Prayer — GM Blog — GIRLFRIEND MINISTRY

A woman from my Sunday school class died this week. I’ve never met her in person, as she’s been homebound with cancer for longer than I’ve been in the class, but I feel like I know her from all the prayers I’ve prayed. I don’t feel sad for her. She’s free of cancer and all the other cares of this world, but, oh, how I ache for her loved ones. This loss will turn their lives upside down for a long time.

Now that I think of it, the cancer battle already did that.

That reminds me of a friend and her brave teen aged daughter. I can’t begin to imagine how hard it is to watch a child fight cancer. Mommas want to fix all that ails our babies, yet all the mom can do is pray like crazy and take it one day at a time. One day, they were dealing with typical teen stuff, and the next, they were fighting for the daughter’s life.

Life has a way of throwing us curveballs.

Illness, loss, divorce, unemployment, prodigal children…our lives can just turn plain hard in an instant.

Hard circumstances cause us to take a hard look at where we are and where we’re going. We grieve what could have been and sit baffled asking God what’s next. Hard times steal future memories and taint the ones already lived. It’s natural to grief our losses. It’s not selfish to take some time to weep against God’s loving chest.

But when the sobs subside, God is there to position our feet back on His path. Just because we hit a roadblock doesn’t mean our journey’s over. God will forge a new route for the same destination.

It's like finding an alternate route when the one you're on has a "road closed" sign. You don't throw the whole trip out the window because of one road closure. You reroute and get back moving toward the destination. When a reroute is required, it’s a smart move to make a pit stop and gather your bearings.

Prayer is the perfect way to allow our Navigator to punch in our new coordinates and fill our tank with fresh fuel.

Here’s a prayer to help you get started if you find yourself needing a reroute.

Lord,

I don't know where to go from here. I thought my future was set, and now everything feels so up-in-the-air. But, I know my feelings aren't fact. I know nothing catches You by surprise. I know You've got me, Lord. I trust You even when I can't see the next step in front of me.

Though my path is changing, "Your word is [still] a lamp for my feet, [and] a light on my path" (Psalm 119:105 NIV).

"Show me your ways, Lord, teach me your paths. Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long" (Psalm 25:4-5 NIV).

Bring me out of this "in the dark" season and into a new dawn. "Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you. Show me the way I should go, for to you I entrust my life" (Psalm 143:8 NIV).

To You, I entrust my life.

Right this moment, I make a conscious decision to trust You completely. I will not buy in to my up-and-down emotions. I will submit this moment and the ones after it to You trusting You to make my path straight and true and honest (Proverbs 3:5-6).

"Lord, you alone are my portion and my cup; you make my lot secure. The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance. I will praise the Lord, who counsels me; even at night my heart instructs me. I keep my eyes always on the Lord. With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest secure, because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead, nor will you let your faithful one see decay. You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand" (Psalm 16:5-11 NIV).

I choose to follow You, Lord, wherever You lead me.

In the name of Jesus I pray, AMEN

On a scale of 1 to 10, how would you rate your prayer life? Ten, obviously being best.

Some women keep prayer journals and track God’s answered prayers.

Some women have prayer closets where they post Scripture and names of those for whom they pray.

Do you ever tell someone, “I’ll be praying for your?”

On Facebook, have you ever written, “Praying” or put the little praying hands?

The follow-up to those questions is, did you do it?

Did you REALLY pray?

Did you mean what you said in your prayer or was it the standard recited prayer?

“God, please be with ________.” (That’s real heart felt, isn’t it?)

How high did your prayer get?

Did it even get passed your lips?

Did it rise above your ceiling?

IF YOU AREN’T GOING TO DO IT, THEN DON’T SAY IT! What a hypocrite. Yep, I said it. I’m calling you out if this is you, and do you know why I can call you out? Because I’ve done every single one of those things. Every. Single. One.

I’ve told someone I was praying for them, and it wasn’t the truth.

I’ve written “praying” on a Facebook post and then didn’t.

I’m being transparent here. I know I’m not the only one who has done this either.

But I stopped that nonsense. What was the point of saying or writing that anyway? It’s the right thing to say? Well, if it’s the right thing to say, it’s the right thing to do. DO. IT.

I had a friend text requesting prayer. I was in a business meeting and then on a conference call. She got upset because I didn’t text her back immediately saying I was praying. I asked her if she wanted a truth or a lie. Truth is, I did pray after my meetings were over, and that is when I texted her back. Don’t write it or say it unless you’ve already covered that person in prayer. Just don’t.

I know I’m on a soapbox here, but I wonder just how many people who say they are praying actually do. Instead of writing on a post, “Praying,” why not write a prayer – just a couple of sentences.

If someone is asking for prayer, stop right there, place your hand on them and pray over them. That would mean so much more than hearing someone in their best church voice telling them, “We’ll be praying for you” and then never doing it. Don’t waste your hot air.

Most everyone has heard James 5:16, Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.

You aren’t a righteous person just by saying you’re going to pray. You’re a hypocrite, and ain’t nobody got time for that.

Your “prayers” are powerless and ineffective because they are never said.

Prayer is a gift God has given us as a way to talk to our Abba Father about anything and everything, and to take it lightly, to ignore it, to lack commitment in talking to Him is deplorable.

Psalm 141:2 May my prayer be set before You as incense, the raising of my hands as the evening offering. – Are your prayers an incense to God? Is it a pleasing aroma to God?

Our prayers are so important to God, He collects them. Did you know that? He collects and keeps your prayers, almost as if they were your love letter to Him. Revelations 4:8…Each one had a harp and gold bowls filled with incense, which are the prayers of the saints.

WOW! This is so convicting to me. Are my prayers as incense pleasing to my Abba?

Our Abba Father loves us so much and is proud to have us as His children He puts us on display. 2 Corinthians 2:14, “But thanks be to God, who always puts us on display in Christ and through us spreads the aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place.” Our prayers are an incense. Our lives are an aroma. I know there have been times in my life that my incense and my aroma would have curled God’s nose hairs if He had any because I was rank.

What is your life aroma? What is the incense of your prayers? You are precious and loved by our Father. Are you loving Him back? Are you praying and talking to Him? Do you reflect and show others you are daughter of the One True King? It’s time to get real, to get honest, and to get straight with God. Get after it.

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