A New Way to Pray and Why It May Transform You and Your Family

The way I pray has changed lately.  And for the better.  It’s a small change really; a small change that feels big. At least it feels big to me.

Most of my Christian life I’ve prayed about what I want God to do for me or for someone I love.  You know the drill; Lord, please give me wisdom about such and such.  Lord, please heal so-and-so.  Lord, help this happen or that happen.  Of course I’ve always thanked God for what He’s done and even praised God for who He is.  But still, most of my prayers have focused on asking God to do something for me or someone else.

Not that this is wrong.  It absolutely isn’t.  It’s just incomplete.

These days my prayer life has centered around asking God to do three things instead of one:

1.  God, this is what I want you to do for me….

2.  God, this is what I want you to do in me…

3.  God, this is what I want you to do through me…

I’ve loved this small tweak in my prayer life.  I’ve found it’s made me more conscious of the kind of person I want to be and the kind of influence I desire to have.

I’ve been praying for my husband and my kids this way, too.

As it turns out, the things I’ve been praying for Ashton came to fruition late last night.  Yesterday I prayed…

God, please protect Ashton and keep her safe in every way –body, soul and spirit.

God, please help Ashton be wise in her actions and kind to others. (She specifically asked that her dad and I pray for kindness a few weeks ago 🙂).

God, please help Ashton be a light in the darkness at her university.

My cell phone rang at 11:45 pm.  Which means it was 1:45 am for Ashton.  I picked up the phone and her words spilled out almost faster than I could take them in.  She’d just returned home from the hospital where she’d taken a very drunk, unresponsive sorority sister; one she barely even knows. At first she hadn’t been sure what to do. She’d never seen someone completely unresponsive.  After consulting with the dorm RA, the police were called.  The paramedics arrived. Ashton’s statement was taken.

This weekend every fraternity on campus hosted parties with live bands.  One stage collapsed, injuring dozens and several students were admitted to the hospital for alcohol poisoning.

It’s college in America. Need I say more?

“It was like being stuck in the middle of hell” she said. “I couldn’t wait to call you.  My friends kept asking ‘why do you want to call your parents?’”

“I just want to talk to my mom” she told them.

I could have cried.

And so, as the clock struck midnight for me and 2 am for her, we talked.  And I whispered my prayer of thanks to God.

Thank you for protecting her body, soul and spirit.

Thank you for giving her the wisdom and kindness to help an acquaintance in need.

Thank you for helping her be a light in a very dark world.

My small prayers yesterday had big answers.  God worked

For her

In her

Through her

 

 

 

 

 

 

Maybe you and your family need to be prayed over this way, too. Or maybe you have a great prayer idea that’s helped you and your family.  I’d love to hear about it—just leave a comment below.

May God do something for you, in you and through you. Amen.

Donna speaks to thousands of women all over the United States.  You can check out when she’ll be in your area by clicking here.  To invite Donna to speak for your event click here.