A Heart that PRAYS

I am awakening to the power of prayer. I am realizing that prayer is that it's such incredible prevention...AND protection. So no wonder I have felt like I need to amp up my prayer life, and really dig deep to carve out that time. The conversations I have with The Lord through my days are a wonderful thing, but I have to be honest with you that I have become too dependent upon them. I am feeling convicted that they are not supposed to be a meal, but a dessert, because as satisfying as ongoing prayer be, it's not my best. Because my best is making time for a prayer date with Jesus EVERY.DAY. Daunting? Oh yes. Impossible? I don't think so. I think there is a huge reason that I have been feeling convicted of this. 

I don't mind sounding cliche when I say that everyday is a battle for me. For you. For every soul. We live in a spiritual world that's only masked by flesh. The Enemy is constantly prowling around, and I -WE- must stand guard. The battle isn't always dramatic, sometimes it's as subtle as an attitude you take on. It doesn't take much to corrupt. Our bent is toward flesh after all. And it's a wonder The Enemy is constantly trying to distract me from this realization that prayer is both an offensive and defensive weapon at my disposal. And when I think hard about it, I realize my weakest moments weren't prayed up enough, but my strongest moments *I* was so weak, all I could do was pray. 

First of all, it keeps me calm and close to The Lord right NOW. I struggle far less with worrying about the future, or recovering from the faults of the past when I am communing with The I Am NOW! And if you know how much of a worrier I can be, you're probably thinking it's about time I get a grip on this. :)
 

Prayer also protects me. I think that's a byproduct of being close with The Lord. You are protected by Him, you are less likely to succumb to your fleshly weaknesses. Not that you're perfect, but I am convinced that there is a direct link to a person's prayer life and what their instincts, choices, words, actions and reactions look like.

That then ushers in a heart of thankfulness. When I am close to God and am walking and experiencing His protection (and forgiveness!) it's much more (Super)natural to see Him in the little things. I have become so much more aware of the beauty the art of thankfulness can bring into a life these last few months. And thankfulness offers is its own brand of protection against an army of sin and temptation. 

And so finally the closeness, protection and thankfulness I feel in The Lord all cause this perfect storm that brings me to worship. Worship happens in so many ways and can take on an untold number of forms. But whatever it looks like, worship is intimacy; it's an offering to God given with a submissive, humble posture that brings me back to the cross. 

So I suppose it's no wonder the enemy tries so feverishly to distract me from a prayer life that matters. He knows how it enables and fulfills the believer, how it multiplies abundant life, which he cannot handle. So I continue in my attempts to just as feverishly (hopefully more so!) fight that!

"The humble heart acknowledges its inferiority before the Superior, it sees its utter dependance on the Independent One. In such a heart The Enemy cannot work." - Randy Alcorn, Ishbane Conspiracy.