Does prayer make a difference? Is it possible or even practical to “pray without ceasing” in such a busy, noisy world? Prayer is more organic than most people think. Raw honesty with God, combined with a surrendered heart, invites Him into our real-life situations. When I remind God that I’m available to pray for His world, I find I become more alert to what’s happening beyond my own walls. Maybe I read about a terrorist attack in India or the persecution of believers in China. An Internet article about human suffering in the Sudan catches my eye, so I pray briefly. I remain alert to further mention of the need, and find I’m reminded to pray—quietly, simply, again and again.
If you ask God to “break your heart for the things that break His,” I feel sure you will see your prayer life take flight. That’s the subject of my book, Sometimes He Whispers, Sometimes He Roars: Learning to Hear the Voice of God. It’s the story of how my day-to-day living took on new vibrancy as watchful prayer made me more attuned to the human suffering along my path.
I would strike up a conversation with a young mother in the grocery store only to find she was a victim of domestic violence. Once, while on a layover in the Phoenix airport, I sat next to a nervous young soldier named Jesse who was headed for Alaska, and then on to Afghanistan. I promised him I’d pray for him. Now “Soldier Jesse” has a spot on my Chubby Book prayer list. Was I seeing the world through new eyes?
Along the course of my journey, I saw amazing answers to prayer both in my own little world and God’s larger world. My prayer journey took me to places within my own community I never knew existed. I eventually ended up in the offices of two African Presidents for whom I had prayed. Is your prayer life a “so what?” or a “SO THAT!” I pray “so that” I will be available to do God’s will. Dare to pray this dangerous prayer: “Break my heart, God, for what breaks Yours,” and watch what happens. You might discover that you become the answer to someone else’s prayer!
