I can’t even begin to tell you how many times I am presented with decisions I have to make with little to no idea what I want. This literally ranges from, “Do I want to be a Journalism or Public Relations major?” to “Do I really want to pay an extra $2 for guac on my Chipotle?” Regardless, I can rarely make decisions on my own. Sure, it’s easy to pick up your phone and dial a friend to guide you, but in all reality, we have the Lord to guide us in an instant through prayer. Prayer is the easiest way to connect to the Lord, and the best thing about it is that it is feasible at any given time.
Prayer is arguably one of the most important components in our Christian lives. It is the best way to connect with our Lord. First Timothy 2:8 says “In every place of worship, I want men to pray with holy hands lifted up to God, free from anger and controversy.” We shouldn’t limit our prayer to “morning time” or right before bed; we should learn to pray about everything, everywhere! And one of the best things about prayer is that it always has a different look. Some times we may pray standing up, other times we may be kneeling, but what is significant is the different meaning behind all our prayers. You may ask, why pray? I argue, why not pray? Spending time with the Lord is so significant. Plus, the more time we spend with Him, the more we learn to enjoy and love Him!
Having A Relationship with the Lord
Believe it or not, the Lord craves a relationship with us. He wants us to confide in Him and love Him. Luke 10:27 says “‘You must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind.” Truthfully, prayer is the best way to have that relationship with the Lord. The Lord is not only our friend; He is our husband (Isaiah 54:5). You disclose your deepest thoughts and concerns to your friends or spouse, and the Lord is no different! Our relationship with Him is intimate, not stiff. Although He knows all, the Lord wants to hear us talk about our thoughts, hopes, and dreams. He simply just wants us to confide in Him because to pray is to touch the Lord. He is our love.
Learning how to pray
Growing up in a religious family, I have always been surrounded by prayer. My too-big-to-fit-in-one-house family starts and ends our gatherings with prayer and usually call during random times of the day to pray. It’s so special to experience together, but I always feel so intimidated. I never volunteer to say the family prayer because I feel my words aren’t empowering enough. The same goes for praying with the club. All the brothers and sisters have such beautiful things to say. Their words flow so naturally and sound so impactful. On the other hand, my words are equivalent to a six-year-olds. I feel like what I have to say will never be good enough for prayer. Plot twist, y’all. Our vocabulary doesn’t need to be exquisite. The Lord doesn’t listen to the words we say, He listens to what our heart is revealing.
Prayer is simply a conversation with the Lord! Like I said, the Lord is our friend! We wouldn’t talk to our friends in a formal language. Could you imagine that? “Greetings thy companion, thy footwear is sumptuous!” I’m pretty sure if I talked to my friends like that, they would walk away in total confusion, thinking I’m some Shakespearean alien. The same goes for the Lord! No, He won’t walk away from you in Shakespeare fear, but speaking formally to the Lord is not necessary. Additionally, there is no format you have to follow to in order to pray. I recently heard about a prayer acronym, “ACTS.” It is said to be a guideline you must use in order to pray. First, you start with adoration, then confession, follow with thanksgiving, and end with supplication. Sure, all of those are great! But that’s not the only way to connect with our Lord. In all reality, there is no prayer formula! We should just speak frankly and honestly. Simply, the best way to learn is to practice.
The power of prayer
We have spoken a lot about building this semester at CSOC. The Lord wants to build up His church. But how can He do that? Through us believers! But how do we do it? Through letting Him make home in our hearts. Prayer is the first step to building the church.
Little do we know how powerful prayer is. First Samuel 1 tells the story of Hannah and her longing for a son. For a long period of time, she was ridiculed for not bearing a child until one day she went to a temple and poured her heart out to the Lord and prayed for a son. Finally, the Lord gave her a son. This is a lesson to us believers that speaking from the heart during prayer is so powerful. This is why it is so important to pour out and open our hearts the Lord. Each prayer we give with an open heart opens up a “room” to let Him make home in our heart. This is a simple way we build the church.
Often times, when we ask the Lord for something it takes time. It’s usually not a pray-once-and-receive type of deal. A sister once told me that prayer is sort of like chopping down a tree. At the first swing, the tree doesn’t cut in half; at the very least it only scratches the surface. It will take numerous swings in order to cut the tree down. That’s how our prayer is, we must continue to pray and create this relationship with the Lord. And the coolest thing about prayer is that it not only chops trees, it moves mountains. That’s how powerfully our God acts through our prayer!
- Let Go and Let God - April 6, 2017
- Why Pray? - February 23, 2017
