Prayer
Pray for those that hurt you. Pray for the people you don't like. Pray for the people that you don't understand. Pray for the people that ask for prayer. Pray for yourself. Pray for the friend that you haven't heard from in awhile. Pray that they are having a great summer. Pray for their growth and protection. Pray that God is working in their life. Pray that though you have maybe neglected each other that they still know you care.
Pray for your ex-boyfriend who broke your heart. Pray that he is doing alright. Pray for the next girl he finds that she treats him right and that he is happy. That after losing you he is growing and seeing what went wrong and knows how to treat the next girl better.(Even when is sucks and it hurts -- pray for him) Pray for the girl who took the part you wanted. That she enjoys it that it helps her grow that she is successful. Pray for the person that got the job over you - that they will succeed and not be overwhelmed. Everyone stop praying to find a boyfriend or a wife and start praying for your future girlfriend/boyfriend and spouse. Pray that wherever they are, they have a heart for serving God, that they are healthy, that they are growing and discovering who they are. Pray for God to be preparing them to handle you. That they are being molded to find you one day. Pray for God to protect them. Pray for your friends who don't know God. If they won't pray, pray for them. Ask God to seep into their lives, ask God to soften their hearts, ask God to protect them. (and ask God to help you talk to them and share His love with them) Pray for yourself. Pray for God to wreck your life and re-direct it. Pray for Him to take care of you. For Him to show you what needs to be done. Pray that He will heal you and help you figure out how to do this thing we call life.
"Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you" - Matthew 5:44
"Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. If anyone strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also; and from anyone who takes away your coat do not withhold even your shirt. Give to everyone who begs from you; and if anyone takes away your goods, do not ask for them again. Do to others as you would have them do to you."
- Luke 27-31
4 Step Simple A.C.T.S Prayer
1) Adoration: Use adjectives to praise God
2) Confession: We are not perfect people and we make mistakes over and over and over again. Tell God you are sorry and ask for grace and forgiveness.
3) Thanksgiving: There are so many things in life that we have been blessed with and we need to say thank you. Sometimes I even thank him for the not so good things because I have now seen how they shaped me.
4) Supplication: The action of asking for help
As a kid my dad taught us to just start like this:
Dear God,
You are Awesome. Change my heart. Thank you for your love. Send help.
Amen.
And now I structure a lot of my prayers with this basic set-up but expand in each category. It is important to me to remember not to have a prayer just be asking for help or just be about how I am hurting but to also praise God and thank him and pray for others.
Prayer is POWERFUL. It's a thing we should do OFTEN. I thought I prayed a lot but I realized I wasn't being intentional. There may not be a right and wrong way to pray and I'm the first to point that out! It's just a conversation between you and God (or Jesus) say hello or some form of greeting and just start talking. But I do think there is a better way and a not as good way to pray. Be INTENTIONAL. Pray for specific things and specific people. When someone asks for prayer ask specifically what it is they want from God. When you say "oh I'm praying for you" MEAN IT. Go to God and pray for that person. Prayer can be in church, through song, written down, in the shower, on a drive, by yourself quiet, by yourself out loud, in a group lead by 1 person, in a group where everyone talks. Prayer is powerful and it's something we should do everyday. You talk to your mom or your significant other or your best friend or your sibling every day - you should talk to the guy that created you just as much if not more because He is the one that truly has all the answers and all the control.
~Be You
Rachel
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