Here is a post from a small Christian blog. It's long, but I liked it a lot. It's about prayer.
You Gotta Speak Up
I cannot lie these past couple months, while I have had some amazing experiences, have pulled me face first through some dark valleys. As a product of this, my faith has been tried and twisted. I have watched two people I love fight strange and rare illnesses and witnessed my brother struggle with depression and suicidal thoughts. On top of this, I have been completely dumped into my senior year and I am swimming in a workload that never seems to end.
Through all of this, God has been playing an intense game of hide and seek with me, but it’s not a very great game because it’s pretty dark and I cannot see the direction I’m moving in. It feels as though I receive little confirmation from God regarding my direction and if I am even moving in the right direction. Some days, I feel His presence wrapping me up and others I feel cold as I walk the hallways of my high school. I say all this to ask you: what are we to do during these harsh and cold times? How should we respond when we walk aimlessly through the darkest valleys, waiting for God to give us a flashlight? Three weekends ago, I was formally reminded of something that that has forever changed the way I view prayer.
Three Fridays ago, I loaded onto a trailways bus and headed to good old Sharptop Cove for North Point’s annual fall retreat, Vertical Reality. With my sisters in Christ by my side and music loud, we ascended into the mountains of Jasper to uncover moreabout God and about ourselves. When we arrived, I felt the anticipation rattling inside my bones; I had been waiting for this weekend for quite some time. After the valleys God had yanked me through, I needed to be reminded of His love and truth; I needed to worship until I lost my voice and cry until there were no tears left. Throughout the weekend, I was able to reform bonds with some that had gotten rusty, worship, cry, and get down to the nitty- gritty within my heart.With every weekend, there comes a theme each speaker focuses on. At this Vertical Reality, Gerald Fadayomi highlighted the struggles we find daily with prayer; he hit close to my heart with each word he spoke. I am willing to bet by now someone has pulled you aside or said in a sermon, “there is power in prayer.” Yes! I love this truth and while it is refreshing to know our prayers are powerful,there is another side of this truth that we must understand. And it’s this…
How we pray to God will affect the way we see God.
Here’s another way of putting it: the approach we take to God will affect the way we see God.
Through these dark valleys, I have been praying, but I never truly noticed God giving me a flashlight. I wholeheartedly believe this is because I was taking the wrong approach.
Gerald put it like this: there are different approaches we take when we are in prayer.
“The Genie In a Lamp Approach”
“Hey, God. It’s me again. You know I have this big test today and if you’re in this lamp, I just need you to grant this one wish for me. I just need this grade, Lord. Amen.” God is so much more than just a wish granter.. So, why have some of us shifted to view him this way?
“The Otter Box Approach”
We use this approach when we know we have messed up. As an Otter Box is protection for your phone, we use prayer for protection against a punishment or consequence we well deserve. While God is our Protection in storms, this is not all he is useful for.
“The Nursery Rhyme Approach”
Some of us just pray like prayer is our “Nyquil.” It puts us to sleep at night and before we sleep, we pray this prayer or a similar prayer we learned as a kid, “now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep. If I shall die before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take.” While praying is actually my form of Nyquil, I can’t say I have ever prayed this prayer in my life. I can say, though that learning a prayer like this as a kid and praying it every night, becomes a part of your routine. You never think about it when you say it. This kind of prayer can become meaningless if you aren’t careful.
“The Shakespearean Approach”
Sometimes we get so caught up in the way our prayers sound and not their content. This practice has lead to a misconception that for God to listen to us, we must sound eloquent and speak in a strange compilation of Shakespeare and King James Version. But who ever told you prayer had to be this way?
“The Bargain Approach”
“God, if you will just land me a date with this girl or this guy, I’ll pray.”
“God, if you would just take away this struggle of mine, I’ll seek you.”
“Lord, if you just take away this sickness, I will listen to the right type of music and say the right things.”
We have begun thinking that faith is a bargain rather than a relationship when we chose this approach.
So, you’re probably wondering: what is the right approach?
And the answer is simply this: when you pray, God desires for a realapproach.
He doesn’t desire bargains, wordy language, rhymes, or wishes.
Your Heavenly Father desires a real and honest conversation with the one He created.
