Prayer is Our Lifeline

Prayer is our lifeline, an absolute necessity in our daily life, the breath that sustains us whether we realize it or not.

Prayer is our lifeline, an absolute necessity in our daily life, the breath that sustains us. Share on X

But prayer can be hard. We can’t see it. We can’t touch it. Perhaps it’s hard to understand or you feel discouraged about it. Maybe the busyness of life makes it hard to find the time.

We all have doubts and misunderstandings about things and prayer is no different. To some, it comes naturally. To others of us, it’s been a learning curve, something that’s developed over time, something we’ve had to work on and learn about.

We Have a Problem

We have a problem though, and it comes in the form of a formidable enemy – the devil. He doesn’t want us to have a powerful prayer life. He doesn’t want us to be confident in what God can do. And he certainly doesn’t want us in a deeper relationship with Jesus.

He wants us insecure and distracted, tossed in all directions in the sea of life, pulled down by rogue waves until we are beaten and battered, just barely breaking the surface, exhausted from our efforts to stay afloat.

The enemy knows prayer is our lifeline. And he’s going to try to cut it clean away. He wants to watch you take that last breath before going under. He’ll do anything to sabotage you, to stop you, and to keep you from the power right at your fingertips.

The Rescue

But we have hope because God sent Jesus to our rescue. And through prayer, we can reach out in the desperate times and hold onto Him for dear life. He’ll keep us from sinking. He’ll take us in. He’ll stay right beside us until we have more strength. Then He’ll equip us. Step by step. A little at a time. He’ll be our encourager and give us direction.

The rescue isn’t always easy because it takes a lot of soul searching and a massive amount of surrender in our lives. But the result is peace and assurance in the midst of the difficulties that we face. It’s the peace that passes understanding, and we experience that because of God’s great mercy.  This relationship with Jesus that grows deeper through time spent in prayer is the lifeline that pulls us in.

Prayer Makes a Difference

When we pray and earnestly seek God, there is 100% chance that change will happen. It doesn’t always look like what we think. Our outward circumstances may not be any different, even after faithful prayer. But there is always a change inside of us as God helps us have faith and gives us the ability to trust Him more and more.

When we pray and earnestly seek God, there is 100% chance that change will happen. Share on X

His truth will root out the lies we believe – daggers straight from the enemy – the kind designed to cut our lifeline clean away. God will fill us with His truth, a mighty sword for fighting the battles we face in life – if we pray – if we read His word.

Let’s grab hold of that lifeline of prayer and let’s let Jesus pull us back into the boat. Let’s go to our safe and secure place every day for some rest and time in His Word. It will help us live this imperfect life to the fullest, and it can create a peace we never knew was possible!

Powerful Strategies for Your Prayer Life

There are many facets to a powerful prayer life. And one thing is certain – powerful prayer does not always look like what we would expect.

Powerful prayer is more than what happens outwardly. Powerful prayer changes us on the inside. Powerful prayer helps us through our difficulties rather than instantly taking us out of them. Powerful prayer is really all about a powerful God.

Powerful prayer is really all about a powerful God! #powerfulprayer #prayer #joureytoimperfect Share on X

Here are some things you might want to consider, strategies and thoughts about prayer that can help you connect with God in a deeper way.

•  Go into prayer with the proper mindset. We should go into prayer determined to trust God. We should pray that we would be able to discern and accept His will for our lives. We need to trust that His ways are best for us, even when suffering and trials are a part of the picture. Surrender is the key to a powerful prayer life.

•  Remember to Praise God. When we praise God we focus on His character and attributes. He is faithful and true and will never forsake us. Praising God takes the focus off of ourselves and puts it in the proper place – on Him. Knowing God’s character helps us trust Him more. It brings hope and confidence.

•  Remember to listen. Prayer is more than making requests. It’s listening for God’s promptings. It’s spending time in His presence. We sometimes mistake prayer as a request box. Prayer is not a one-way thing. Prayer is communication that goes back and forth between you and God. He wants to spend time with us and He is communicating back to us, speaking to our inner spirit, but we have to listen to be able to hear what He says.

