Prayer is Not Passive!

It seems to me that there is much hostility towards the response of prayer. People seem offended and at times, even disgusted, when the call for prayer is made. Yet, as believers, we know that nothing in Heaven will be fulfilled on Earth, unless we call out to God in prayer. 

"If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land" - 2 Chronicles 7:14

As individuals, a generation and a nation, it seems to be that we have declared war against prayer when it doesn't work for us. But we need to clearly recognize what prayer is and what it is not. Prayer, according to God and His scripture (the manufacturer of prayer) makes it clear that first, we must humble ourselves and then second turn from any wrong doing that we may be practicing. The results of doing both is a miraculous move of God.

From my own personal experiences, and I cannot speak for everyone, my Father instilled in me from my early ages that prayer was a necessity. He would volunteer me to pray in our home, as well as in church. My father surrounded our family with prayer in every opportunity imaginable- weather it be over our homework, over our travels, over our social issues in school, our food, our family... you name it, my Father would lead us in prayer over it. With that being said, I grew up with such a comfort to pray that I don't think I ever considered the honor and privilege that prayer really holds in the life of a true believer.

I remember a sermon my Father once taught and a quote of his that I wrote down in my Bible, many, many years ago. He said, "Prayer is not a tool that we use to change God's mind, it is a gift God uses to change our hearts". That has always stuck with me. You see,  prayer is a gift that God gives us to use, continuously, because He wants us to include Him in all of our affairs. God loves us and wants to be involved in our living. Like any relationship, communication (prayer) is vital. If we expect to see God change things, move things, bring healing, bring salvation, send answers and reveal truths, we must be in prayer... and, even more so, we must make sure that we are praying effectively.
We must check our hearts, to make sure it is lined up with the word of God and that we do not have cherished sin in our lives (Ps. 66:18). We must make sure that what we pray is lined up with God's will, which is His word (John 15:7). We must come with a confidence that we believe that God is able to work His will in our lives, through our faith, prayers and lifestyle that reflect Him (Hebrews 14:16). When we pray, we must be humble, knowing that our God is mighty and sovereign over all (2 Chronicles 7:14).

And when we prayer, we must be prepared for what ever answer we recieve, because an answered prayer is not always a "yes". But we know that all things will work together for our good, according to God's plans for us, if we love Him and stay obedient (Romans 8:28). whatever our plans are...His are much better!
No plan that we could ever hope to come to pass will ever exceed God's plans for us. As children of God, it should be our natural response in every area of our lives: as women, as students, as daughters, wives, friends, sisters, professionals. Prayer should be our first response because we know that God is our first responder! Prayer, like breathing, must become an intricate part of our spiritual and natural lifestyle. Not to manipulate situations to please us, but rather to align our hearts with God to please Him!

 As Jim Cymbala put it, "prayer is the barometer by which one can gauge the spiritual maturity of another". In other words, a Christian who understands their calling, Christ's expectations and who longs to be effective for the Kingdom will invest themselves in prayer- not because they have to, but because they understand that they need to. Prayer is not passive... it is the initiation of spiritual action which is what is truly necessary if we ever hope for any change or direction in our lives, in our families or in our country.
I am not perfect, as no one is. I do not have all the answers, as no one does, but I am now understanding and appreciating prayer in an entirely new way. I am a woman who wants to be a warrior... a prayer warrior! I don't not want my life to be lived silently, but I want to shine like a beacon in the night! God has given us all what we need to shatter sin and evil that haunts this world, but to talk first and pray last is unproductive. We can prayer with confidence while talking with conviction! And this is what we must do! All of us! It is a shame how the church has grown so silent! Where is our courage and our bravery? Where are our shouts around Jericho?

Ladies, you have more power in prayer than you ever will in gossip! We have more power seeking God, then we ever will have seeking comfort. Let's not be afraid to stand up for truth! Let's not be so discouraged that we won't lift up our voices to our God who loves us! We are not here on accident! Our existence in this generation was very calculated and purposeful. Now, you and I must go and put this calling to use. We must be the one who is willing to stand in the gap for those who cannot stand on their own. We must be willing to go into battle for our nation, our unsaved family, friends and for the future. We are each privileged and purposed to do just that, now more than ever! I am a woman on a mission, and I need prayer to accomplish all the hopes and dreams that Christ has instilled in me. Will you join me? Can we do this together?

I thank God for prayer and for the power that is required to operate a sincere prayer life. My prayer for all of you is that you learn the joy of coming to the Father, not only on behalf of yourself, but for others who are relying on the strength of your prayers to get them through. Be used of God, today and each day forward. Remember, He loves you and He is waiting to be invited in our circumstances, struggles and aspirations.

Prayer is not passive. Let's take action, together!
~Pearls

Let Our Faith Be More Than Anthems

In light of recent tragedy that has yet again struck our nation, there has been a lot of debate on prayer vs action. People seem to be overtaken with feelings of anger, unfairness, bitterness and ultimately, unbelief. To some, the tragedy in Charleston was an act of an angry and unconcerned god- too preoccupied with the affairs of other groups of people than to be bothered by the slaughtering in South Carolina. One Facebook quote, which received a multitude of "likes" stated:

"I say how about we stop praying all together and start doing...it's time for change and none of that peaceful [stuff]...We pray, we get beaten. We pray, we get robbed. We pray...we get shot up in our own churches with our heads bowed...action is what is needed, not more prayer".

