How to Pray Specifically
How to Pray Specifically
At the close of the school year last year, this past May, I started praying. It was summer and my husband’s job was hard. His hours were long and we were struggling with balancing family life. We were (are) still hurting from so abruptly leaving the mission field. We were asking God to direct our steps. So. I began to pray. I prayed God would give my husband a new job. I didn’t know what that would look like. I didn’t even know if it was possible.
When we were in Honduras, I asked God for a dining room table, and He had provided that. So, I began to pray that God would give my husband a new job opportunity. I added, this time, the phrase, “By the fall…” By the time the next school year turned around I asked God to provide a new job with a better weekly schedule.
Are you as surprised as I was if I told you that he started a brand new job on September 9th?
The Bible has many verses on prayer:
Hebrews 4:16 – “Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”
1 Thessalonians 5:16–18 – “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”
Philippians 4:6–7 – “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
Ephesians 6:17–18 – “And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints.”
Pray Specifically
As we go into this new season, may we be women who pray. Not just in general, but in specific ways. This amazing answer to prayer this past summer has spurred me on to pray specifically for those desires of my heart. I’ve never been a “health & wealth” prosperity gospel girl.
Tweet ThisI do not mean that we can manifest or speak into existence what we want. But. I’ve decided to trust that my loving Father desires good things for me. He is not bound by my prayers (or lack thereof), but He is certainly bent to me when I pray. It is all over scripture that God listens and is attentive to the cries of those who trust Him.
Keep Praying
As a beautiful twist to our story, this job is almost exactly what he did in Honduras, but on a much larger scale. God knows my husband’s heart, his ability, and his gifts. Wouldn’t it be like God to restore to my husband a job he was forced to walk away from only to give him something very similar but so much better?!
Pray, friend. Pray specifically. Give God a deadline. Not so you can get what you want, but so that you can praise Him for His beauty, wonder, and faithfulness!
There is another prayer in my heart today as I write this and I won’t tell you what it is yet, but it involves a new book idea that might be coming. I’m praying again and I can’t wait to tell you how God shows up for me. Because I know He will. And because He shows up for me, I KNOW He will show up for you!
