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• prayer

What is prayer? Lifting up words to God? Communion with God?

Is there a difference between praying and saying prayers?

We train our children to pray, which may start as saying prayers, but can transform into a prayer-filled relationship that fulfills the verse that admonishes us to “pray without ceasing.” Prayer is as much a lifestyle as an act.

So, should you “fake it till you make it?” What do you do when you don’t know what to pray?

Actor Cary Grant said, “If you don’t have faith, pray anyway. If you don’t understand or believe the words you’re praying, pray anyway. Prayer can start faith, particularly if you pray aloud. And even the most imperfect prayer is an attempt to reach God.” Do you agree? I do!

And one of the ways to pray words that lead you to a deeper faith is to pray using Scripture. Yes, the Spirit interprets the groans we cannot express (Romans 8:28), but we also have the prayers of others that can express what we are unsure how to say.

Here are a few examples from the Psalms:

Troubled? Psalm 4:8

In peace I will lie down and sleep,

    for you alone, Lord,

    make me dwell in safety.

Grateful to God? Psalm 100

Alone? Psalm 23:4

Even though I walk

    through the darkest valley,

I will fear no evil,

    for you are with me;

your rod and your staff,

    they comfort me.

Repentant? Psalm 51

Impatient? Psalm 27:4

Wait for the Lord;

    be strong and take heart

    and wait for the Lord.

• prayer

The emphasis we have had on prayer this past month is a perfect lead-in to the theme for our March blog posts: Victory.

Prayer is communication with God and a turning over to him the weight of the battles we face. And when we lay our burdens at the feet of our Heavenly Father, he walks with us in the battle toward victory – a process impossible without prayer.

In addition to communication and deepened relationship with God through prayer, when we pray together, we increase our communication and deepen our relationships with one another as well. When we share in our battles through prayer, as patterned in the Common Threads, we remember that we not alone and we are strengthened on the journey.

We rejoice more together in the victory with those who have walked with us through the battle as prayer warriors.

Whether the other readers of this blog have shared with you in prayer through the battle, allow us to share with you in the victory.

During this next month, I invite you to tell us your victory story. Please email me at ironrosesister@gmail.com with your story! You can share your testimony or answer one of the following questions: What does victory mean to you? What does victory look like, feel like, smell like, sound like, and taste like? How has God granted victory in your life?

Take a moment to pray about whether you would like to share your story or your answers to these questions. Pray with a friend about it. And let’s be victorious together!