Prayer

(This post was written by Michael Wallace, High School Pastor)

As Christ-followers, we get to experience an amazing phenomenon: Prayer.  As I have heard Francis Chan say with such passion twice in the last few weeks, “I can’t believe that God listens to me!”  The fact that we communicate with the Creator of the Universe should always amaze us and keep our focus accurate.  That’s why prayer is so important.  The more we talk with God, the more His desires become our desires.

Here are a few ways that I am learning to pray:

1.  Measurably. Not just “help me do better”, but “help me defeat this sin”, “speak to this person”, “deal with this responsibility.”  The more measurable our prayers, the more recognizable it is when God answers them.

2.  Magnanimously. Basically this is a big word that (kinda) means big.  At least to me. The bottom line is that we have access to the God who created EVERYTHING, and we must recognize this when we pray.  Not just “heal my cut finger”, but “bring my friend into a relationship with You.”  The bigger our prayers, the more recognizable it is that God answers them.

3.  Marketably. Our prayers should always reflect how awesome our God is.  So when we pray, we might as well pray that by answering our prayers and listening to us, God continues to use us to reveal Himself to a world that lives without Him.  The more our prayers ask for God’s glory, the more recognizable it is how God answers them.

My challenge to you is this: Write down your prayers, and spend an equal amount of time listening to what God says that you do asking Him to do things.  How will we know what He says if we hang up the phone when we have nothing else to say?