Pray!

What do you do when situations and circumstances do not appear to be going the way that you planned for them to go? What do you do when situations and circumstances appear to be going the way that you planned for them to go? When you receive good or bad news, who do you call? When you desire to vent about life, who do you run to? When you are battling within yourself regarding a decision that you must make, who do you seek guidance from? When you are angry and feel your old self arising, who do you seek out to calm you down? When you are low in spirit and need comfort and strength, who do you reach out to? When your life is chaotic and you need some peace, what do you do? If you are anything like the old version of myself, your answers would be similar to: I tend to figure out a plan B when plan A is not going well; I call my bestfriend because he knows my deepest darkest secrets and never openly judges me; I call two or three people to get their advice when I am unsure of the correct decision; I take a few shots in an attempt to get out of my feelings; I seek out coping mechanisms to help me cover up the pain; I have to call my calm friend when I’m about to cut up because he knows just the right words to say; I usually stay to myself when I’m low because I do not want to be seen as weak and I do not want anyone’s sympathy; I usually go on vacation or schedule a self-care day to recenter myself. Friend, having people to rely on is great because it shows you have support within your community. But just as I had to come to know for myself, I am here to assist you in knowing that the best thing to do in these types of situations is PRAY, and the best person to call on is JESUS. Let’s Talk!

In my post titled “Everybody Can’t Go”, I told you about a friend that God had made me walk away from during a certain season of my growth in Him. Well, I have an update. In my prayer time one morning, God revealed to me that the friend and I relied too heavily on one another’s opinions and advice when we needed to be relying on Him and His guidance. I knew that to be true because I loveddddd to call this one friend no matter what was going on. The truth of the matter was, I had unintentionally allowed that friend to become my god. I did not seek God as much as I sought an answer from her. Can you see how that is a problem especially within someone who identifies as a follower of Christ? How could I be proclaiming to love and serve Jesus when I wasn’t even seeking to communicate with Him before communicating with people? Why wasn’t I seeking guidance from the One who knows His plans for my life (Jeremiah 29:11)? Why wasn’t I crying out to the One who was able to heal my broken heart and comfort me during my times of trouble (Psalm 147:3; Psalm 23:4)? Why wasn’t I seeking God before man?

According to Oxford Languages, prayer is a form of communication in which a person connects with a higher power to offer a sincere request for help, an expression of thanks, or an act of worship. When you communicate with your bestfriend, do you tend to be nervous or attempt to talk a certain way or find the right words to say? The answer should be “no”. When you are speaking with your bestfriend: you are allowed to be yourself; you express yourself in your own unique language; you are able to be vulnerable and emotional even to the point of crying; you are rarely nervous; you even have inside lingo and jokes that you use. When comparing communication with your bestfriend to communication with Jesus, there should not be too much of a difference. Of course, it is essential that we exercise reverence for Jesus when communicating with Him, but we should also be as intimate with Him as we are with our bestfriends. After praying in a few different public settings, I have had many people to ask me to teach them how to pray. Although I wish that I had a manual to give to them, I do not. When I first started praying, I did not know what to say, and I did not know how to say it. I just began talking to Jesus as if He were a friend of mine. As I grew in my relationship with Him, I began to include these words in my prayers, “Lord, teach me how to pray”. I did not stop there though. I continued to set a certain time to pray every morning, and I continued to just talk to Him as best as I knew how. One day, I was praying, and the presence of God swept through my room. Friend, from that day forward, I did not have to think about what I wanted to say or how I wanted to say it. I just began each prayer by saying “Thank you Father”. After giving thanks and reverence to God, the Holy Spirit begins to place certain people, world events, situations and anything else on my heart. So friend, do not get caught up on what to say or how to say it, JUST SAY SOMETHING! Reference Matthew 6:5-13 and pray the words in Matthew 6:9-13 until you have your own words to say.

I want you to know that prayer is a weapon. I want to encourage you to begin or continue to pray daily. Pray as many times as you can throughout the day even if it’s simply, “Lord, I thank you”. Jesus never gets tired of hearing from us. Actually, 1 Thessalonians chapter 5 verse 17 instructs us to pray continually. There is no such thing as a small prayer or a big prayer. But there is a such thing as an effectual, fervent prayer; this type of prayer is a heartfelt, powerful prayer that comes from a righteous person (James 5:16). So friend, strive to be righteous in Christ by having faith in Him and living according to His principles and will. And don’t forget to PRAY!

Read, dissect and meditate on Matthew 6:5-13, Psalm 100:4, Philippians 4:6-7, Romans 8:26, and Ephesians 6:18.