"Prayer Changes Things & You"

DAY #119 - 'A Woman of Faith' Devotional
VERSE: "And everything -- whatever you ask in prayer, believing -- you will receive." Matthew 21:22 HCSB

'Could you not tarry one hour?' is a question Jesus asked of his disciples in the Garden of Gethsemane. He asked them to pray with Him and for Him, and the disciples fell asleep. Jesus was in the most deepest prayer, and darkest time of His life, and He desired that His disciples intercede, and maybe they did for a short time, yet they fell asleep waiting for Him to return to them. God desires us to pray, as this is our main form of communication with Him. Sometimes we tend to make 'prayer' something bigger than it really is. Prayer is just simply talking to God. Somehow, we also tend to 'scare' other Christians (and maybe non-believers) by using the terms 'prayer meeting' or 'intercessory team'. Some Christians may not have the FULL gift of 'Intercession', but we are all called to intercede for someone, and of course for ourselves. Jesus then intercedes for all of us at the throne of God. Praying daily, and even throughout the day (not just at dinner, or at bedtime prayers) is what God desires of us. When we pray to Him (even just our 'Give me, Give me' prayers), He desires to speak back to us. Sometimes we just rush in to prayer, tell Him our wants & needs, and then rush out... He desires us to worship & praise Him; confess our sins so He may clothe us with righteousness & He may manifest his presence; thank Him for the many things that He has done, because He wants to pour out more and more; and, then we may ask Him for things that we NEED and desire according to His will.

It's been said that the quality of our spiritual life can be compared to the quality of our prayer life. When we are in prayer, God can communicate with us as well as through His word. Prayer CHANGES the atmosphere & things around you, same as worship, yet it also changes YOU, and what is going on in the Heavens -- there is an old hymn/song that the Gaither's have on their videos, 'Prayer is the Key to Heaven', and in that song it says 'Prayer is the key to Heaven, but FAITH unlocks the door'. We want to pray, but we also want to pray believing in faith that God will show up #1, but also that He will do what He says He will do.

The verse today says, '...whatever you ask for in prayer, BELIEVING -- you will receive.' This is not saying that 'whatever' we ask for we get, it is according to the will of the Father. Most times we think of the blessing side of this verse, and that we get what we want if we just believe we should have it. But there is also the flip-side to this... what about those prayers we pray in frustration or even just a simple prayer that we really didn't mean-- God can and will answer those too. I have learned that we need to be 'specific' in what we are asking for.

I have also learned through revelation of Holy Spirit, that we really should get back to 'The Lord's Prayer'. We shouldn't have to ask for money for example, or a new home, or money for a new home... or a new job, or a new car, or a new... whatever. 'Give us this day our daily bread' is what Jesus prayed. Yes God does like to hear us ask for things specifically, but He also does know our heart. Our problem is that we don't always know His heart. Saying 'Give us this day our daily bread', is basically saying, 'Hey God, you know that I would like _______, but give me what You know that I need today.'

...to be continued!

"Our prayers must not be efforts to bend God to our will but to yield ourselves to His." ~ Catherine Marshall