting on this year, I think I have made strides towards that. No, I don't pray as fervently as I should, but I have really grown in my prayer life. Not saying this to toot my own horn; I just really want everyone to be able to experience the peace that comes with constant prayer like I have. When you have something really great, you want to share it with your family and friends, right?!


After seeing the movie War Room, I decided to create a prayer closet once I moved into my house (I bought it last December and moved in in February). It's still not the perfect prayer room - I'm still working on it. But it has greatly helped me to go in there and close the door and WRITE my prayers on paper and hang them up. I love being able to look at prayers I wrote months ago and put a check mark to say it was answered. Or keep praying the ongoing ones. I've spent some precious time with the Lord in there, reading my Bible and crying out to Him, especially with some stuff I went through this summer (and am still going through). Even if the prayers aren't answered yet, it brings me so much peace to just go in there and talk to God. Not that I can't do that anywhere, but knowing I have a specific spot for prayer makes it more intentional for me, which was one of my goals this year.

I have known of the power of prayer since I was very little. Growing up in a Christian home and church and Christian school, it was obvious what I should do if I wanted something. My six-year-old self probably saw God as a genie who could grant our wishes, because I started praying for a little sister when I was about that age. My mom and dad had said NO MORE KIDS, and I was happy with my brother, but he didn't like having his nails painted, so I wanted a sister!!
I took to prayer.
When I was nine years old, my mom found out she was pregnant with a baby girl. No one was more shocked than my parents. I was like "FINALLY!!"

I told my mom I remembered how she had prayed for eight years before I was born for a baby girl with brown eyes. Her doctor told her she may not ever have kids, but they prayed together and her and my dad prayed at home. In 1988 I was born (my eyes are black though...).
I told her I knew that praying for a sister would work because she had prayed for me and it worked!

As I've gotten older, I've realized that you don't always get what you pray for. God is NOT a genie in a bottle, and sometimes you don't get what you ask for because He's protecting you from something or He has something better in mind.
Sure, I am currently sitting at the job I prayed for for about ten years.
Sure, I accepted a part-time job yesterday that I had prayed for.

But what about when we don't get what we pray for?

I prayed for my uncle to be healed from cancer. I prayed so hard. He wasn't healed. In April of 2014, I held his hand and hummed Jesus Loves Me hours before he left this earth.
I'm not mad at God. I still believe in the power of prayer. I don't know why that prayer wasn't answered, but I do know that I did feel peace about his death, thanks to the constant prayer.

We DID pray for my uncle to be saved before he passed away and that prayer came true. That's all that really matters.

I have been through some times where "all I could do was pray" and they were so, so hard. The prayer was literally the only thing that got me through. I cannot understand how people go through hard times without praying - it's unfathomable to me.

I've read so many testimonies and stories about the power of prayer - healing, saving, life-changing...

Praying is the single most powerful thing you can do about any situation. Please don't underestimate it. 

I came across an article about prayer this morning when I was doing some scripture reading:


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I hope this motivates or helps someone! I'm constantly working on this!

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