Hey Girls! so today we are going to talk about the power of prayer. Girls, let me tell you my prayer life has really struggle over the years, I think it is because, I struggled with feeling confident, and worried about saying the right thing, but also because I was focusing on my own selfish desires, but when I decided to put aside these trivial thoughts, we can truly understand what prayer really is about. So lets dig in, to fully grasp the meaning and understanding of this powerful tool, though definition, scripture, and examples. First, Prayer is a personal experience and intimate connection with our loving Heavenly Father. God wants to communicate with us, and we can do that through prayer. It is our direct line to heaven and only possible because of Jesus Christ's ultimate payment for our sins, when he died on the cross. Prayer sometimes seems complicated, but it is really a simple, but effective tool. So maybe if we try to understand how powerful it is, it will be easier to become more confident in prayer. Nowadays, I believe we take prayer too lightly, I am guilty of this myself. We should not underestimate it's power. We need to view prayer not just as a ritual or duty, but our commitment in building a personal relationship with God.
- James 5:16b-18 (NLT)
- .... The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results. 17 Elijah was as human as we are, and yet when he prayed earnestly that no rain would fall, none fell for three and a half years! 18 Then, when he prayed again, the sky sent down rain and the earth began to yield its crops.
- Luke 10:38-42 (NLT)
38 As Jesus and the disciples continued on their way to Jerusalem, they came to a certain village where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. 39 Her sister, Mary, sat at the Lord’s feet, listening to what he taught. 40 But Martha was distracted by the big dinner she was preparing. She came to Jesus and said, “Lord, doesn’t it seem unfair to you that my sister just sits here while I do all the work? Tell her to come and help me.” 41 But the Lord said to her, “My dear Martha, you are worried and upset over all these details! 42 There is only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it, and it will not be taken away from her.”
This is the application I want you to get out of this passage: We need much time WITH God before we attempt work FOR God!
We are so busy with life that when it comes time for God, we spend very little time with Him! Jesus says our first priority is to spend much time with Him! Only then can we love Him as he desires to be loved!
If I were to choose one thing that I believe hinders or blocks our availability to set time aside to be with God,to grow in our prayer life, would be this: The busy and hectic pace of today’s world!
Sadly, Christians have believed the lie that a daily 5 minute quiet time is enough! This is untrue! We have been so spoiled by our fast paced world where we can get almost anything at a press of a button, or have easy access to get anything. For example, drive thru windows, your in and your out quickly with very little wait time. Sadly, we expect God to respond the same way! Let me fill you in on a truth right now!! God will not work in you in 5 minutes or less nor will He let you have it your way! So we need to slow down, and make the time to spend with our heavenly father and grow in our relationship with him.
- John 15:1-5 (NLT)
- 15 “I am the true grapevine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 He cuts off every branch of mine that doesn’t produce fruit, and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more. 3 You have already been pruned and purified by the message I have given you. 4 Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me.
- 5 “Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing.
So how does God view prayer? He sees it as an expression of that which he desires most—your personal relationship of love, intimacy, surrender, and trust in Him. God expects and desires intimacy from us and we need to make the time.
History shows us that believers and churches of every great awakening or spiritual movement averaged more time praying than we do. Those mightily used of God had one common denominator—they spent much time in prayer!
CHALLENGE: Do you really want to impact others and your schools for Christ? Do you really want to see God move in your families? If so, then we must consistently pray! Until we personally commit to spend consistent time with God, we will never be fully ready to be used by God as His vessel.
I want to give you three reasons why it is important to incorporate prayer in you life.
Reason #1:
Satan fears prayer more than anything else and fights prayer like no other area of your life! because it is showing him that we are willing to combat his fiery darts of temptations, and fleshly desires by allowing Gods word and power to deliver us, because we are vulnerable, weak and unable to fight on our own, we run to our savior, and protector who apart from Him we can do nothing.
Why?
- Prayer is essential to putting on our full battle gear!
- Prayer is the one way we have spiritual authority to combat Satan's lies!
