PRAYER CHANGES EVERYTHING-MOSTLY US!

JUDE 1:20 But you beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit....

There is much that the Bible has to say about prayer - communication with the Almighty Who Created us.  One quick look will reveal many things you may not have thought about recently, and there is far too much to try to do each scripture justice in this limited space.

To me, the most powerful reason to pray on a regular consistent basis remains this simple truth:

If Jesus, the Son of God Who is perfect and sinless felt the need to pray and communicate with His Father on such a consistent basis, as indicated by scripture:

MARK 1:35  And rising very early in the morning while it was still dark, He departed and went out to a desolate place, and there He prayed.

LUKE 5:16  But He would withdraw to desolate places and pray.

...how much MORE do I, an imperfect sinner, need to pray?  A lot more than I do, I am sure!

Recent "worldly" studies have revealed many powerful reasons to pray.

• People undergoing surgeries who pray heal faster and more completely with far less complications than those who don't

• People who indicated they pray on a fairly regular basis reported being "happier" overall in their lives than those who do not pray at all

• People who pray have a more optimistic view than those who don't

When you combine prayer with a belief system and pray specifically to the Lord, the effects are even more dramatic.  Miracles happen when we go in simple faith before the Lord and make our requests known to Him.  Our hearts begin to believe and so we begin to see how the Hand of God truly works in our lives.  We may even begin to see that God isn't only about BIG MIRACLES taking place.  

When we develop in ourselves a consistent regular relationship with the Creator of all things, we begin to see that He is indeed involved in the every day occurrences of our lives.  We see how the 'ordinary' things of daily living work together to bring about extraordinary circumstances. 

One of the greatest differences prayer makes is in our own hearts.  Praying changes US, more than anything else.  Take my life as an example.  Being high energy, I have also always been a very impatient person.  Waiting in lines can be as difficult for me as climbing Mount Everest would be for others.  

When I finally became impatient enough with my own impatience, as it interfered with my ability to witness the love of Christ many times, I began to pray in earnest for intervention from the Lord.  At first, I noticed that I NOTICED my own impatience in greater detail, from how it made me feel, to how it effected others around me.  Being more aware of how I was negatively impacting other people made me more desirous of changing this aspect of my personality.  It didn't happen overnight, much as I would have liked a quick resolve to my impatience problem!

Instead, the Lord walked me through the process so I gained wisdom and understanding.  My first prayers were all about ME.  My focus was on me, how I felt, what I wanted.  I wanted to be more patient so I would look good to others!  I was more concerned with ME than with anyone else!

As I continued to pray about this specific issue, my eyes began to open more and more, about how this trait impacted others.  And as I saw, my heart changed.  Soon, I wanted to be patient, not to make me look good, but because I genuinely did not want to hurt others.

Prayer changed my heart.  My changed heart brought change to my behavior. WHY?  Because out of the HEART come the issues of life! Selfishness does not show the love of Christ.  Love is NOT selfish! Compassion and care for others shows the love of Christ.  My reason for wanting change had to change first in order to truly honor God.  

Prayer is a powerful tool (I often call it the most powerful tool) in the arsenal of a believer.  Desire to obey God leads us to pray in ways that lead us to that very obedience.  Prayer changes our hearts, and our changed hearts causes us to see situations and people differently.  Then we behave differently - and that changes the situations!

There are times when God changes circumstances miraculously as well.  I've seen that awesome result of prayer occur too.

How we pray - kneeling, standing, lieing down or sitting; out loud or silently; head bowed; eyes open or closed; hands clasped or by our sides or lifted in the air - is not as important as THAT we pray!  Whatever posture you feel most comfortable in, whatever posture puts your heart in the right place for prayer is the posture you should assume.  What is truly important is that you do pray!

Prayer takes many forms as well.  You may be asking for something.  You may be giving thanks for things.  You may simply by worshiping, praising and adoring the Creator of all things.  You may even be SILENT, listening intently for the still small voice of God to lead, guide and direct you in a situation.  

You may cry, you may shout, you may whisper, you may laugh, you may jump with joy and adulation.

JUST PRAY.  Pray and watch as the Lord hears and responds to His beloved children communicating with Him.

We believe in the power of prayer.  Fill out the prayer request form and Turn the Tide Ministries absolutely WILL pray for you!  

We've watched God turn the tide in many lives, starting with our own!  We know He will turn the tide of circumstance in yours as well, when you lift your voice and ask.

PRAYER CHANGES THINGS. 

QUIET PRAYERS

Have you ever prayed a prayer….and then forgotten it?  Until sometime later, when you suddenly realize that God has given you what you prayed for? When there is a crisis or something of grave importance, we have a tendency to pray and pray ceaselessly entreating the Lord at the throne of grace until we see an answer.  

But I have found that the prayers that are not crisis driven, the simple prayers, the whispers of our hearts truest desires, delivered to the Lord in simple faith and then let go of, those prayers are still heard, and often answered in the most miraculous ways, yet we seldom shout about them from the roof tops.  The everyday prayer.  The ordinary prayer.  The whispered prayer. The quiet prayer.

Jabez prayed like that.  Many only know about it because his quiet request was made much of in recent years by someone who took his quiet prayer and made it very public, and then it was  turned it into a mantra to be repeated like a magic talisman from a Harry Potter story.  As if, if we repeated someone else’s words of prayer often enough it could, it would - somehow compel the Lord, Creator of Heaven and earth to answer our way in our time.  As if He Himself had no power to resist it and must give what we requested.

I think we had it very wrong.  I know we had it very wrong!  The very idea that God MUST do anything according to our will, for the Lord our God is sovereign and follows His own will, not the will we attempt to impose upon Him.  His will alone is perfect, unselfish and stands the test of all Eternity.  And there is no magic prayer formula, not even what we call the Lords Prayer.  Jesus prayed that prayer as an example of how we are to pray, yet He also declared we are not to repeat endlessly, senseless, babbling, repetitious words, but are to pray from our hearts.

Matthew 6:5-8

 And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full.  

But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

I prayed a prayer like that, like Jabez’ prayer, a quiet prayer.  A prayer that lived at the very edge of my memory and was almost forgotten by me, so quiet it was.  A whispered prayer that went straight from my heart to the heart of the Lord my God, who never forgot it, but kept it, nurtured it until His time had come to fulfill it in my life.  I could wish it were answered sooner, but because He brought it all to pass according to His perfect will and timing, I am deeply, thankfully, joyfully content because the timing has been and is absolutely perfect.  And I give thanks, praise and glory to my Lord for His answers to quiet, almost forgotten prayers.

We know that the fervent prayers of a righteous man avail much.  They, too are full of the power of words offered up as sacrifice, as plea, as genuine and authentic request, not demand, to a loving, caring, omnipotent God who hears and answers His people in the way that is so perfect we could never even begin to conceive of its perfection when it is answered in His timing according to His will. 

I have said it many times before and will repeat it for those who may not know.

Prayer is the most powerful tool in the spiritual arsenal of a believer, fighting the good fight of faith.

Your prayer requests will be honored by this ministry.   Fill out the request form found in the upper left hand corner.  We would be so honored if you choose to share with us the answers God brings to your humble, simple, quiet prayers of faith.  God bless you and keep you, in Jesus name!