Today, I’d like to talk about a very important topic – prayer! Not the simple prayer that you say before you eat your food, but the kind of prayer that will make the sun not shine, the prayer that will bring down rain and fire from the heavens, the kind of prayer that will part the red sea, the kind of prayer that will raise the dead, the kind of prayer that will keep the babies in the womb when their water breaks at 19 weeks. Our prayers matter and they move God, so it’s imperative that we take serious inventory of how we pray and what we are praying for.

In the Book of Joshua, we read about a time when Joshua and the Israelites entered the promised land. Soon after, the five kings of the Amorites joined forces to wage war against the Gibeonites. They asked Joshua and the Israelites for help and at some point, during the battle, Joshua prayed the following prayer: “Sun, stand still over Gibeon, and you, moon, over the Valley of Aijalon.” So, the sun stood still, and the moon stopped, till the nation avenged itself on its enemies,” (Joshua 10:12-13). Can you imagine praying the kind of prayer that would make the sun stop?

“I worry that for a lot of people, prayer is like buying a lottery ticket, a chance at a life here on earth that’s problem-free, stress-free, pain-free. For others, prayer is merely a sentimental routine, like reciting favorite song lyrics or a beloved nursery rhyme from childhood. Yet others pray only because they feel even guiltier if they don’t” Pastor Craig Groeschel. In this post, I just wanted to quickly give you 5 tips to praying bold effective prayers:

1.       Ask God to search your heart

This seems like a given but most often, we approach God’s throne with a list of to-dos that we need him to fulfill for us. When we approach God’s throne, before we even ask for anything, we should ask him to search our hearts and see if there’s anything offensive within us that needs to be corrected/repented, so it doesn’t hinder our communion with me. David prayed, “Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me and lead me in the way everlasting” (Psalm 139:23-34). Sometimes we come before God asking him to forgive us our sins when we have not forgiven someone that has wronged us.

“For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you” (Matthew 6:14).

2.       Pray Consistently

I can’t begin to tell you the importance of reading the bible and praying daily. By meditating on God’s word, you are planting seeds so that when the enemy comes to attack you, you can be able to use God’s word as your shield. When Jesus was tempted in the wilderness, the enemy used God’s word to try and tempt him and he was able to stand his ground by throwing God’s word back at him.

The bible talks about praying consistently in 1 Thessalonians 5:17. Developing a habit of praying at all times, makes it easy for you to pray bold prayers when faced with difficult circumstances because you already have a solid relationship established with The Father. It will help you approach his throne of grace with boldness and confidence (Hebrews 4:16) because you know that he cares for you (1 Peter 5:7).

3.       Pray with faith

The dictionary defines faith as “complete trust or confidence in someone or something.” The bible defines faith as “…the assurance of what we hope for and the certainty of what we do not see” (Hebrews 11:1).  Faith is a muscle that gets stronger the more you exercise it. God cares about every single aspect of your life, even the smallest things that you may think he’s too busy for - like that parking spot that you need desperately to find so you can catch the train to make an important meeting. “And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him” (Hebrews 11:6). Can you imagine that if we have faith as small as a mustard seed, we can move mountains (Matthew 17:20)? Do you know how small a mustard seed is? It’s only about 1-2 millimetres in diameter. That means our faith is either non-existent or as small as a grain of sand.

4.       Pray for miracles

While I was staying at the hospital and still pregnant with girls, a social worker came to visit me. They are required to visit the patients in the hospital to get an idea of their mental state. As soon as she sat down, the first question she asked me was, “You are religious right?” I said, “I guess you could say I am. Why do you ask?” She then proceeded to tell me that she could see the peace of God on my face because I was so calm and as soon as she walked into the room, she could sense the presence of God. I told her she must be religious herself to be able to sense that and she said she was. Where the presence of God is, there’s freedom. There’s no room for fear.

I wanted to do this post because I have two little walking miracles that are here today because of bold prayers that were prayed by the entire village. The most important of prayers probably had to come from me because the girls could sense my energy – everything I was experiencing, they felt it. It was important to me that I never let myself get sad or discouraged. Our prayers were for God to seal back the sac but I guess that was too little of an ask. Instead of sealing the sac, He performed an even bigger miracle – keeping the girls in the womb with the sac open.

“But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do” (James 1:6-8).

“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened…” (James 7:7-8).

5.)           Pray in the Spirit

This is the key that ties everything together. There are times when you get so overwhelmed with life that the spirit of God just steps in and prays on your behalf. “In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know how we ought to pray, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groans too deep for words. And He who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.…” (Romans 8:26-27). I am beyond grateful for the Holy Spirit.

About my outfit:

My favorite part about this outfit is the statement pearl necklace and the gold accent buttons on the midi skirt. I purchased the necklace at some random store that I came across in Midtown Manhattan. You can get similar one from Amazon here. My skirt is from H&M. It’s currently sold here but here is alternative from New York and Company.

Thank you for stopping by! See you back here tomorrow.