Our Prayers

What is the end result of a good personal prayer life? And by good, I’m using it as an adjective—healthy, fine, sound, tip-top, fit, robust, sturdy, strong, vigorous, fine, superior, and quality. So again, I ask, “What is the end result of a good prayer life?” Please take a moment to think about this question before you move on.

A good personal prayer life gives us confidence needed to follow Hebrews 4:16 (NIV) Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. It also increases our faith in God. It becomes a place of refuge and comfort. It’s where we can cry and pour our souls out, knowing God hears and cares, but most of all it is a place where we spend time listening and hearing from God. Now, I have another question for you—why is it then that we so often invite others to pray for things we should be praying for ourselves?

Don’t get me wrong, I am not saying we should not ask for prayer from others, but I do want to take a look at how we can misuse and abuse the privilege of prayer.

Facebook has become a place where people are constantly asking their friends and family to pray for things that often just don’t make sense. And this has caused me to wonder if we really understand our privilege of being able to come to the throne and talk to our Father ourselves?

There are times in our lives when we desperately need others to pray for us and lift us up, because we are struggling to do so for ourselves. We can become so discouraged in life to the point we feel hopeless and or want to give up. Yes!! We need others to stand in the gap and pray for us and with us. But that doesn’t mean we should keep requesting prayer at the drop of a hat for any and everything.

Around Thanksgiving a Facebook friend posted her daughter was missing and requested prayer. Of course I prayed for her daughter’s safety, but I mainly prayed for my friend. As a mother I could not imagine what she was going through as each passing day went by and she did not know if her daughter was safe or alive. That was serious business, and I am happy to report she was found several days later!

A couple of months ago a missionary friend’s 11 year old adopted daughter was kidnapped. A call was put out for prayer and I even requested privately for some of my friends (who are mothers and grandmothers) to please join in praying for the family and this little girl. Child slavery is big in the country they are in and girls are taken every day and sold to men. But God blessed with a miracle and they got her back! This was huge.

But when I see constant request to pray for people’s animals, or because their child isn’t feeling well today and had to stay home from school, I’ve found myself a little perturbed. Why? Because we should be able to lay hands on our children and pray and speak healing over them when they don’t feel well. And the same if your animal is not feeling well. People also post on Facebook, requesting prayers for their pastor or church congregation. No, no, no, no!! You should be the one praying and maybe fasting for your pastor or congregation. Truthfully, what is someone who does not know this person really supposed to pray? Why do we not realize that prayer is relational and not a quick fix or magic wand just because we have enlisted others?

Often when we are looking for work and we have a job interview we enlist as many people as we know to please pray we get the job. That used to make sense to me, but it doesn’t anymore because, suppose it is not God’s will you take that job? And many times that is the case and then we’ve wasted time asking God for something that wasn’t going to happen. I now prayer for the person and lift them up because we can become discouraged as we wait upon the Lord and His timing for us.

Sisters, never hesitate to ask for prayer, but do stop and think before throwing out requests that are your responsibility. No one can pray for your husband, children, pastor or church like you can—that is your responsibility. Take the time it takes you to write on Facebook or call others to ask them to pray, and try praying yourself. We have to get to the point in our lives we are confident God hears us.  And know just because we have enlisted 100 others to pray with us, it still doesn’t mean we can persuade God to do something that He is not. His will be done and that often doesn’t translate into giving us what we want or how we want it.

I am grateful I have grown to where I no longer become agitated by the constant Facebook prayer request that should not be, and now spend time praying for the person making the request. It’s all about growing up girls, and we are coming into some difficult times and it is important that we will able to stand and have our own confidence and relationship with God. It is good to have others pray for you and with you—but we better know how to do it on our own too!

Until next week….be blessed!!

Love and Hugs
Ponnie