Changing the Way I Pray

The way I pray.

The way I prayed changed that day. I got the call from my doctor ten months ago with the news that both breast biopsies were positive for cancer. If you’ve received that call, you know the feeling. If you’ve never received that call, I’m sure you can imagine. 

After my initial tears and the surreal emotion of this can’t be happening to me, I climbed into my trusty recliner and prayed. There was had a lot I had to say, and I reminded God of His promises in His word. I read those promises out loud and I claimed them. I proceeded to tell Him what I thought of this diagnosis, because I wasn’t done living, yet. There were things I wanted to do, places I wanted to go, and grandkids I had yet to see – and “help raise”. It didn’t seem fair that my life was taking a detour from my dreams and plans.

Changing the way i pray

God reminded me that my prayers were about what I wanted to do. I  hadn’t asked Him what His plans were for me. I hadn’t considered that perhaps, this detour was part of His permission. Certainly, I knew it wasn’t a punishment, nor did it show lack of faith on my part. Rather, this detour was allowed by a Father Who cares about me – and has a plan for me. I realized I had not stopped to ask Him what His plan was for me – for those travel plans, for those unborn grandkids, for what I was to do with my life from here on out.

So, I changed the way I prayed. I asked Him what He wanted from me. He answered. “Trust Me.” The calm that came over me when I asked what He wanted was something I had not experienced in the past. Certainly, there were times in my past when I felt His peace and calmness in the middle of a storm, but this calm came because I asked what He wanted from me.

Buoyed by the prayers of others

In this journey, Dave and I experienced the buoy of the prayers of God’s people carrying us. If you are one of those who prayed and are praying for us, thank you. We bobbed along in turbulent waters that included surgery, more blood work, more surgery, another MRI, and another biopsy. We continue to be carried by the prayers of others.

When you wonder what difference your prayers make, you can know they do. When you wonder if the folks you are praying for can feel those prayers, they can. We experienced the surrealness of strength and peace that was not ours, and we thank you.

Praying – What do you want from me?

When the apostle Paul was on the way to Damascus to persecute Christians, God stopped him and blinded him. It was a rude awakening. God spoke to Paul and he realized he was wrong. He was actually persecuting Jesus. There by the side of the road, with the bright light shining on his face, Paul asked Jesus, “What do You want me to do?”

God gave him instructions, and he obeyed what God told him to do. When I changed the way I prayed and asked Him, “What do You want from me?” instead of “This is what I want from you!”, I found peace.

Instead of spending time telling Him what I wanted Him to do, I changed the way I prayed. I asked Him what He wanted from me in the daily of life. 

Join me, will you? Ask Him what He wants from you instead of telling Him what you think He should do. Listen for His loving response and obey.