To read such statements is shocking, to say the least, but what is more absurd is that people, collectively, seem to agree and commend this mindset. I realize, not to belittle anyone's experience, frustrations or sorrows, that people are suffering, but we cannot become so blinded to our own hurts that we fail to realize that others all over the world are suffering too. It is the situational circumstance of sin that ushers in the pain and sorrow that we so heavily feel, and the only victor of sin and death, is God, through Christ alone. If we stop praying, then where is our victory? If we stop seeking the face of God, then we will surely be overtaken.


"The worse thing we could ever do is stop our communication with God"~ Brittany Crenshaw, Pearls of Hope.

Prayer is a tool that God uses to access our hearts. When our hearts change, our outlooks change and when our outlooks change, our action changes. The issues that are among us, whether Black, or White, Middle Eastern or Asian, is not what we can see with our own two eyes, but rather what is working invisibly against us, which can only be combated through prayer. Yet people will insist, "Prayer doesn't work. I've tried praying and nothing ever happens".  My response to this argument is this: When we pray, we must first recognize that God is not a genie to grant our every wish. There are certain criteria, based on scripture, that give us access to this Supreme God, and anything less than what He requires will result in unanswered prayer.
In this article, let's take a look, through God's on Word, on what institutes effective prayer and what we need to do in order to see results from Heaven.

1) First, before we can expect to hear from God, we need to realize that it is a relationship with Christ that turns His ear and gains His attention. We cannot ask of someone who does not know us and then be shocked when their response is not what we seek. That's like me asking your father for $20. He might have it, but he doesn't know me, so why should he give it to me? When we pray, we must humble ourselves and offer our hearts to God, acknowledging our need for Him and receiving His love for us. So the first step in answered prayer is developing an honest relationship with God (John 15:7).

2) Next, we must live a life of obedience, which Christ tells us is synonymous with Love. "Jesus replied,"Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them (John 14:23)". Loving Jesus means more than pretty words on bended knees, or making promises to get out of a jam. It's a true life commitment and service- a courageous act of following His ways, no matter the cost. When we live a life of obedience and love, God's Spirit grows strong within us and the requests of our hearts are heard (Proverbs 28:9; 1 John 3:22).

3) In alignment with living in obedience, we have to be sure that we are confessing all sin and turning away from what is evil. God is light and light cannot entertain the darkness. Yes, we sin every day, but cherished sin- sin that is purposefully practiced and repeated out of enjoyment, excuses or lust, lays up a wall between our prayers and God's answers. Sin cuts us off from The Lord; but obedience opens the door (Psalm 66:18; 1 John 1:7-9).

4) When we have examined our hearts, we can pray with confidence to a God who loves and cares for us. It is not His desire that we suffer alone. Jesus said, “In this life you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world. (John 16:33)". Pain, suffering and issues are automatic with life. It's the effects of sin- which is a sickness of the soul as well as of the human experience. We live in an ungodly and evil world, yet we do not need to fear, because Christ has already won the victory and given it to those who bear His name in obedience! When we pray, we can trust that God hears us if we are living according to His word. And if He hears us, he will answer us; so we can pray with boldness and confidence, not doubting, but believing with great expectation! (1 John 5:14-15).

5) The last criteria for answered prayer is to be sure that when we do pray, we are without grudge or unforgiveness towards anyone. This one is so detrimental, because we often overlook the significance of our forgiveness towards others. If we ask of God to forgive us and pardon our mistakes, how dare we with-hold the same opportunity from someone of whom we are just as guilty as? Remember, we are all sinners and full of fault. It is by God's grace that we can access a freedom through our sin. It is not our right to deny the same gift that we have been given. In so doing, we block ourselves and our prayers from God, who does not tolerate what is evil. So, if your desire is to have answered prayers in you life, forgive without complaint. Don't seek restitution or revenge. Let it go and be free! (Matthew 5: 23-24; Matthew 6: 14).

In this time of trouble and uncertainty, there is only one absolute truth: Our God has given us His love, though Jesus, and has made a way for us to have open communication with Him, through His Holy Spirit, because He is a good Father who loves to hear from His children. Yes, there are terrible things that happen in the world. Yes, there are times when God does seem so far away, but we can believe that He is always near, based upon His word and promises within the scriptures. Though, on the one hand, people seem to be too impatient to ask of God, it is obvious that the hearts of mankind are eagerly looking for a way to reach Him. They want to take matters into their own hands because they are not aware of how to access God and so, in their frustrations, they give up. I urge you, Don't Give Up! Keep praying, keep seeking, keep asking and keep knocking! Seek the Lord with your whole heart and He will show Himself to you.

Prayer is a powerful tool, yet on the other side, faith without works is dead (James 2:14-26).

As we pray in confidence, we should seek The Lord to determine what action He would want us to take! He will guide us if we keep our hearts steady on Him! Our faith is more than platitudes and pretty words. It is deeper than an anthem that we sing when times are good. True faith becomes revealed during the hard times and tragedies that are inevitable in this life. Yet it is through these difficult and confusing times where God's Spirit addresses the faithful and produces power through our prayers.

Be encouraged, and Never Stop Praying!

~Pearls