June 3, 2018

"They all joined together constantly in prayer…" Acts 1:14 "Then they prayed…" Acts 1: 1:24

Lately I've been thinking a lot about prayer. I read somewhere that nothing good will happen, "as long as prayer remains an afterthought, a formality, a mindless mix of duty and manipulation, something we do but usually don't do and rarely if ever do with any meaning and vitality, with confidence and clarity."  For a long-time prayer was for me just that, a mindless mix of duty and manipulation. I did pray but somehow in a rush, always ready to move on to more exciting things.

 I heard sermons on prayers. I read books on prayer. I agreed that prayer was one of the most powerful weapons in our spiritual war. Yet my prayer remained superficial. I had to reach the end of myself, I had to see all my brilliant ideas leading only to exhaustion and frustration, before I was willing to understand.  "Prayer is the portal that brings the power of heaven down to earth." When we surrender to the will of God, when we open the channel of prayer, miracles happen. Sometimes things don't work out, and I am disappointed. Then it's always helpful to remember that God's will is good, pleasing and perfect. (Romans 12:2) God knows what he's doing. Looking back, many so-called disappointments turned out to be great blessings.

Our loving Father answers prayers! Recently I started to read again, "Draw the Circle: The 40 Day Prayer Challenge." The author, Mark Batterson writes: "I have a handful of prayers I pray all the time. Because of their frequent repetition, I call them prayer mantras. One is that God will put my books into the right hands at the right time. I've prayed this prayer thousands of times… "His book was my gateway to salvation. Few years ago, I was in a friend's house and she had this book on her coffee table. I happened to sit right next to it. She started to tell me about the book.  Next, she told me about Grace Church and she invited me to attend that following Sunday. I said yes, and that Yes changed my life forever. Through that "YES" I got to know the Lord. My coming back to the Lord was someone's answered prayer. Thank you, Mark Batterson, for praying over your books.

What a God we serve! He exceeds our wildest dreams and imagination. Let's keep praying. If praying is a struggle let's invite God to talk to our heart. He knows the language of our hearts!