This past Sunday I taught a lesson on King Hezekiah. In this lesson we talked about the experiences the king was going through such as the Assyrians wanting to attack and conquer them, the king getting sick and God healing him or the Babylonians visiting and the king learning they will eventually conquer his people. As the class talked about these events and we related them to events and struggles in our own lives, the Lord began to ask me a question. When you pray, do you pray in confidence?
At first as I thought about it my initial response was yes...yes I do pray confidently. Then I began to think about some of the struggles and worries I have had lately. I thought back to that Saturday morning when I heard a officer had died and I spent 45 minutes not knowing if it was Craig. I thought about times in our marriage when bills were tight, tears were flowing and it felt like everything would just become too much. I also thought about times where my father was struggling with severe health issues and I was across the country in TN, unable to get to him quickly. This was when I knew that there have been many times that I was not praying with confidence.
When I was younger I thought having a strong prayer life meant I needed to spend hours on my knees, in a closet praying. As I have gotten older and grown in my walk with the Lord I have learned that there are times where I need to get away and close myself off to pray. There have also been times I have laid prostrate on the floor of my bedroom, crying out to God. Most of the time though I have developed what I call a mobile prayer life. I have my prayer time in the morning when I have my Jesus time (Bible study/devotion). However, my father and my friend Melissa have really taught me to develop a habit of talking with the Lord throughout my day. If you were a fly on my wall there would be days it would look like I am talking out loud to myself because God and I are talking. My friend Melissa taught me to keep a small book of scriptures near by so when you don't know what to pray or have no confidence you can let the scripture speak for you and to you. I now have several of those little books that are in my car, purse and nightstand.
When I was teaching my 4th graders yesterday I wanted them to know that they can pray about anything and bring it before the Lord. I also wanted to begin to help them develop a prayer life that did not just include their wish list, but taught them how to praise, repent, ask for others and then worry about themselves. Life can be hard whether you are an adult, teenager or child. It is my goal as my friend Melissa would always say, "I want you to leave with tools in your toolbox."
I don't know if you have a strong prayer life or if you desire one but I have some great tips that will help enhance any prayer walk. First is write down your prayers, worries and praises. This will help you really begin to see the hand of God in your life. This is why I treasure my journal so much because they are my prayers and God's responses. Second, spend more time praising and acknowledging who God is than anything else. It is amazing how when you do this all things in this life begin to come into perspective. You begin to remember how big and amazing our God is and you let go of the little things. Third, is have one or two people you can go to when you are really struggling. You want people who will speak truth into your life and are constantly pointing you back to Jesus. You also need to be the same for these people that you need them to be for you. These are relationships that will change your life and carry you though tough times. Lastly, talk to God all day long. If you can't let a worry go, then bring it before the Lord, talk to him about it, list out the pros and cons. You see developing a true relationship with the Lord is having regular conversations with the Lord. It will be in these times where you will be amazed at how His Spirit will encourage, minister and feed your soul.
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