Daily Dose of Encouragement: Prayer

One of the greatest gifts from God that we humans have is prayer.  While I grew up in a Christian home, always said prayers before every meal, before bed, and occasionally when a crisis arose, it was not until I began my battle with chronic Lyme Disease that I truly learned the power of prayer.  Whether in moments of desperation, or thankfulness, praying has become an aspect of my daily life that I simply could not live without.  I remember many times where I was too weak to get up from my bed and take my weekly bath.  It was during these moments where I found my own physical being to be completely powerless, that the omnipotent aspect of Christ became completely evident.  While I laid in a hospital bed alone, confined in a room where I was accused of being a liar, for making my illness up in my head, ignored when asking if certain tests could be done, and forced to do things that only damaged my deteriorated body further, I learned to confide in God through prayer.  When the doctors can’t seem to come up with any answers on why my body is like it is, and when my parents have no words that would make things “right,” prayer has, and still does, give me direct communication with the One who knows all things. Through all of the excruciating pain, moments of collapsing to the floor in utter weakness, inability to walk, stand, or even sit upright, prayer is available.  Whether the few minutes before being put under for various major surgeries, or simply sitting alone in my room trying to make the minutes pass, prayer has become a stronghold.  Yet I am not boasting in this, no, prayer is available to all, and it can become the same  for you as well.

When everything here on this earth may seem as though it has been striped away from you, never to return, there is one thing that can never be taken, and that is prayer.  So why pray?  For one it connects you to the One that has put you in a given circumstance in the first place.  It allows your soul to be filled with strength, courage, peace, hope, comfort, and even joy in the most inhumane conditions. While God may know all things, this does not mean that He doesn’t want His children to keep our request from Him.  In fact, He commands us in His word to “pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18). While praying before meals, before falling asleep, or during our devotion time that we have set apart is very important, prayer is not meant to be “scheduled,” nor is it supposed to be structured or follow a certain repetition of thoughts you have been taught to be “acceptable” to ask or talk to God about.  No, you can bring anything and everything to God.  Your darkest fears, deepest “secrets,” the good, the bad, the ugly.  You don’t have to act perfect, rather you can discuss both your struggles and desires openly.  Yet if we neglect this act of communication with God, our world becomes like a whirlwind.  Suddenly everything becomes overwhelming, we feel hopeless and helpless.  As George Mueller writes in his autobiography, “If I desire more power over temptations, wisdom, grace, or anything else that I may need in service for my God, what else should I do but make use of my fellowship with the Father and with the Son?  By prayer and faith, we may obtain necessary temporal and spiritual help and blessings.” “In all simplicity, we can pour out our hearts before God.”  “Then we have to believe He will give us according to our need.” Overall, real, unrestrained prayer takes courage, and sometimes, may very well evoke hidden emotions.  Why?  Because if we are truly asking God everything He says He is capable of, we are inevitably stepping out of our comfort zone,  recognizing our inadequacy, God’s sovereignty, and ultimately having faith in the limitless abilities of our Creator (Hebrews 11:1).

Psalms 145:18 “The LORD is near to all them that call on him, to all that call on him in truth.”