Think about this: has a relationship of yours built on lies ever been a strong one? No! You haven’t gotten the best out of a relationship hiding things all the time. No more have you gotten the most out of a relationship you haven’t spent time developing. God is the same way! You will not have a strong and pure relationship with God if you do not set aside time out our lives to have an open conversation with Him. You don’t just need to be real simple and honest when you bow down before Him, but you have to be. I believe the one thing that could grow your relationship with God more than anything is a change in your approach. Simply because when you change your approach, the way you view God begins to morph.
And when you begin to trust God with your deepest and lowest, He begins seeming more like someone you can call dad, rather than seeming like some figurehead in the sky who is out to get you for your shortcomings or wrongdoings. Once you start calling him Father or Dad, you will then begin to start seeing his matchless plans for your life that are full of joy, purpose, and hope.
I found this verse in Ephesians a few nights ago while reading a plan on the Bible App. It really dug into my heart and left me thinking. This verse is a strong reminder of God’s perfect capabilities; even when I am stumbling around in the deep, dark trenches of my life flashlight-less, God is working out all the logistics and kinks. I have come to find, as the author of Ephesians so clearly says, God does not work out the logistics with sirens and sound effects, rather God is quiet in spurring us on towards the light. God is an unobtrusive Father and the author of Ephesians highlights this idea with such force that it makes my heart jump.
He writes…
God can do anything, you know- far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams! He does it not by pushing us around but by working within us, his Spirit deeply and gently within us.
Ephesians 3:20-21 (MSG).
So, what is stopping you?
What approach are you taking currently besides an “open and honest” approach?
Whatever approach you find yourself using, whether it be one of the above, or a different one entirely, I challenge you to come before God honestly and simply. You don’t have to stumble in the trench aimlessly anymore. God is giving you chances to approach Him differently.
It has proven itself true in my life.
A change in your approach will change the way you view God. Not only will it change the way you view God, but it will ultimately lead you closer to realizing God has been patiently waiting for you to take the flashlight in your own hand and walk out of the trench with Him.
So, speak up, because when you speak up in prayer, God will speak out to you.
You Gotta Speak Up
I cannot lie these past couple months, while I have had some amazing experiences, have pulled me face first through some dark valleys. As a product of this, my faith has been tried and twisted. I have watched two people I love fight strange and rare illnesses and witnessed my brother struggle with depression and suicidal thoughts. On top of this, I have been completely dumped into my senior year and I am swimming in a workload that never seems to end.
Through all of this, God has been playing an intense game of hide and seek with me, but it’s not a very great game because it’s pretty dark and I cannot see the direction I’m moving in. It feels as though I receive little confirmation from God regarding my direction and if I am even moving in the right direction. Some days, I feel His presence wrapping me up and others I feel cold as I walk the hallways of my high school. I say all this to ask you: what are we to do during these harsh and cold times? How should we respond when we walk aimlessly through the darkest valleys, waiting for God to give us a flashlight? Three weekends ago, I was formally reminded of something that that has forever changed the way I view prayer.
Three Fridays ago, I loaded onto a trailways bus and headed to good old Sharptop Cove for North Point’s annual fall retreat, Vertical Reality. With my sisters in Christ by my side and music loud, we ascended into the mountains of Jasper to uncover moreabout God and about ourselves. When we arrived, I felt the anticipation rattling inside my bones; I had been waiting for this weekend for quite some time. After the valleys God had yanked me through, I needed to be reminded of His love and truth; I needed to worship until I lost my voice and cry until there were no tears left. Throughout the weekend, I was able to reform bonds with some that had gotten rusty, worship, cry, and get down to the nitty- gritty within my heart.With every weekend, there comes a theme each speaker focuses on. At this Vertical Reality, Gerald Fadayomi highlighted the struggles we find daily with prayer; he hit close to my heart with each word he spoke. I am willing to bet by now someone has pulled you aside or said in a sermon, “there is power in prayer.” Yes! I love this truth and while it is refreshing to know our prayers are powerful,there is another side of this truth that we must understand. And it’s this…
How we pray to God will affect the way we see God.
Here’s another way of putting it: the approach we take to God will affect the way we see God.
