I have heard this term a few times on this trip and in my life, but not really known what it means. I pray, but what does it mean to be a prayer warrior? Are my prayers always powerful and effective? What about when I feel like I am just praying to the ceiling…does God still hear me in those instances? I think my view on prayer has changed a lot during the first 6 months of this trip and I wanted to take this opportunity to share what I have experienced and learned so far. Remember, first and foremost that these are my own thoughts and things I have personally experienced. I encourage everyone to look to Scripture and their own heart to see where they are as far as prayer with the Lord. My hope is that this blog will encourage you to seek out where your prayer life is with the Father and pursue it even more.
God has been increasing my knowledge of prayer this whole time, but it wasn’t until this month in Malaysia where I really saw Him connect all the dots in my mind (I literally have 100 or so examples of God’s provision, but will only give a few in this blog). I remember when we were in Guatemala (1st month) and were heading back from doing ministry in Coban (8 hour car ride). We had a great time reaching out to communities there and praying over families and were looking forward to some good rest in El Tizate (“home” for the month). We were about halfway home, when Marco’s (our ministry contact) van started breaking down. The first thing he said to do was pray. Looking back, that was the most logical thing to do, but I remember sitting there thinking that it wouldn’t do any good…little did I know. Within 10 minutes of us praying, some random guy pulls up next to our van and immediately starts fixing the car. He knew exactly what to do and what part we needed and everything. At that moment I started to realize how important praying really is because we pray to a Heavenly Father that hears every word we speak to Him.
Jeremiah 29:11-13 states “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for wholeness and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me. When you seek me with all your heart.” When we truly seek God with our whole heart, he will truly find Him, but what does that mean seek Him with our whole heart? To me, that means confessing everything that is on my heart and bringing everything into the light so that there no darkness there. Even in those times of confessing to God, I know He hears me because He shows me how faithful He is by showing me a way out of where I am.
When I say “God hears all prayers and answers all prayers,” I really mean it. It may not always be the way I want to see it happen, but He DOES answer them. Matthew 7:7-8 states “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and to the one who knocks, it will be opened.” Notice that there are three individual steps here: ask, seek, and knock. For me, I think I usually have the asking and seeking part down, but God is just waiting for me to knock. I also realize that God has given me a mind to use and that a lot of the answers to my prayers are literally right in front of me. I think more than anything, God gives me opportunities to answer my own prayers through His provision.
When we were in the Philippines, we had a lot of work to do on a planting sod for a soccer field there. It was hard work digging up the dirt because there hadn’t been a lot of rain. We also knew that the less rain we got, the harder it would be for the sod to grow. One day when we were planting sod it started to rain and we immediately started to pray for more rain and thank God for everything He had provided. Within seconds later, it started to rain harder and harder. It sounds so simple looking back, but I know God hears all of our prayers…no matter how big or small (sorry for sounding so cheesy, but it really is true). Even being in Malaysia during the first part of this month, we really got to see a church that was willing to pray for the nations and for everything they knew God could do. It was so inspiring to see a church on it’s knees praying for it’s vision, for the lost Muslims around them, their lost friends and family, and anything else they could think of…it has totally changed my view on how fervently I should be praying everyday. From getting rides back to our ministry house in Malaysia so we don’t have to walk miles to get there to having meals provided for us left and right when the budget gets tighter, God really does provide for His children when we ask, seek, and knock.
Speaking of provision, just a few days ago I officially became FULLY FUNDED for this mission trip!!! It has been such a huge answer to prayer and am so thankful to everyone that gave. It has really been an investment in communities around the world and in my own growth and spiritual walk. Seriously, everyone that invested in this trip has directly invested in furthering the Kingdom! So my encouragement to all of you is to continue to pray and know that your prayers are powerful and effective. The more we seek His will and knock, the more we realize how much our God can do and the more we will be a prayer warrior for Him!
