The toughest people I know are those who maintain a disciplined prayer life. They envelop their lives with prayer, allowing them to live independent of any external circumstance. Your dependency on God is what enables you to live above the storms of life.
We are all depending on something. As a child, it was your parents. As an adult, it might be your skills, your salary, or even your spouse. However, do not depend on how good you are; depend instead on how good God is. Do not trust your own experiences. Trust the experiences God has revealed through the scriptures and the Holy Spirit concerning who you are, what to do, and where to go (Proverbs 3:5).
The Power of What You Hear
What you consistently hear will determine what you see and experience. This is why the wisest man in the world said, “Wisdom crieth without; she uttereth her voice in the streets” (Proverbs 1:20 KJV). It is your responsibility to listen.
Proverbs 13:20 says, “He that walketh with wise men shall be wise…” Notice it doesn’t say the person is wise already; rather, because he listens to the wise, he becomes wise. If what you hear most is what society feeds you, that is what you will become. If your community constantly speaks of unemployment and you sit down to listen, that is what you will experience.
People around you may say, “Jobs are hard to get,” and you might agree just for the sake of conversation. In doing so, you are hurting your own soul. This is the danger of pleasing men; you end up living an unhappy life. You may read a scripture that says, “…My God shall supply all your need…” (Philippians 4:19), yet you find yourself unable to speak it when life tells you otherwise. No! Life has a way of punishing timidity.
Choosing Your Source
Choose where you stand today. Is God true or not? You cannot be dependent on two things; that is the definition of being double-minded. You cannot depend on the government and depend on God at the same time—you will lose both ways. Your life is built to be empowered by a single source. Let that source be God. All the resources needed for success come from Him.
Those who rise high in life are those who decide to be an answer to their generation. Complaints and murmuring will not help you or the person you are complaining to; they only multiply the problem.
Prayer is an Enabler
When Isaac’s wife was barren, he did not go around to family members to complain or offer to return her bride price. He prayed for an answer. Through a disciplined prayer life, barrenness stopped (Genesis 25:21). Barrenness simply means being unable to produce or do something.
For Rebekah, it was being unable to have children. For someone else, it could be the inability to make a profit in business or being sick all the time. Prayer is an enabler. It allows you to enter and experience the solution you are seeking. One place where we must be tough and refuse to give up is in the place of prayer.
Prayer Puts Things in Order
Starting to pray is rarely the problem; the challenge is continuing until we see tangible results. This is why we must not just pray, but “watch and pray.” To be watchful means to see an outcome the way God sees it. It means to be vigilant and alert, like a sentry at night watching to prevent the passage of unauthorized persons.
You must be aware of what Christ has done so that when things go against His divine order, you can deal with them. Your continuous prayer is designed to put things back in order. Jesus told His disciples to watch and pray so they would not fall into temptation (Matthew 26:41). Any thought that discourages you from praying is an attempt by the enemy to strip you of your God-given power. Until you master a disciplined prayer life, many things that belong to you may elude you.
Prayer is Labour
Hoping for answers won’t produce answers. Turn your “hoping” into “honoring.” Honor God’s word by taking it exactly as it is. In Luke 18, the unjust judge answered the woman who cried to him continually. This parable is one of contrast, not comparison. God is not unjust; He is just, and therefore He answers speedily.
The only time we see Jesus “laboring” was in His prayer life (Luke 22:41-46). When He raised the dead or healed the sick, it appeared effortless. Similarly, Elijah labored in prayer for seven hours for rain to come. The King only saw the result—the rain—he did not see the sweat and tears behind the scenes. Prayer is work. The more you pray, the more your outward actions become stress-free and filled with results.
Related Reading: To understand more about our role in communication with God, read our previous article: Watch and Pray: Responsibility of Prayer.
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