As a Christian teen to me one of the most boring things to do was pray and to listen to people pray. Honestly it was something that didn't really interest me until God called me to do something really great, but I'll get to that a little later.
I knew praying was something that had to be done and I knew that it was important to pray because in order to have a relationship with God I needed to pray. So here is what I would do:
- In the morning when I get up I would spend like 2min to pray and that was it. In my mind I would be like I prayed this morning that's it
- If I had to go out and rain was falling I would pray that God stopped the rain for when I had to leave, which he did. I thanked him in advance and when it happened. That was it I prayed there.
- When I was sick I prayed that God would heal me and give me strength that was my prayer there.
If you didn't notice yet I'll tell you I was one of those that prayed only when I needed something from God. Yes I would pray and thank God here and there but like 85% of the time when I talked to God something bad was going on in my life.
A lot of things happened in my life and I didn't know how to handle it so I did what I knew I had to do. I took it to God in prayer. And your probably thinking good. But wrong. I took 50% of my problem to God and well the other 50% I kept to myself and other people that couldn't help.
So there I was asking God to help me but I wasn't giving Him the 100% he asked for obviously.
A lot of things happened in my life and I didn't know how to handle it so I did what I knew I had to do. I took it to God in prayer. And your probably thinking good. But wrong. I took 50% of my problem to God and well the other 50% I kept to myself and other people that couldn't help.
So there I was asking God to help me but I wasn't giving Him the 100% he asked for obviously.
Now we already know my ideas of praying for long hours imagine praying in front of others well that came into perspective when the church I attend placed me in a prayer cell group where I needed to pray for 10 persons. Yikes!
So now my fears were just drowning me
1. I had to pray for people[ longer than I planned]
2. I had to listen to people pray for people [ for long minutes]
2. I had to listen to people pray for people [ for long minutes]
It went okay....I learned and I grew from it and my prayer became stronger still didn't fancy it because well, my view of prayer. I knew the importance I just can't see myself listening to people pray. Moving on.
Things went from bad to worst, when my dad died and well when things go downhill I forgot God but I still prayed. Around this time my prayer was like the longest I've prayed because I had a long list to pray for. I prayed that God would save his soul and that God will comfort my family and I in our times of need and give us hope. Night after night I would pray. I prayed and for God to heal me and give me hope that everything will be okay.
God answered my prayer and gave me hope. No longer did I feel pain, sorrow or anything else. I felt happiness and joy I felt peace.
That was just the beginning. Unfortunately the beginning became the worst when everything went downhill and I started to fall back in praying. I prayed that God provided a work for me and He answered my prayer.
Having to work a long way from home got me scared so of course you know what I did. That's right, I got up and pray that God protect me. Every morning I did this.
Around the 1-2 week God moved my heart to see the people around me that needed help. The people that needed money and food and the people that needed somewhere to sleep. The broken, needy unwanted. God moved in me to see all of them.
Around the 1-2 week God moved my heart to see the people around me that needed help. The people that needed money and food and the people that needed somewhere to sleep. The broken, needy unwanted. God moved in me to see all of them.
1. God moved in me so much that this one lady while going to work asked if I cud buy something from her how her son needed surgery. I of course didn't listen and God allowed me to hear it every t ime I passed by her that exact like "son needs surgery." While going to work the next day I gave her $20.00 and took nothing that she was selling. All then I didn't know what God was doing but all I know something was happening.
2. While standing in a line an old lady around 50-65yrs old came and was talking to me. She was talking to me about how long she been waiting for the bus. 4hours she been waiting. She came from the hospital and she's feeling sick and tired, her stomach hurts a lot and pills not working. She just wants to rest. I saw it in her soul that she's just tired and in pain. She's walking around to kill time and then the bus came and she's trying to go to the front of the line to her spot and she mashes someone shoes by accident, a lady around 30 yrs. The woman in return yells" You better clean it, otherwise I would "floor" you right here." ( floor you meaning as in throw you down and hit you). The younger woman finds justice in mashing back the old woman shoes and continues to argue.
Everyone got on the bus and God allowed me to sit next to the elderly lady and what happened next was unexplained. I burst into tears as the bus drove from one destination to another I cried my soul out on what happened. The only thing God whispered in my ear to do was PRAY. And I did. I prayed for her and as I prayed I felt better in my soul. My soul itself felt better.
Then on I took prayer a little more serious it was more than just a whisper but it was something that was real opening up to me. I went to the library sometime that week and borrowed "A young woman guide to prayer".
As a young woman God was calling me to see the power of prayer and the importance of it in praying for not only myself but for others. As I read the book I wrote down key points and persons in the bible that I can use as an example on How to Pray/ When they prayed and How they Prayed. It was amazing to learn all about Prayer.
So from a person who didn't fancy praying, I in my own self, became a young woman who prayed. Prayed for people I didn't even know.
Twice God told me to pray for a stranger and I prayed. When I pray, I pray from my soul. I feel it in my heart and soul. Prayer became more than just a 2min prayer in the morning to a 30min devotion. It became more because as I traveled to work I would pray and talk to God throughout the day I would pray and read his word and learn more about praying. It became something more continuous. Every time when I go to talk to God I would feel this joy in my heart no matter what is going on around me. I began to lay all my burdens on Him all my cares everything.
God changed my perspective of PRAYER. He changed it to understand that when I pray I'm not only praying for me but for others, to grow closer to Him. To have a relationship with him. To hear His voice when He speaks. To know when He is speaking to me.
Twice God told me to pray for a stranger and I prayed. When I pray, I pray from my soul. I feel it in my heart and soul. Prayer became more than just a 2min prayer in the morning to a 30min devotion. It became more because as I traveled to work I would pray and talk to God throughout the day I would pray and read his word and learn more about praying. It became something more continuous. Every time when I go to talk to God I would feel this joy in my heart no matter what is going on around me. I began to lay all my burdens on Him all my cares everything.
God changed my perspective of PRAYER. He changed it to understand that when I pray I'm not only praying for me but for others, to grow closer to Him. To have a relationship with him. To hear His voice when He speaks. To know when He is speaking to me.
My life changed when I realized that in order to fight all my battles I needed to fight it in Prayer. My life is beginning to change and things are beginning to happen but its all because God changed my perspective on prayer and what it really is. Now I don't just pray because I have to I PRAY BECAUSE I WANT TO. I WANT TO TALK TO GOD ABOUT EVERYTHING. I WANT TO HEAR FROM HIM. I WANT TO HAVE A CLOSER RELATIONSHIP WITH HIM.
I'm still learning because God is still opening my eyes on it. But God changed my perspective and that is ONE of the MANY things THAT GOD HAS DONE FOR ME!
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