"I'm Tired of Mamby Pamby Prayer Lives"

Pray without ceasing!! For some reason we see this as an option. I have to warn you that if you offend easily you might want to navigate away from this page. I'm in no mood to skirt around the issues tonight. God has called our family and our church family to a new place of obedience. It is actually not so new, but it is new to us because we have fallen so short in this area of obedience as of late. We obey the parts of scripture that are easiest to obey and the parts that appear to us as the most serious areas, but how about praying without ceasing? Do we obey in this area? It is a very christian thing to say..."I will pray for you" but how often do we really pray? It is acceptable to move forward with decisions if we say that "We have prayed about it." How often do we say these things because they make us sound obedient when in reality we forget to pray for the person to whom we promised our support and we offer up a "God help us" then we have an idea that is all ours and assume it is God's solution. Sometimes I wonder if God gets tired of us throwing things off on Him when we never really sought His face in the matter. It just sounds better to say..."God is leading me to...or God has told me to..." God has recently called our church to pray. I don't mean to say we pray and share prayer requests and tag a prayer on at the end (which we have been guilty of so many times.) God has called us to SEEK His face. He has called us to stop talking and PRAY. How dare we be so pious as to think that "sharing" with one another could be more important than praying. We have no counsel to offer aside from scripture and we can do nothing better or more than pray. Friends, this has been such a blessing and a time of conviction all in one. My heart has been convicted that I do not pray enough. Not just enough, but that I do not pray according to His word. Let me share with you some things that the Lord has taught me and reminded me of concerning prayer this week.

1. Tuesday night we were on the soccer fields and I received a text from my brother asking if Matthew could call his cousin Ashlyn. She was getting ready to go away to a camp for a few days and she was nervous. She wanted to talk to her big cousin and get some reassurance that it would all be ok. As I listened to Matthew encourage her I heard him say 3 or 4 times that he would be praying for her. I looked over and mouthed "are you going to tell her that or are you going to pray." He asked her if she had a minute and there in the van on the way home he prayed for her on the phone. She was blessed as was I that as young cousins they would encourage each other through prayer. Don't say you are going to pray, but stop and pray.

2. I was reminded tonight of a prayer I prayed years ago for someone very dear to me. Someone I loved very deeply was struggling with gratifying the desires of the flesh and I began to fast and pray that every time this person came in contact with or was tempted to sin that he would become physically sick and that he would lose sleep until he had made his life right with the Lord. It was years later that I found out that every time he began to party he would become sick at the first taste of the substance that resulted in his sin. He didn't sleep well for months. God got a hold of his heart and he lives today a changed man. Not because of me, but because of prayer. Don't be afraid to pray bold and pray big and learn the discipline of fasting and praying.

3. Last Thursday night my boys found out that a neighbor friend who is also a mentor for them was starting in his high school football game and he was nervous. We walked over to encourage him and their in his den we prayed for this precious friend. Matthew and Caleb both prayed and it was such a blessing to hear the things they prayed for their friend. They prayed that the coaches would find favor with him and give him a chance. They prayed that he would praise God when they were winning, but also when they were losing. They prayed that he would remember it was about God and not about him. They prayed for many other things that I can't remember, but the point is...Pray spirit led prayers and pray specifically.

4. The last thing I want to share is what God has been doing through our prayer time as a church. We don't share requests. We pray! God has used this to encourage us all more than we could possibly do with our words. Marriages are being lifted up and prayed for by the prompting of the Holy Spirit. Wives are hearing the hearts of their husbands and learning how they can pray for them. Our God is being praised and lifted up. As we openly confess our sins before God and others through prayer we are being healed and held accountable. We are being unified as a body. God is accomplishing all of this through prayer. Why? Because that is His desire and that is His plan. We lift Him up and we communicate with Him and HE MOVES!!! Honestly, I believe in my heart that He is always moving. When we pray we become aware of how and where He is moving and we can join Him. Don't talk about prayer. Don't intend to pray. PRAY!!!

My friends we are in a battle. We have been called to war. It is a spiritual war. It is a war that is far greater, far more dangerous and far more difficult than any war this earth has seen or will ever see. The good news is we know the outcome. We know who wins the victory and we know what happens to the enemy. However, we must not get lazy and give up the fight until that final day. The battle must be fought and we must fight it on our knees. Join me!! I'm committed. It won't be easy. I have experienced more hurt, disappointment and strife in my life during these times of obedience than any other time. That is the spiritual warfare. Are we willing to obey no matter what the cost? It's worth it!! The rewards of a life lived through prayer are far greater than anything this world can offer. PRAY PRAY PRAY!!!