Faith Prays
Dear Beloved,
There have been numerous times where I've found myself praying an empty prayer. Prayer isn't empty due to a lack of words. (God hears all prayers, not just the long, detailed, or proper) Prayer is only empty when it lacks faith. Our prayers have no power unless we believe in what we are declaring.
There was a time where I would pray, and I wouldn't go ALL in. I would fill my prayers with fluff or extra words just to make it seem like I was connecting with God. It was like a "fake it 'till you make it" situation. I was more scared of not connecting to God that I wasn't praying like me. I wasn't praying from my heart. Even my "alone time" felt like a performance. It wasn't for lack of words, it was for lack of faith.
In Matthew 12:22, Jesus' disciples are amazed because He had caused a fig tree to wither quickly. He simply told them, "If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer." That doesn't mean that He'll always give you what you want. God can respond with yes, no, or not yet. You will always get an answer. You just have to be willing to hear it. The answer may not look like what you thought it would either.
It's like asking God to open our eyes and ears or telling Him to come into every area of our lives and use us for the kingdom. Yet, when He tells us to go pray over a cashier or a waiter we are scared and don't want to step out of comfort zones. If you're asking for it, God's going to answer.
This goes for worship too. For example, the song New Wine. I personally love this song. It's beautiful, and when actually listened to and meditated on it's very powerful. But it's also one of those songs where you might not comprehend what it is you're asking God for. "In the crushing, in the pressing. You are bringing new wine." You're quite literally asking God to go into your life and crush you and break you to the point where you are a completely new person. Then when God starts crushing and pressing, it turns into, "God why?".
Prayer and worship are extremely powerful. It's so important to God. It's a serious thing. It's not something that we only do when we're around our friends in church. God doesn't play around like that. You don't believe that He can answer your prayer He won't. And when He does you have to open your eyes and be ready to hear His answer.
