Prayer is Powerful, Exciting

I’m finding late in life that prayer is a journey. We have

to learn to pray, because prayer is essential for a daily work

with Jesus. In Mark 11:23, it states that we “shall not doubt

in our heart that what we are praying for will come to pass, and

we shall receive it.” The key is to believe we will receive

that which we ask for, if we keep our eyes on Him. So, our

attitude targets the goal. The goal is met in His timing and in

His way. This matures our faith.

I recently attended a workshop on prayer. The speaker

looked like the son of Billy Graham, and he showcased vim and

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vigor for our Lord as Mr. Graham does. He made a statement that

startled me.

He said, “we should pray our children and grandchildren to

heaven.”

I’m sure I sat straighter in my chair. I had not heard an

expression like that.

Then, he added, “we should be as passionate to pray for the

souls of our children and grandchildren as we are to pay our

monthly mortgage.”

“Wow,” that made sense to me, and since the room was filled

with Senior Citizens, there were lots of heads nodding in

agreement.

I left the workshop with a fresh, renewed excitement. The

speaker suggested that we keep a journal. When we are met

with a petition, we should write the prayer request in the

journal and date it. He also told us to pick a time of day, a

certain place to meditate and pray, and start our time with Him

with a sincere and genuine heart. This brought to my mind

Psalms 51:l0-11. It asks God “to cleanse our hearts, and

release a new attitude (there’s that word again) within us. To

not take away the Holy Spirit from us nor take His presence away

from us.” When we feel that our petitions have been answered,

then date the journal as such. Compare how long some prayers

take and how short some prayers take to be answered.

In this new prayer life, I’ve learned that God does always
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answer. He may not answer the way we have prayed or as soon as

we want, but He always answers. Sometimes, this process of

waiting and God showing His sovereignty, brings us blessings.

Blessings, because we are the one that can be changed. The

situation we are praying for may not change, but we do, and that

is the blessing. For to be drawn closer to our Savior, and to

grow into His image, (which a powerful prayer life can do) is

His heart’s desire.

In a study by Beth Moore, I’ve also learned that He wants

us to ask Him for blessings to be bestowed upon us. If we do

not ask Him, we do not receive. “Jesus desires us to be happy

and full of joy,” Beth harps on this over and over.

What a joy to have completed this study for it came on the

rim of the workshop I attended. In John 14:12-16, it offers

additional insight into the success of our prayer life. This

verse tells us we are to pray believing we will receive so that

God will be glorified. And then when we receive what we have

been praying for, we are to give Jesus all the glory. We are

not to brag and exalt ourselves. I believe this is the real

lesson on prayer. We give Jesus all the glory, and we thank

Him, on our knees, that He is a God that we are allowed to serve

and trust. We praise His name because He takes care of those

who trust in Him, and those who bow their heads and pray to Him.