Prayer and Freedom

Our church has been holding a 24/7 prayer time. We started on Sunday at 12:00pm and we will continue through next Sunday at 12:00pm. There have been time slots to sign up for 1 hour at a time around the clock. It has been amazing to see the people who have embraced the idea. Especially those who have shown up in the wee hours of the night.


My youngest daughter was one of those that thought late night prayer would be fun. She is a part of a discipleship group of ninth grade girls. They all go to the same high school and most have been a part of the same church group since they were in elementary school. They have two adult leaders who are a true blessing. These women get the idea of pouring into the next generation. They are sold out on the truth that young people have a voice and an understanding of their faith. And they allow these girls to express it freely without judgement or "adult" expectations. It is a beautiful thing to watch as a parent.


So these teenage girls decided that they wanted to take the first midnight time slot last Sunday. Of course, if they were going to be up at that hour then they assumed it would only be right if they ended the night at the IHOP for breakfast. Sounded like the perfect plan to all of them. Except that none of them drive. And there were fourteen of them. But, every parent had their daughter at the church at midnight and every parent picked up their daughter at 3:00am at the IHOP. It was so worth the loss of sleep.


Those girls spent almost two hours in prayer together as a group and individually. They read scripture and drew pictures and played music and wrote prayers down. They prayed for their school and for their neighborhoods and for their generation. They prayed for other countries and for our leaders in this country. They prayed that God would reign in their own hearts as they made a difference in the world around them.


Prayer is such a gift. It is our opportunity to be in relationship with the God of the Universe. To actually talk things through with Him. To ask the questions. To argue our point. To cry out for help. To tell on the people who have hurt us. To fall on our face begging for forgiveness. To listen to that still small voice. To gain knowledge and wisdom and understanding to sustain us in this world. God invites us into relationship with Him through prayer.


Anyone can pray if they can talk and form a thought. There are no rules or special words or expectations. Just talk. Just ask. Just tell. Just communicate because He has given you access to Him. I have been learning a lot in the last year about prayer and listening. It has been a blessing to grow deeper and more effective in my prayer life. It has changed my perspective. It has changed my parenting. It has deepened my relationship with Jesus.


I think one of my biggest hang ups about prayer through the years was thinking I was going to do it wrong. As silly as that sounds, I would sit and start to pray and after a few minutes I would be done. I had been taught to repeat a prayer over and over as a child. We said the same prayer in church. We had a blessing that was repeated at meals. We had the nighttime prayer that I said before I went to sleep. I could do those because I knew the words. And those are all wonderful prayers modeled by Jesus himself but I needed to put my thoughts and feelings and hurts and fears into my own words. I finally started writing out my prayers. That led into more dialogue and then into more time in prayer and finally into actually listening for an answer. My prayer life has changed the life that I live everyday.


Since I have been writing so much about freedom this week, I asked the Lord what a tangible kind of freedom looked like in my everyday life. The answer came very quickly. The gift of prayer. We have the freedom because of Jesus to approach a Holy God boldly and with confidence that He will receive us and hear us and answer us. No rules. No restraints. No expectations. Just freedom to have a conversation with Someone who gets us. Who knows us. Who loves us unconditionally. Who has the answer. Who offers the healing. Who patiently waits for us.


Try it today. Just talk right now. In your head or out loud. Just tell Him what you are feeling. What you are thinking. What you are wondering. What you are mad about. What you are grateful for. What you are afraid of. Just tell Him. His throne room is open 24/7.

Now that we know what we have - Jesus, this great High Priest 

with ready access to God- let's not let it slip through our fingers. 

We don't have a priest who is out of touch with our reality 

He's been through weakness and testing, experienced it all - all but the sin. 

So let's walk right up to Him and get what He is so ready to give. 

Take the mercy, accept the help.  

Hebrews 4:14-18  The Message