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Be an Intentional Prayer Warrior
“Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” - 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (NKJV)
How do we take our desires, worries, requests, and words to God and make prayer a part of our daily lives? Any routine we create will take intentionality, strategy, and practice. Prayer may be a spiritual action, but it also requires our intellect and our time.
When I walk with women through hopelessness and ask them about their prayers, they typically say one of two things: “I don’t know how to pray” or “I don’t know what to pray about.” Through the painful parts of our story, we often become hopeless and lose touch of what our hearts need. Our longings turn into loneliness. Our desires turn into despair. And we sink so deep in a valley, that we can’t even find the words to pray to help get us through. So, we must identify what prayers our hearts need.
When I encourage people to pray, I mention a passage from Matthew 6.
“And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly. And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words.” -Matthew 6:5–7 (NKJV)
God wants to meet with us in secret. He wants it to be just Him and us. He isn’t worried about you delivering that Oscar-award-winning prayer in front of everyone. In fact, He urges us to let go of the desire for people to look at us when we pray so we can look cool or super holy.
Think about this: Find your secret place, and when you do, figure out when you’ll go there to meet Jesus. Then focus on what Paul tells us in Romans 12:12; to be steadfast in our prayers, patient in our tribulations, and rejoice in hope!
For more information, go to tonijcollier.com/brave.
About this Plan
Trauma, abuse, and toxic relationships have broken us. But there is no shame in brokenness. In fact, it’s where the healing power of Jesus comes to find us. We need to bring our brokenness into the light! In this five-day devotional, you’ll be encouraged to bring your hurts to Jesus and discover the power of hope, gentleness, forgiveness, and prayer.
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We would like to thank HarperCollins/Zondervan/Thomas Nelson for providing this plan. For more information, please visit: https://www.thomasnelson.com
