PurposeFULL prayer, it’s the first P on my list goals. I aim to pray bold, specific prayers this year because I’ve noticed that I often pray expecting NOT so much or WAY too much. This needs to change.

The “not so much” prayer is my passive prayer. My keep it safe prayer. I ask for Him to comfort a friend, who I already know will be ok in a few days. Or I ask for safe travel, knowing the chance of an accident actually happening is pretty slim. Is it faith if I’m not praying about things outside my own control or rational?

The “WAY too much” prayer is my holier than thou petition. I assume since my prayers are in line with the good He wants, they should be answered quickly and completely. One of my purposeFULL goals for this year is more patience. I’ve been asking for it and I’d really like it NOW (please)! J Needless to say, there have been many patient faux pas since that prayer began. Do those failures make me a hypocrite?

Are these faith impoverished prayers the epitome of piousness? A heresy of holiness? I think not. I believe my prayers acknowledge a need to grasp for something, Someone, greater than myself but where is the harmony in-between not so much and way too much. It’s not all or nothing. The instantaneous yes or the discouraging no answer. It’s the wait that’s in the balance. The rest. The PATIENCE (cringe) on my journey of petitioning. I fully believe that God can change something in an instant. I know people who have experienced the miraculous in the blink of an eye. However, I am most familiar with the sit tight then the snap of the finger.

Remember being a kid and not quite understanding why your parents wouldn’t immediately swoop in and fix a problem for you? They’d let you sit tight, wrestle with it a bit. They knew what was best and what would bring about some lasting change. After that, you tried hard to not find yourself in the same situation again. No, I’m not suggesting that God doesn’t answer our prayer to “teach us a lesson” but I’d venture to say He knows the value in the wrestle and what transacts in the sit tight is important.

I’ve been praying for someone for years. Well in all honesty, it’s been more of the not so much prayer. I’ve been playing it safe; avoiding the chance of disappointment and heartache but I’ve purposed to pray bold specific prayers this year. To be more concerned about their well-being and heartache than protecting my own feelings. Guess what’s happened, I lowered my guard and caught a glimpse of that heavenly harmony. I shed a tear and gained a sneak peek of a petition in process. I waited with hope and witnessed a heart loved by Him. I asked for wholeness and observed a broken spirit, sustained and supported, all the while wrestling in its own wait. I listened and didn’t speak and I discerned a life not instantly changed because He knows what transacts in-between is important…for both of us.

What have you experienced when praying purposeFULL prayers?