Keiger challenged me to write something for the blog. I don't know that I have a lot of wisdom to share on this subject, but you asked for it! :-)
(Random Thoughts)
Which is better, listening prayer or petitioning prayer? Where is the balance between the two? Some of the great revivalists in history spent hours a day in prayer. How in the world did they do it?? What did they do during that time? Where they all extroverts? Do introverts pray differently? Did they sit down the whole time? Pace? Jump up and down? These are just a few of the questions that came to mind when you asked me to write on this topic.
People have been telling me that I am an intercessor for much of my life. A part of me hated that label. I had no desire to sit and pray for hours on end. I pictured people droning on about the same thing for hours, whining, begging God to listen, lecturing God about why He should move in a given situation. I am a little too action oriented for this to be an attractive lifestyle. I have never been a successful "list pray-er", although I have known some powerful people who are. But I do find myself gravitating toward prayer meetings and nights of prayer. Why is that?
(Actual Topic)
The simple answer to your original question was fairly simple, if incomplete. What place does faith have in our prayers? How often should we repeat the same request to God in a repeated petition? My simplistic answer is, we learn to listen. I don't understand how, but something is released, in us and in the spiritual realm, when we pray. Aside from getting to know God better, I believe this is a main reason we are called to pray. It really does make a difference. We get to partner with God.
When we pray for something, we pray in faith. We continue to believe that God will respond to that request. That faith should color every decision we make in regard to whatever was in that petition.
Do we repeat the prayer every day? I don't know that there is a right answer to this question. God is pretty graceful. So I will answer with "maybe." I think repeating a request rote-ly does little good, other than give us something to say during "prayer time." (Although having no idea how prayer releases stuff, maybe it does some good . . .) I think this is where interaction with God comes in. If you are a list person, it might sound something like this, "God, so where do we stand on seeing my dad get to know you? Anything I can do today to help that along? Anything you want me to partner with you and release?"
For someone who does not pray with a list, the prayer time might start out with simply asking, "Hey God, what is on Your heart today?" Once He brings things up, something akin to the above conversation might happen.
I think the key is to remember that prayer is a conversation, and not one we should dominate.
Wow, I said a lot. Maybe the other questions running through my head should wait for another day. . . :-)
3 comments:
Jeannie...this is awesome. I love hearing your thoughts on prayer and talking with God. I think you are absolutely right, too many times we come to God and ask or pray out of "duty" or without much heart or faith that God will really answer. But I think when we talk to God like He is our Lord, our Father, our Master over the universe, it changes the way we interact with Him. He is so mighty and so loving at the same time. Our prayers are our way of getting closer to Him and through a closer relationship we are able to more clearly see His plan and see the world through His eyes and not our own. It is similar to when you spend time with a close friend and all of the sudden you begin to notice that you talk the same way and have picked up on their style of speech. With God we begin to think in line with His thoughts. Kind of cool that He allows us that privilege. Thanks for sharing Jeannie!
Thanks Jeannie, I learned a lot!
Jeannie, you are in now.
Great to read your different opinion about praying.
En, repeated prayer is with power. it's not the result of the prayer, it's the distance between the heart and God.
I find it useful for ladies:
write the prayer on the mirror, so that every morning, you will remember and pray about it, walk the day with His strength and Power.
=)
keep writing pls!
liu liu
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