Pearls is such a great team for so many reasons–partly because they teach me and challenge me.
One aspect that they have taught me a lot about is prayer. Our first month in Thailand we didn’t have too many hours of “ministry” the first week or two so we did a lot of praying. There was one day where we went to a park, sat down, and “pop-corn” prayed for 1 1/2 hours about anything that was on our minds and hearts. The intimacy we had with God and as a team as we simply laid our requests before God, whether it was for a fellow teammate, family, health, Thailand, or other, was so cool.
That first week in Thailand, Becca (my teammate and team leader) also told us about a dream she had. You can read it, which I URGE you to do: It’s called I Had a Dream. Put simply, her dream taught her the power of prayer. It was her PRAYING that drove a man away from the little girl that was about to be trafficked. It challenged and reminded our whole team how important prayer is.
Since then, we continue to do a lot of praying as a team. I also have been growing a lot in spiritual disciplines with God. I have grown a lot in doing quiet time (an area I have always struggled in) and in personal prayer. I also have learned a lot about myself and God. I have learned that I feel the closest to Him when I am in prayer for myself or others–probably because I am such a deeply relational person and that isn’t just for human relationships, but it is for God. I have learned I do best to hear His nudges/voice when I’m walking, listening to relaxing/worship music, or from reading books–partly this is because my mind is so active when my brain is partly distracted, it helps me to actually focus on what He wants to say to me. I’m learning so much more, too.
But as I’m growing in prayer, what that looks like, and the knowledge of how powerful it is, I also can’t but think of Hannah, my name-sake in 1 Samuel. She was a woman of faith and of prayer who put her requests before God with such an urgency. For me, names have a lot of power–I would love to become like my namesake. I want to grow into being a woman of prayer who is deep into God, who prays with authority, and I can pray for those I love. Becca’s dream reminded me of the power of prayer, of entering into the spiritual realm and to pray on someone’s behalf and that is something I want to take with me. And being able to practice that as a team and alone has been neat.
So I want to challenge you to pray–it is powerful and it brings us right next to God.
