Dare to pray the "Yes" of God's heart

I’ve been asking a lot of questions about prayer lately … I don’t have a lot of answers … so I’m still asking. Two things I do know – there’s a lot more to the mystery of prayer than I understand AND a lot more praying to be done than I do.

Two days ago as I was preparing to speak at a Courageous Faith retreat in La Junta, CO. I was on my knees pouring out my heart in prayer. I always feel very vulnerable just before I speak and had to process all this before the Lord, grabbing hold of His promises of faithfulness and power.

Women were coming from surrounding areas, some from sixty miles away. A vanload of women from a Homeless Coalition would be attending. Even as I looked forward to meeting all these women, I continued praying for God to speak personally to the deepest needs of each woman in attendance.

I sensed spiritual battles were being fought and that more prayer was necessary, but I was out of words.

“Lord, show me your heart. Give me Your Words. Guide my prayer.”

As I glanced at the Bible open in front of me, a simple thought broke through – “I’m out of words so I’ll just pray THE WORD!”

As I flipped through the Bible, the first verse that caught my eye was:

“See, I am sending an angel ahead of you to guard you along the way and bring you to the place I have prepared.” (Exodus 23:20). Yes Lord, You’ve gone before me and are already preparing our hearts – Thank You.

I flipped to Isaiah and prayed for Jesus to “bind up the brokenhearted’, to free those who were held captive to worry and fear … “to comfort all who were mourning and provide a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair.” (Isaiah 61:1-3)

I turned to Hosea and prayed Scriptures that had ministered to me in the past: Pour out Your Spirit Lord - refresh weary hearts, speak tenderly to those who are walking through the wilderness, and throw open doors of hope for those who are feeling trapped in places of trouble. (Hosea 2:14,15; 6:3)

Jesus – draw us close to your heart. We want to see you up close and personal … overwhelm us with the magnitude of your very personal love for each one of us. (Ephesians 3:16-19)

I continued flipping through the Bible, praying through numerous Scriptures – absolutely loving this powerful Prayer Walk through the very Words of God.

I will be the first to admit that there’s A LOT I don’t know about prayer …

But what if prayer is simply our response to God’s heart? He says “I love you” and we say “I believe You!” He says, “Come to me all who are weary and burdened” and we come … just as we are - messy, hurting, tired and stressed. He says “pour out your heart … I am your refuge” and we tell the truth about our struggles, drawing near to the One who is our protection and help.

I wonder how hopeful our days would become if we saw every moment as an opportunity to respond to God’s heart ... coming when invited … seeking His healing and joy … refusing to believe that weariness is the norm … leaning in deeply - allowing His power to strengthen our areas of weakness … inviting His Spirit to be unleashed in ways that shake our world … and laying claim to EVERY promise that is our inheritance as children of the Most High God.

Hope dares to pray the “yes” of God’s heart ...