Prayers Matter
/
“Lord listen to my prayer; let my cry for help come to you.” Psalm 102:1
Mark thanked me for his birthday card and appreciated my prayers. God is using him to share the Gospel in many ways. I told him my mom would be so happy. Mark responded, “I know her prayers to the Lord mattered in our lives.” Yes, they did and they still do. Prayers matter. My mom was known as a prayer warrior. When someone asked her to pray for them, she prayed. She prayed for her family daily and for whomever she encountered and whatever was going on around her. She prayed. My mom saw prayer as vital in her relationship with God.
I sign most of the cards I send with “Love and Prayers.” I say a prayer for the person I am sending the card and in essence put the prayer in the card and then seal it. When someone comes to my mind, I say a prayer for them or when someone sends me a text asking for prayer, I say a prayer at that moment. It is being intentional and praying when we say we will pray for someone. Once you say the prayer, God knows it. You do not need to keep reminding Him. We pray for some of the same people daily because they mean so much to us and we just want to keep bringing them to the Lord.
Yes, we tend to repeat our prayers because we are sharing with God what is important to us and what weighs heavy upon our hearts. God knows our hearts, and God never forgets. Our prayers also remind us that God cares about us and what and who is important. In praying, we release to God control over those we love and the concerns of daily life. Prayer is a way to confirm that God’s got it.
I hear so many people say, “I don’t know how to pray. I get distracted or fall asleep.” It is a beautiful way to fall asleep – in the arms of our Heavenly Father. Don’t worry, God is not offended if we fall asleep when we pray. God just smiles like we do when a child falls asleep as we read to them.
Prayer is intentional and continuous. I Thessalonians 5:17 says – “Pray without ceasing.” It does not mean we are talking all the time. The part of prayer we tend to avoid is the listening part. Remember, prayer is a two-way conversation with God. It is talking and listening. It is being still. Being still is difficult in our world with all the noise and outside influences trying to get our attention. Sometimes when we are trying to be still, we fall asleep. So what about a prayer walk or run? Disconnect from your phone and the things of this world and listen to God through nature, the clouds, the sounds of the birds. Just be present.
I believe the prayers of those who came before us are still active in this world. My mom’s prayers and my Grandmother’s prayers are part of my foundation. God heard those prayers and fulfills them in God’s time.
Prayer is the active awareness of God’s presence with us. We can pray without words when we look at the beauty of creation around us. Sometimes, the prayer is “Thank you, God.” And sometimes it is just, “Jesus, help me.” Music is also a type of prayer because it is active and brings us into the awareness of God being with us. Sighing is also a prayer. We sigh when words do not come. It is a way to release the emotions in us. It becomes a prayer when we sigh knowing we are in the presence of God.
Prayer is a relationship with the One who loves us the most. It is a conversation. It is a smile that warms our heart knowing God is with us. In the midst of struggles and heartaches, prayer has nothing to do with words. It is a childlike trust that God is there even when we cannot feel His presence and even when we do not like the situation. Prayer is trusting the One who promised to always be with us.
As I write this about prayer, my thoughts go to my friend, Jan. Her prayers were beautiful childlike words to her Heavenly Father. Her prayers were worship, thanksgiving, and very specific as she shared with God her heart’s desire for situations and those she loved. Jan always ended her prayers with me saying – “God you are good. I love you.”
Don’t complicate prayer so much that you feel inadequate to pray, and don’t worry about not saying the right words. Remember, God loves you. God is your Heavenly Father who wants to talk to his child. Just crawl up into the lap of God and talk, listen, sigh, and just be still.
