So, a few weeks ago, I went to a local church's ladies retreat. I have several friends at this church, and it is only five minutes from my house... so it was easy for me to get away for a bit and take part in this event. It was going to be based on the principles of prayer, using the movie "The War Room." Although, I hadn't seen the movie, I knew mainly what it was about, so I was excited to see what was in store.
Y'all. I really did not expect what I received from this. You see, that's what God does--waits until we aren't expecting Him to show up, and then he shows up. What I got out of this time of study and prayer was so much more than I was expecting.
You see, on some level, we all know prayer is important, yet why does it seems to be the easiest thing for us to shuffle off to the side when we get busy with life? I'm guilty of it myself....I will take five or ten minutes to sit down and read my Bible, but prayer was no more than a cursory effort.
This event used clips from the movie as a spring board for discussion and study on the what the Bible has to say about the importance of prayer and its power in our lives and the lives of others. There were small group discussion times, large group sharing, and activities to encourage us to delve more deeply into this business of prayer. There was just such a wonderful time of prayer with these ladies. I left so encouraged....
...and determined. I was going to start making a serious effort to spend some concentrated effort in prayer for a certain amount of time each day. I started a prayer journal, and began by just writing out a short prayer to focus my thoughts before I prayed for my requests for the day.
But have you ever started something thinking that it was going to be the "same old, same old?" I mean, I knew God answered prayer, but it had been a little while since I had seen it in a meaningful, personal way in my own life. But one of the points of the session was that we should pray because God is literally bending down to listen to us. (Psalm 116:2) So, I wanted to give this a real effort.
And God showed up. The second day, I prayed for two small things... just things that were nagging at the back of my mind that I was worried/frustrated about. So, I just jotted them down and said a prayer about them. And the next day they were both answered in a positive way. Surprise!! Oh me of little faith!
Well, needless to say, this was a huge encouragement to me to keep it up! And it's a good thing, because within the next two days, I got a prayer request that was literally a matter of life and death. No exaggeration. So, with renewed and encouraged faith, I started praying. Every day. For a week. And then I got a call that said the request had been answered... positively! Needless to say, the next day's prayer time was one of rejoicing!
So, I just want to pass on the encouragement I got from these last few weeks in this area. Have I seen such immediate results since then? No, but you know what... I know God is still listening. And my spirit has been renewed and refreshed in this area. So, if you are in a spot in your life where it seems like your prayers are going unanswered, or maybe you've been missing that area in your life entirely, I want to encourage you. Try again. You may not expect God to show up, but He's waiting and listening. He just wants you to come to Him and share your heart. And then wait for Him to show up. :)
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