When Prayer Became Active

Why do we pray? Is prayer unnecessary? If the God of the universe knows our hearts, why do we need to voice them to Him? If you are like me, you may have struggled/are struggling with these very questions. The practice of prayer was made important in my heart when I read two verses in Psalm. Prayer was given a clarity I had never experienced before.

The verses say, “Blessed be the LORD! For he has heard the voice of my pleas for mercy. The LORD is my strength and my shield; in him my heart trusts, and I am helped; my heart exults, and with my song I give thanks to him” (Psalm 28: 6-7 ESV).

From these verses, I see a model of active prayer:

1.     Plea

Plea, according to Merriam Webster, is defined as “an earnest entreaty” David appealed to God earlier in Psalms: “Hear the voice of my pleas for mercy, when I cry to you for help, when I lift up my hands toward your most holy sanctuary” (Psalm 28:2 ESV; emphasis added). Consider the emotion and passion in his plea as he cries out to the Lord with a loud voice and lifts up his hands. The reason I believe God desires our requests be made with such resolve is because it demonstrates trust. We express our deepest emotions with the people we trust. Our increased dependence on Him will cause us to desire to walk in His way.

2.     Expectation

There are a couple of different ways we respond after pleading to God. We may consider our urgent prayer a “one and done” situation. We may continue to pray for the same thing we’ve already left at God’s throne. We may start to act with our own wisdom. Based on verse 7, I see our next step to be listening for God’s help. We should bring expectancy that God will work and give us next steps. I can trust in Him with “all your [my] heart” (Proverbs 3:5 ESV) for He is Yahweh. As we acknowledge His sovereignty, our eyes should be looking for doors to open or close. Often God does not answer in houses, but in wood, nails, and sweat.  While He determines our next steps, we should be ready to walk it out. Even if the answer does not come, we can have an expectant heart that He is working in the situation.

3.     Thanksgiving

When we are given an answer or blessing, we should bring thanksgiving to our Father. Even if we do not receive an answer or blessing, we can thank Him for the blessings and answers He has already given us. The choice to thank is a chance to acknowledge God’s work. Often, we wrongly think that we are the reason good things happen. God is good and does good for His children. The act of bringing thanks to God gives Him the right places in our hearts as Holy Lord, worthy to be praised. At the mention of how great He is, our hearts are prepared for continued dependence and trust in Him.

Prayer can become an active part of our relationship with God when we see the connection between plea, expectation, and thanksgiving. It can become a daily opportunity to connect with God as we trust God with our pleas, expect Him to be God, and thank Him for His work. While we may not always receive the blessing or answer to prayer, immediately, prayer allows us to grow in our devotion to Him. 

Prone to Wander

“Little Johnny, your mommy is at the front of the store waiting for you.”

If you’ve ever been in a large department store, you have inevitably heard a similar message roar across the store speakers. As a child, I once walked away from my mom while we were in the mall. Who knows what distracted me? A shiny pair of shoes, a flashing store sign, or perhaps a sparkle on the floor. Upon looking all around, my mom found me standing by myself. I had wandered away in a moment of distraction.

The wandering does not stop once we enter the teenage years or young adulthood. Every time I go shopping with a group of friends, there is always one friend who disappears from the group. You know, the one who spots the clearance section and is gone before you can say, “deal”. As women, we are prone to wander when we are distracted by ideas, thoughts, or feelings.

In our lives, distractions can easily pull us away from our walk with God. The Bible says that by nature, we are a lot like sheep. “The Lord is my shepherd” and we are His sheep (Psalm 23:1 ESV).

 Sheep, left alone, are defenseless. When they encounter danger, they run away. Likewise, our response to fear can be to run off. We need a shepherd to shield us when we are fearful.

Without a shepherd, sheep would starve. They would roam the pasture, but never go in search of new lush green fields. They rely on the shepherd to lead them to food to graze. We are in constant need of direction.

Left to our own selves, we are drifting and doubtful. Our Father knows our need for a leader. Upon accepting Him as the Lord of our life, we have the opportunity to follow our shepherd.

Often, though, we lose sight of our need for a shepherd. We become like the child in the store who wanders off, in pursuit for the thing his eye sees. We forget that in our Father, we have everything we need. 2 Peter 1:3 says, “His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through the knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence (ESV).

How do we remind our ever-forgetful heart of this truth? I think being in the Word, God’s Word, is a good way to keep our eyes fixed on the character of God. We read stories of how early disciples telling Jesus to do something about the raging storm and He calms it with one word (Mark 4:35-41 ESV). We read Jesus reminding us to “seek the glory of Him who sent Him” by knowing “the teaching” (John 7:17-18 ESV). As we read His Word, we remind ourselves of the strength and power that is available when we depend on our shepherd.

Lord, I am so prone to wander. Often, times get tough and I run away from you. When I am lost, I wonder why You seem so far away. You desire to be the shepherd of my life. I am often directionless and doubtful of your goodness. I realize my need for your shepherding in my life. Thank you for your rod and staff. Thank you for leading me to still waters and green pastures. As I go through my day, may I be reminded of your character. When life seems more than I can handle and I want to run off in fear, may your ever calm voice draw me back.