Is there really a perfect way to pray? If no, that is not what this post is about. If yes, that still is not what this post about. This post is for those that pray on a regular yet see no result and those that don't pray at all. I hope this helps someone. You won't believe what just happened as I was typing this intro. I decided to open my devotional and what do I see slotted for tomorrow? A topic about prayer! Lol we are in sync!.
Prayer is an act of obedience where you subdue by faith, your spirit, body and soul to the Holy spirit. Prayer is not just about asking asking asking and getting but it is an act of worship. You can have a whole prayer session without asking God for anything! You can say you know how to pray if you know that prayer is not just about receiving from God.
I will liken prayer to the substance in a thermometer (Mercury)..Imagine the thermometer is what you need to get out of and the heat the thermometer is subdued to is life's trials etc. The hotter it gets, the hotter the mercury gets too and guess what happens? The mercury can break the thermometer!! Maybe you didn't fully understand this analogy but what I'm trying to say is that your prayer life should be the hottest when you are down, when life is difficult! You can't remain on your knees and wait for the moment to pass away but pray in that position! And when life is chilled and everything is going your way, still pray! The mercury does not read zero now does it? It might not be as hot but it is still active!
I remember back in 2001 when my mum and I were returning to Nigeria from a summer break, we were almost at Lagos when the plane started swinging both ways! I kid you not, it was horrible. We thought we were going to die. I started to pray, I was just muttering words that I probably didn't understand too and when we landed my mum said to me "Dunmola, I didn't know you can pray". I also didn't know I could pray that well and for that long lol but what am I saying? It does not matter if you feel you are just muttering words and repeating the same thing over and over, just keep on praying! Even if it's "Thank you Lord" you repeat a million times, these moments are saving up and if you look back, you will realize how far you've grown in the prayer world. Nevertheless, the best scenario is to be hot in prayer when life is good and when life isn't. It even serves you better when your prayer life is not determined by the degree of temperature outside.
Another point is how long you pray for. I remember that rocked the internet world some weeks back when Pastor Adeboye said "If the woman cannot pray for more than 1 hour, don't marry her." Obviously people took this out of context and I was even more surprised that supposed Christians found a problem with this statement. Isn't that the beauty of the internet? You see people's true colors when it's time for "argument and slander". My take on that statement is this, If you cannot subdue yourself in prayer and disconnect from this world into the spiritual realm for a long time, there's a problem. If you are easily distracted when you pray, there is a problem. That said, you should also know these things take practice but I believe if you genuinely submit yourself in prayer and isolate yourself, you will pray for a long time that you won't even realize how long you've prayed for. Bottom line, ask God to show you how to pray and how to stay connected in prayer for a long time. No I'm not saying God will only answer your prayer when it's longer but you will see greater changes when you can converse with God in prayer.
Perhaps you have prayed for hours,days years and weeks and still see no result? It's either one of the two things, your faith is not connected to the source (Read about here) or God is taking His time to give you what you asked. If you are part of the percentage that don't pray at all but reading this post, I will like to encourage you to cultivate the habit of praying. Praying brightens your day, you become so optimistic about your day that negativity will have no place in your mind. One day at a time and you'd realize your life has been filled with positivity and thriving better than pre-prayer life.
Prayer is a weapon! Faith is a weapon! Now imagine both in your hands, you'd be powerful against the devil. One time last month when I was in the UK, on my way to visit my cousin I got lost. I had only been to her house once and that was more than a year ago. I had no internet, no UK sim and no map at all to find my way. I got down from the bus and couldn't recognize where I was. I just stood for a minute and prayed that God leads me to her house. I started walking, taking turns at streets and noting where I was incase I needed to retrace my steps. One last turn and I found myself on her street. I was really shocked. Believe it or not, that is the power of prayer interconnected with faith. When you've practiced the act of prayer and channeled your spirit to connect with the Holy spirit, simple and short prayers will be answered speedily.
Challenge yourself today, isolate yourself and remove all distractions. Pray for a longer time than you normally do. These things add up especially for times you can't pray for so long and can only say short prayers. Let's pump up our prayer life!
Love,
Dedun
