Prayer-2

After praying generally for the week I took some time to reflect on how I was feeling. Basically, I felt unplugged from God. My prayers were less passionate, less faithful, and less powerful. I wondered how I was to give God the praise for answered prayer when direct requests were not made.It was a week of soggy cereal. I was not excited about a possible miracle, because asking God to just help us through or for comfort, is almost insulting. God is always there to comfort if we open ourselves up to it. God is always there to grant wisdom if we seek His heart.I needed more answers. I needed to know if direct prayer makes a difference. Can we change God's mind or is whatever will be (His Plan) will be??? I pondered, I prayed, I studied.
I looked at the verses in the Bible where Jesus and the disciples prayed.And I noticed something. It rarely was ever a if it is Your will... prayer.In fact, their prayers were bold. " Get up!" " Be healed!" " Come out!"They never questioned the will of God, instead, they believed they knew it and with authority they prayed. The if it be your will prayers were in times of relinquishment to God's will. Like Jesus in the Garden " Not my will but Thine"But can we change God's mind? If he already planned to do something will our heart cries intervene?As I parent I know my children can change my mind with their desperate pleas- what about My Heavenly Father?I looked to Exodus 32 When Moses was on the mountain talking with God and his people started to make a golden calf to worship God said in verse 10 " Now leave me alone so that my anger may burn against them and that I may destroy them."But Moses sought the Lord and begged that He would turn from His anger; relent and do not bring disaster on his people.This is the verse that excited me- verse 14 " Then the Lord relented and did not bring on His people the disaster He had planned."
Wait a minute!! Did God just change His mind???I went on to find more examples of God changing his mind. Like in Jonah 3 When God sent Jonah to Nineveh to preach. He proclaimed " Forty more days and Nineveh will be overturned."They believed Jonah and turned from their ways urgently calling out to God praying for compassion.
Don't miss this-verse 10 " When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, he had compassion and did not bring upon them the destruction he had threatened."Conclusion: God does change his mind!But yikes! With that liberation comes great responsibility. Our prayers are to be powerful not mousy. We are working with God. We can even change history!Now that is motivating! Motivating to not only prayer differently but also to dive deeper and master the craft of prayer- I have much to learn.
I am now reading some insightful books on prayer and will be sure to journal new revelations.
Lest I forget.