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How to pray Prayers that really work

In this season, God is really showing and teaching me a lot about prayer - as well as other things like fasting (what it really means and how it helps us) - and having REAL faith when I have no clue what the heck is going on with my life. 

I've learnt so much about prayer in the last few months, and I will continue to share the lessons as I go along. But what I learnt this week was so fundamental:

PRAYER WITHOUT EXPECTATION IS EMPTY. 

I read this fantastic article on relevantmagazine.com, which is AN AMAZING WEBSITE, with lots of AMAZING articles about the Christian life. Gosh, I love it. 

Anyway, the writer said:

"What I realized recently [...] is that the place I may struggle the most in prayer is actually my expectancy. I’ve discovered my really biggest problem with prayer is that I just go through the motions.

You might be thinking that it wouldn't make a lot of sense to go through the trouble of praying if you didn't expect something to happen—but I can assure you that it is quite easy to do.
In my case, it's not that I doubt God's power; it's just that I so easily fall into a pattern of checklist Christianity.
I make prayer a religious task instead of a natural part of my relationship with Him. Instead of praying with heartfelt expectation, I often find myself just going through the motions. I allow it to become more discipline, than delight—more duty than devotion."
I allow it to become more discipline, than delight—more duty than devotion. That got me.
I identified with her thoughts on her prayer life to lengths I can't explain. She made so much sense. Why would there be any power in a prayer that has no real faith or belief that God might actually move on our behalf? If we don't expect Him to, why would he?
I learnt this a while ago: God responds to our faith. Not how many hours we spend locked away in our War Rooms (you need to see the film if you don't know what I'm talking about), or the fanciness of our words, or how many scriptures we have to back up our desires. None of that is any good if you don't believe in Him, or His Word. 

“Scripture reassures us, “No one who trusts God like this—heart and soul—will ever regret it. [...] Everyone who calls, ‘Help, God!’ gets help.”
(Romans 10:11-13 MSG - my new favourite Bible version!)

I believe in the importance of spending quality, alone time with God - and sometimes that means being holed up with Him in a room for an hour. But longer prayers aren't necessarily more genuine ones. Quality over quantity any day is what God really wants. 
So I challenge you today to search yourself and find out if you REALLY believe in God, and believe that He really does desire to help you, wherever you might need it.

"It’s impossible to please God apart from faith. And why? Because anyone who wants to approach God must believe both that he exists and that he cares enough to respond to those who seek him." 
(Hebrews 11:5-6 MSG)

 That's expectation. 

 Kunmi x


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