- Ephesians 6:10-18 (NLT)
The Whole Armor of God
10 A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. 12 For we[a] 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.
13 Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm. 14 Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God’s righteousness. 15 For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared.[b] 16 In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil.[c] 17 Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18 Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere.
If prayer and Scripture are your primary weapons what do you expect from Satan? He will do anything to keep you from praying consistently! He will also fight to keep you from deepening your prayer life! He uses every ounce of power he has to shut you down in this area!
Reason #2:
Our sinful human nature will always resist the development of a powerful prayer life.
- Matthew 26:41(NLT)
41 Keep watch and pray, so that you will not give in to temptation. For the spirit is willing, but the body is weak!” I can tell you this, it will not be easy—it will be a struggle. If we can remember this when we pray it will shift our focus and we will begin to fight back!
It is normal for our physical bodies to resist the practice of prayer! for example, Does a man going into battle have a grin on his face? No!!! Do not expect to always be happy and excited about praying! but don't give into that negative response or excuses to pray but persevere! the end result will be a huge blessing.
Reason #3:
The world’s belief and understanding of human strength is the direct opposite of God’s way!
- Isaiah 55:8-9 (NLT)
We tend to place our biggest emphasis and time on human strength. We try to fix things and figure things out on our own. But we forget that this is not what God desires from us. He wants us to come to a point of vulnerability and weakness.To turn from relying on our own strength, to relying on His strength alone! Plans that we make on our own without prayer offend God. We must ask God to teach us how to pray more effectively. To become a believer who understands and uses prayer in their daily life, we must practice, and practice takes place on our knees!
So how do we practice this powerful tool? well we practice by spending much personal time with God in daily prayer. If we say we want to grow but seldom have serious prayer we are kidding ourselves! God cannot teach you to pray if you refuse to show up for practice!
In Closing, I want to share with you girls practical ways to develop a consistent prayer life.
- Start a prayer journal
~ Write in your journal a thorough confession to the Lord. List you sins, thoughts, attitudes, words, and actions. Be specific.
~ Write a love letter to God. Tell Him how much He means to you.
Tell Him why you love Him. Tell Him how important He is to your life.
2. Read Psalms
~Find psalms of praise and worship that exalt the Lord for who He is.
Read them out loud.
3. Open your eyes
~Look at creation around you. We are often too busy either on our phones or activities of life to take the time to stop and observe God's creation. Thank God for everything in His wonderful creation.
Girls, there are so many ways and activities available to us to use in our lives, to develop our daily prayer life, but we need to be willing wholeheartedly to stop and take that time to focus on God. Here is a video just to affirm what prayer is.
Girls, I Pray that through this post, we can learn the importance of prayer in our life, and also its power. I pray that you will become bold in Christ, to stand against the devil in all his deviant plans and temptations, that he throws at us to get us off track, on becoming more like Christ and building an intimate relationship with our Savior . God longs for us to place Him first in our lives and to understand our need for Him.I Pray you will make it a point in your life to chase the devil way with scripture, prayer and not allowing him to have any strongholds in your life. But to be free from the bondage of our sin.Taking control of our life through Jesus Christ alone. I encourage you to listen to the words of this movie clip from War Room and apply it to your life personally, by changing the words she speaks about her husband, and daughter, to your own situations and struggles. I can tell you right now that it works. I have prayed this many times in my own words, in times where I have struggled, and have been truly blessed, freed, and empowered by the Holy Spirit to experience true joy!
Prayer is a shield to the soul, a sacrifice to God, and a scourge for Satan.
~ John Bunyan
Prayer is the way you defeat the devil, reach the lost, restore a backslider, strengthen the saints, send missionaries out, cure the sick, accomplish the impossible, and know the will of God.
~ David Jeremiah
Prayer does not mean simply to pour out one’s heart. It means rather to find the way to God and to speak with him, whether the heart is full or empty.
~ Dietrich Bonhoeffer
If you want that splendid power in prayer, you must remain in loving, living, lasting, conscious, practical, abiding union with the Lord Jesus Christ.
~ Charles H. Spurgeon
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