Three Reasons Why You Should Pray
Everyone is called to pray, but not everyone prays. Some don’t pray because they believe that God doesn’t care about the smaller details of their lives. Others don’t pray because they believe that God doesn’t hear their prayers, and even if He did, He wouldn’t move on their behalf. All of these are good reasons not to pray, if they were true, but they aren’t. They are lies; lies which can easily be exposed by looking at the truth of the Word. God cares about every detail of our lives, no matter how big or small God cares so much about us that He knows the number of hairs we have on our head (Luke 12:7). When Jesus walked this earth, He didn’t just “show up” when it was a matter of life and death, but He also “showed up” when it wasn’t. Jesus cared enough about the details of a wedding that when the wine ran out, He made more (John 2:1-10). He cared enough about a crowd missing lunch that He multiplied a few loaves of bread and a couple of fish to feed 5,000. God cared enough for me that when I asked Him to help me find a lost cell phone, He showed me where to find it. If it matters to us, it matters to God; we can pray about everything and anything, and we should. God Hears Our Prayers How do we know that God hears our prayers? His Word says that He does. Psalms 34:15 reminds us that “the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are attentive to their cry.” In Jeremiah 29:12, God tells us that when we pray, He will listen. In Jeremiah 33:3, God tells us to call to Him and He will answer us and tell us great and unsearchable things. 1 John 5:14-15 urges us to confidently come to God in prayer because when we ask anything according to His will, he hears us. If it were true that God doesn’t hear our prayers, why would He spend so much time encouraging us to pray? God moves on this earth in response to believers’ prayers Sometimes when we pray, it seems God is not moving, but in reality, things are happening in the spiritual realm that we cannot see. Daniel fasted and prayed for 21 days, waiting for God to move. For 21 days, he cried out to God, but there was only silence. Finally, an angel appeared to Daniel and said to him, “from the first day that you purposed to understand and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to them..…” (Daniel 10:12). Daniel had no idea that from the moment he uttered the first word of his prayer, God began to move in the spiritual realm towards the answer. God heard Him. Sometimes we must wait longer than we want for the answer, and sometimes we don’t receive the answer we want at all. Instead of letting doubt take hold, we must trust that God is moving on our behalf and that He always has our best interests at heart. You are called to pray. You are called to communicate with your lifeline, with your one true path to peace, your heavenly Father. God cares about you and every detail of your life, no matter how big or small. God hears your prayers. He wants you to talk to Him. He wants a relationship with you. Don’t lose faith. Don’t lose hope. Sometimes it seems God is not moving on your behalf, but the truth is, you can’t always see Him moving; you can’t always see what He is setting in motion. Even in those times of silence, you can be assured that God is working things out with your best interests at heart; that He is working to give you hope and a future!
Just Use Your Keys
Believers have been given heavenly keys that open doors of opportunity and blessing, but many times they toss the keys aside or even forget the keys are theirs to be used.
Focus
Focus. It’s a simple word really. Focus. We all know what it means but as you may know, definitions are kinda my jam. Focus, when peeled back and defined is “a center of activity or attention; directed attention.” Does the definition resonate a little more than the word itself? One morning not too long ago, I was awake at 1:30 a.m. My activity was centered on praying and petitioning over people I love. Praying that God would pursue them. Relentlessly. That they would surrender and focus on Jesus as the only One that can fill any void they keep desperately trying to fill with other things or people. Have you ever been there? In the middle of the night praying hard for those you love. Praying that God would make a big move in their lives and get their attention. There is a constant battle for our focus to be off Jesus, to grab our attention on all that’s wrong in our own lives and the lives of those we love. How we participate in the battle is key. We must be intentional about where we place our focus and what we give our attention to. It’s ultimately up to us, no one can make us dedicate our focus or give our attention unless we allow it. And as much as we would love to control where our loved ones place their focus and direct their attention, we can’t. There are numerous stories throughout the bible of battles, distracted focus, and paying attention to the wrong things. So, how do we keep our focus where battles are won? We focus on the One who does have control, we focus on praying, unceasingly. We fight for what matters, the truth of the gospel. We focus on surrendering ourselves to trust God and his Word. We focus on remembering He loves those we pray for even more than we do. This picture is one I scrolled across in my middle of the night ponderings. It immediately clicked. Think of an army. Think about the focus they must have… They focus on a battle plan. They focus on the mission. They focus on how to accomplish it. They focus as a unit. The battle plan- pray and petition. The mission- believe God, His strength, and His Word as true and applicable. The how- trust God knows exactly the how and when to accomplish all that needs to be in their lives. The unit- ask those in our inner circle to link arms with us to pray with us and for our families. As we readjust our focus and redirect our attention, let’s take just a minute and give praise that we know who is in charge of our army, who the ultimate victor is, that we know the author of scripture is alive and who has an unwavering focus of the eternal kingdom…Glory be to God!! 1 Thessalonians 5:17 “Pray without ceasing” Deuteronomy 20:4 “For the LORD your God is the one who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies to give you victory” Psalm 62:8 “Trust in Him at all times, you people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge” Ephesians 6:10-12 “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places” Lord, thank You for never losing focus, for always having the ultimate battle plan. Thank you for the gift of prayer. There is comfort Lord in knowing you want to hear from me. May my focus be on You Jesus. Help me keep my focus and attention on only the battles You call me to. May Your will be done in the lives of those I love, we both want them to choose you. May I focus on your word and let the truth of it help fight the battles. And if my focus falters and my attention becomes distracted gently call me back to Your truth. In Jesus Name I pray. Amen. This week’s playlist: Rescue Lauren Daigle Yes He Can CAIN Weapon Vertical Worship Written September 19, 2019 Updated August 23, 2021