What is Prayer?

Hey y’all! It’s your girl Julie, here to talk about one of my favorite things: PRAYER!

I know a lot of the attention has been on us, but we do need to realize that prayer is a two-way street, that is between you and God, so it is important to talk about God since He’s involved in prayer. Father, would you help us to learn your heart in this chapter. In Jesus’ Name, Amen. 

So… God. A three-letter word for an awesome individual. You see, God is indescribable, but here are some ways in which we can describe Him. He is Creator, Author and the Finisher, Abba, Father, and Friend. Most importantly, God wants to be your friend. You might be taken aback by the fact that someone genuinely wants to be your friend, especially in a world that promotes this idea that everyone around is fake (I just want to let you know that you do not need to buy into that notion.). God challenges this notion because He is consistent and will never change - not even a bit.

And because He does not change, I think we can learn about the heart of God through His actions. Well for one, God loves people. We can see that in the Creation story in Genesis 1 when God creates man to be in relationship with Him. We also see that God loves relationships, which can be seen in the Creation story with God saying “Let us make man in our image,” as well as giving man a helper. God loves communion, and with communion comes intimacy. I know that word may scare some of you, but the intimacy that God desires with you is one that is pure  - not one that is contaminated by the world’s view of intimacy. You see, God is the Author, meaning He defines intimacy, and intimacy with God is a beautiful thing.

As I referenced earlier in the book, God uses Psalms and Jeremiah to denote this type of intimacy. “Before you were formed in your mother’s womb, I knew you, your thoughts, desires, struggles, all of it” (Julie-Ann’s translation). And, He desires to hear your thoughts on it too. But what if I were to say that God has thoughts too? In Jeremiah, God tells the Israelites before they enter into captivity that He has plans for them, to prosper them, as well as give them hope and a future. I know a lot of times people use this verse as a way to feel comforted about their decisions in life, but God has His own plans for people, which are higher than what we could imagine. He says “My thoughts are higher than your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:8). With His thoughts being higher than our own, what does that say about His heart then? 

Oftentimes, our thoughts give insight as to what is going on in our hearts, and if God’s thoughts include love for His people, that means His heart is full of love. Knowing the heart of God allows us to enter a new level of intimacy with Him - one that He has desired since the beginning of time. Are you ready to enter into that? If so, take some time writing that to Him on the next page. If not, explain why you may not be ready to enter into that. He wants to hear from you, the real you, so do not be afraid of giving Him the real you. But here’s the thing. Don’t be shocked if He gives you an answer.