Through these dark valleys, I have been praying, but I never truly noticed God giving me a flashlight. I wholeheartedly believe this is because I was taking the wrong approach.
Gerald put it like this: there are different approaches we take when we are in prayer.
“The Genie In a Lamp Approach”
“Hey, God. It’s me again. You know I have this big test today and if you’re in this lamp, I just need you to grant this one wish for me. I just need this grade, Lord. Amen.” God is so much more than just a wish granter.. So, why have some of us shifted to view him this way?
“The Otter Box Approach”
We use this approach when we know we have messed up. As an Otter Box is protection for your phone, we use prayer for protection against a punishment or consequence we well deserve. While God is our Protection in storms, this is not all he is useful for.
“The Nursery Rhyme Approach”
Some of us just pray like prayer is our “Nyquil.” It puts us to sleep at night and before we sleep, we pray this prayer or a similar prayer we learned as a kid, “now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep. If I shall die before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take.” While praying is actually my form of Nyquil, I can’t say I have ever prayed this prayer in my life. I can say, though that learning a prayer like this as a kid and praying it every night, becomes a part of your routine. You never think about it when you say it. This kind of prayer can become meaningless if you aren’t careful.
“The Shakespearean Approach”
Sometimes we get so caught up in the way our prayers sound and not their content. This practice has lead to a misconception that for God to listen to us, we must sound eloquent and speak in a strange compilation of Shakespeare and King James Version. But who ever told you prayer had to be this way?
“The Bargain Approach”
“God, if you will just land me a date with this girl or this guy, I’ll pray.”
“God, if you would just take away this struggle of mine, I’ll seek you.”
“Lord, if you just take away this sickness, I will listen to the right type of music and say the right things.”
We have begun thinking that faith is a bargain rather than a relationship when we chose this approach.
So, you’re probably wondering: what is the right approach?
And the answer is simply this: when you pray, God desires for a realapproach.
He doesn’t desire bargains, wordy language, rhymes, or wishes.
Your Heavenly Father desires a real and honest conversation with the one He created.
Think about this: has a relationship of yours built on lies ever been a strong one? No! You haven’t gotten the best out of a relationship hiding things all the time. No more have you gotten the most out of a relationship you haven’t spent time developing. God is the same way! You will not have a strong and pure relationship with God if you do not set aside time out our lives to have an open conversation with Him. You don’t just need to be real simple and honest when you bow down before Him, but you have to be. I believe the one thing that could grow your relationship with God more than anything is a change in your approach. Simply because when you change your approach, the way you view God begins to morph.
And when you begin to trust God with your deepest and lowest, He begins seeming more like someone you can call dad, rather than seeming like some figurehead in the sky who is out to get you for your shortcomings or wrongdoings. Once you start calling him Father or Dad, you will then begin to start seeing his matchless plans for your life that are full of joy, purpose, and hope.
I found this verse in Ephesians a few nights ago while reading a plan on the Bible App. It really dug into my heart and left me thinking. This verse is a strong reminder of God’s perfect capabilities; even when I am stumbling around in the deep, dark trenches of my life flashlight-less, God is working out all the logistics and kinks. I have come to find, as the author of Ephesians so clearly says, God does not work out the logistics with sirens and sound effects, rather God is quiet in spurring us on towards the light. God is an unobtrusive Father and the author of Ephesians highlights this idea with such force that it makes my heart jump.
He writes…
God can do anything, you know- far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams! He does it not by pushing us around but by working within us, his Spirit deeply and gently within us.
Ephesians 3:20-21 (MSG).
So, what is stopping you?
What approach are you taking currently besides an “open and honest” approach?
Whatever approach you find yourself using, whether it be one of the above, or a different one entirely, I challenge you to come before God honestly and simply. You don’t have to stumble in the trench aimlessly anymore. God is giving you chances to approach Him differently.
It has proven itself true in my life.
A change in your approach will change the way you view God. Not only will it change the way you view God, but it will ultimately lead you closer to realizing God has been patiently waiting for you to take the flashlight in your own hand and walk out of the trench with Him.
So, speak up, because when you speak up in prayer, God will speak out to you.