•  Pray daily. Regardless of the way you pray, be it more formal and scheduled or free and spontaneous, pray daily. If we want to really get to know someone, we want to spend time with them. There’s no better person to spend time with than Jesus. Daily prayer equals a deeper spiritual life – a closer relationship to your Father. It’s your lifeline for daily survival. Prayer keeps you connected to Jesus who keeps you connected to your Heavenly Father. Don’t let go of the rope!

•  Include Scripture. It is such a powerful thing to include Scriptures during your prayer time. Reading, repeating, reflecting on them and praying them instills truth in our minds. When we pray a Scripture, we are using the very words of God. And you can’t go wrong repeating God’s word. It always accomplishes what God means for it to accomplish.

•  It is essential to understand that prayer is a relationship. There’s no way to put the essence of that on a piece of paper. The nature of prayer involves the relationship you have with Jesus Christ, God the Father, and the Holy Spirit. It doesn’t have a thing to do with any tools or prayer methods you use. However, those tangible things can be helpful resources that give you understanding and direction so that you can dive into that relationship which will lead to growth in your spiritual life.

Lord, Teach Us to Pray

Do you need something tangible to help you learn more about these kinds of prayer strategies? Pick up your free prayer guide in our resource library. Each section provides you with helpful strategies that can give you new ideas and help you find new ways to expand and deepen your prayer life.

If you want to get started, here are some steps you can follow.

Step one:

Fill out this form to receive our free prayer guide.  With this form you will also have the opportunity to sign up for our free newsletter.  The newsletter will give you access to the resource library where you will find Bible verses to pray, ideas to help you, and free printables that you can add to your prayer guide.

Step Two:
After you print out the prayer guide, you can put each section in a file folder, or you can make a notebook with sections. There are directions inside on the first pages. Keep this handy because we will be discussing prayer all year long right here at Journey to Imperfect and you may find helpful articles or free printables to add to your prayer guide.

Remember, the best way to implement change is one step at a time – or we could say one prayer at a time! A slow, steady pace results in positive changes that stick around!

There is a life of fullness and an infinitely deep love waiting for us, but each one of us – no matter where we are in our spiritual walk – has to work on making time for that relationship so we can grow and let it deepen over time. Without reading the Bible and without prayer, the connection is broken.

Life without prayer is a lifeline left dangling in the water.

Life without prayer is a lifeline left dangling in the water. Share on X

So hold on tight and commit to working on your prayer life. You can count on God to equip you and show you how to get there, because He wants that for you, too!

 

 

 

A Blessing for A Powerful Prayer Life

Dear Heavenly Father,

We come before you now, praising you for being our Good Father. We want our relationship with You to deepen. We want to know You more, and we want to understand Your ways. We want Your will in our lives. We ask You to help us be where You are, to give us determination for seeking a deeper prayer life. We know that Your plans are better than our own. Help us to discern the way You want to work in our lives. Forgive us where we go wrong and open our minds to Your truths. Help us to recognize the lies of the enemy that keep us held back and afraid to move forward. We thank You, Lord, for Your amazing and eternal presence in our lives. We thank you most of all for Your Son, Jesus Christ, who came to rescue us. We thank you for the blessing of prayer – our lifeline. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.

What’s New at Journey to Imperfect

This year we will be discussing prayer. Our theme is “Living the Imperfect Life One Prayer at a Time.” The plan is to have two or three posts each month designed to give you insight and encouragement about prayer and developing a stronger prayer life.

If you would like to receive our email newsletter, you will be able to click right through to find the most recent prayer posts. This newsletter can also serve as a year-long challenge for growing in your prayer life. The email will come about twice a month.

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The post How to Make This a Year of Powerful Prayer first appeared at www.journeytoimperfect.com. 

*This post may be linked in the following places. Click through to find more hope and encouragement!  Tea And Word Tuesdays / Cheerleaders of Faith /  Coffee for Your Heart / Sitting Among Friends / Moments of Hope / Salt and Light / Heart Encouragement Thursday / Tune in Thursdays / Fresh Market Friday / Faith and Friends  / Grace and Truth