Prayer

I woke up at 3 a.m. with a feeling like I just had to pray. Pray for my family. Pray for my friends. Pray for my church. So I did. I prayed until I fell asleep again at 4 a.m. Then, I woke up at 6 a.m. with the nudging feeling that I needed to pray some more. So I did. I prayed for my family. I prayed for my friends. I prayed for my church. I don't know exactly what I needed to pray for, so I covered all of the bases. I prayed for safety. I prayed for growth. I prayed for protection. I prayed for joy, strength, peace, change. 

I've heard people say, "Is it really important that we pray? It's not like we can change God's mind and He already knows what's going to happen." My response to that is, yes! God does know what's going to happen. He knows the choices we will make. He knows the outcome of our choices. He knows everything about us. But prayer is not about changing God's mind or getting what we want. It's about focusing our hearts on Him. When we take time to pray, we are standing in the gap for our friends, our family, our church. We are seeking God. We are making our requests known to Him. We may pray for 5 minutes, we may pray for hours. The outcome may be the same as it was always intended to be, but WE are changed. Spending time in prayer changes our focus. It becomes outward instead of inward. You cannot spend hours in prayer and not be changed. 

Have you ever heard the phrase, "Garbage in, garbage out"? It means, whatever you spend your time watching, listening to, or engaging in, will come out. If it's dirty, nasty stuff, that's what will come out of you. Your thoughts will be dark and hopeless. If it's good and pure, goodness will flow out. Your thoughts will be hopeful and peaceful. So, as we spend time in prayer and reading the Word, that goodness will flow out of us. God's love will flow out of us. Our trust will grow as we rely fully on the Lord. 

Does this make sense? Prayer is powerful and effective. We shouldn't try to live without it. One of the best things about it is that there's no special formula. You don't have to say certain words or be at a certain level of maturity (phew). It's simple and takes on many forms. 

I could talk about prayer for hours. Instead of boring you to death, I want to pass along some resources. Sometimes it's hard to know what to pray for. One of the things that has helped me tremendously is Stormie Omartian's books on the praying series:

Power of a Praying Woman

Power of a Praying Wife

Power of a Praying Parent

I specifically use these three on a daily basis. They really help guide my prayers and cover topics I would never think to pray about. Even if you don't like scripted prayers, like my husband, the prayers are so powerful, you find yourself agreeing and praying along boldly with each one. They also have all three books rolled into one.  She has SO many books on prayer.  These are just a few.  

Here are three more resources that I just started digging in to:

The Prayer that Changes Everything 
Partners in Prayer
Understanding the Purpose and Power of Prayer

I'd like to hear some of your thoughts on prayer.  Do you have a resource that you use?  Do you have a specific place or time of day to pray?

Thanks for stopping by,

Creative Prayer

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Growing up I always thought that I had to pray right before bed.  I don't know why I thought this but, I remember feeling guilty all the time because I'd fall asleep without praying.  As I matured in my relationship with the Lord, I realized I didn't have to pray right before bed.  I can pray anytime!  And trust me, I do.  I pray all day long.  

Prayer doesn't have to be some ritualistic task that has to take place in a certain posture or location.  You don't have to know all the right words or terminology.  It's simply talking to God like you would talk to a friend.  He wants to hear our fears, our joys, our frustrations - anytime, anyplace.  For me, praying is like breathing.  It's an ongoing conversation between me and God.  I do have times where I sit and have more concentrated prayer, but often times it's all day long.  It's equally important to listen during prayer as it is to make your requests known to God.  He has things to say to us as well.  We miss out on a huge part of a healthy prayer life if we leave out the listening part.      

Let's face it, life is BUSY.  Sometimes it's hard to find time to sit and pray (and listen).  Not only do we want to have quiet time for ourselves, but we also want to lift our family up in prayer.  Like I said above, prayer doesn't have to be ritualistic.  You can find creative ways to pray throughout the day.  My husband likes to pray during his drive to work. I have a friend who likes to pray in the shower.  I have other friends who like to go on prayer walks.  It's up to you to figure out how to incorporate prayer into your day. 


A few years ago, I read a book by Lisa Whelchel titled, "Taking Care of the Me in Mommy."  At the end of chapter two she has a "Rest Stop" that is a list of ways to pray during your everyday tasks.  I want to share this with you in the hope that it will spark some creativity in you.  You can use her ideas or come up with some of your own.  Enjoy!


Laundry Prayers

• While sorting - ask the Lord to sort out your life, showing you areas that need to be reprioritized, changed, or thrown away. 
• During spot removing - pray to be cleansed from distinct stains and sins in your life. 
• While adding bleach - ask God to remove residues from things you encounter because you live in a fallen world. 
• When pouring in the softener - ask the Lord to soften your heart and give you a teachable spirit. 
• When loading washer - pray for people who need to be washed "white as snow" (Isaiah 1:18)

Folding Laundry Prayers
Pray for the person whose clothes you are folding.  Here are a few examples to get you started:

• Husband's undershirts - pray for integrity.
• Your nightgowns - pray for unity in marriage.
• Son's pants - pray for physical protection in all his roughhousing and tumbles.
• Daughter's shirts - pray for modesty.
• Socks - pray for God to be Lord of their lives from the top of their head to the soles of their feet.
• Underwear and Briefs - pray for purity, protection, and future reproductive health. 

Prayers for Specific Areas of the House
As you clean, pray over specific rooms and related activities in those rooms:

• Family Room - pray for harmony between children, purity in TV watching.
• Kitchen - pray for God to provide daily bread, healthy eating habits. 
• Dining Room - pray for great communication among family members. 
• Kids' Bedrooms - pray for peaceful sleep, time to relax, good study habits. 
• Master Bedroom - pray for sweet sleep, for a healthy sexual relationship with your husband, for time to spend relaxing with each other. 

Housecleaning Prayers
Pray about issues that correspond with your activity: 

• Vacuuming - ask the Lord to shine light on hidden areas to remove things you haven't even realized had become embedded in your life. 
• Deep-cleaning bathroom - ask the Lord to remove a problem area in your life or a family member's life.
• Furniture polishing - ask the Lord to polish and refine areas in your life. 
• Picking up toddler toys - pray for patience to teach your children.
• Preparing meals - pray for your hands to be God's hands in your children's lives; pray for provision. 

A Week Without Prayer Makes One Weak:
When you feel overwhelmed with prayer requests or concerns, perhaps you will find it helpful to categorize your prayer lists and divide them by the days of the week.  For example: 

• Monday you could pray for the sick. 
• Tuesday could be the day you pray for the widows and the needy.
• Wednesday is a good day to pray for your church and church leadership. 
• Thursdays you could focus on America and social issues. 
• Friday could be devoted to those in need of salvation - both known and unknown. 
• Saturdays would be for extended family and close friends. 
• Sunday would be designated for all the other prayer requests you've received that week. 

I hope this has been encouraging to you.  What creative ways do you incorporate prayer into your day?  


Thanks for stopping by,