All the world starts changing
When the church starts praying
Strongholds start to break
Oh, when we pray
Prison walls start shaking
At the sound of praising
Nothing stays the same
Oh, when we pray
Wow! What a word picture this song gives as to the power of prayer. Sometimes people will ask 'why' we pray when God already knows the outcome. I have a couple different theories on the answer to that question. One is we pray because of the desire to walk in obedience. When the Lord wakes us up in the middle of the night with someone on our heart, we have a choice. Do we pray or do we go back to sleep? Or if we are in the middle of something and don't want to be bothered and He brings someone to our mind to pray for, do we pray or do we continue on in what we are doing? Sometimes He will give us people or things to pray for to see if we are willing to sacrifice our sleep or time for Him. Another theory is He wants to see if our faith is strong enough to pray instead of allowing the enemy to have his way in our situation. I truly believe God knows the end result of all situations but I also believe we are given free will and the end result may not always be what He desires for us. If all believers were to be living in His will, we would be living in a different world. We would not be living in a world overtaken by sin. What if all believers were to praise God throughout the day instead of giving into crabbiness? What if all believers were to walk in obedience to pray for people when God asked them? What if all believers were willing to sacrifice their time, talents, and treasures for what He asked of them? These are some pretty 'what ifs' of life. They are some hard questions that many desire to not answer. Instead they are happy in walking in the flesh instead of the Spirit. This saddens my heart. I can't imagine how the Lord feels. It saddens my heart to hear people say they don't have time to pray. It saddens my heart to hear children say they don't have prayer in their homes or they only pray at mealtime or bedtime at home. It saddens my heart to know there are people in our schools who are teaching our children who are not walking in relationship with the Lord. It saddens my heart to know of couples who do not have a time of daily prayer together. Once again, I can't imagine how saddened the Lord is with these situations. There is a saying that 'prayer changes things.' Prayer changes us. It may not change the circumstance we are dealing with but it will change the way we see it or how we handle it. We may feel like He is not answering our prayers but He is in His time and in His way. We may not like that but when we embrace His time and His way we will be at peace. I will admit I get tired of praying for some things over and over again. But I won't give up praying for His time and His will. I don't know what that is but I don't have to know. All I have to do is trust Him and believe He will answer my prayers.
Dear Jesus,
Today is a new day. It is a day full of opportunities to share Your love with others. I pray You will enable me to keep my eyes open to what You have in store for me. You know what I need. You know where I hurt and the things on my heart. I pray You will cleanse me and fill me so I can have Your eyes and ears. Go before me and speak through me. May You be my words, actions, and attitude throughout this day in a new, different way. Father, I have so much to praise You for. I praise You for Ross being released from the hospital; my visit with Grammy yesterday; and the strength You gave me yesterday. I continue to pray for Shirlin as she recuperates from her fall; Peggy as she continues to deal with the brain tumor; John as he has started chemo again; Mary as she has surgery; my Momma for strength; and many others who are dealing with issues in their physical bodies. Most of all I pray for those with issues in their spiritual bodies. I pray people will get on their knees and seek You. I pray they will walk in obedience to Your will. Father, may I walk in obedience more to Your will. May my faith be strengthened throughout this day. Thank You Jesus for being My Prayer Partner. Amen.
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