Challenges and changes in prayer have been a huge part of my life. It was difficult to learn how to really release myself from:

  • Expectations (that I imposed on myself or had allowed others)
  • Exhaustion
  • Apathy
  • Learned behavior
  • Lack of trust/belief and more

Choose Honesty
Choosing honesty, humanity, and the deep down truth over what sounded good or right has allowed me to find my way, to realize there is a way.

Although you could say honesty chose me more than I chose it. That is the blessing of the nature of challenge, it presses us to places of truth and clarity.
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Choose Passion
God asks us to love Him with all our heart and soul and then He uses the same language of Himself, “…I will plant them in this land in faithfulness, with all my heart and soul.” * We serve a passionate God who speaks through poetry like this:

“Set me as a seal upon your heart, as a seal upon your arm, for love is as strong as death, jealousy is fierce as the grave. It’s flashes are flashes of fire, the very flame of the Lord.”

-Song of Songs 8:6

He invites us to speak our hearts back to him, “good” sounding or not.
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Choose to Relax
When I go searching for The Place, the presence of God, I find I’ve been found. I am there. “…awaking in the house of God.”

Choose to Let Go 
Our prayer group this week is looking at Colossians 3:3: “For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.”

How? The death spoken of here is what Sabina Wurmbrand said must happen to every martyr before they ever die: they’ve already died. And they are the most alive people you’ll ever meet.

They’ve died to self and sin. It doesn’t mean they are what we often think of as “perfect”. Oh no, human is each of our design. It DOES mean they’ve chosen a new master, they are not owned by their own desires or mastered by sin’s every temptation.

What is the key to this? It’s not strength! It’s not perfection! It is humility.
DSC_2230Choose to be Human
When they miss the goal, they admit it, confess it, seek forgiveness and press on. When sin or selfish desires rise they “put it to death” by choosing the love of God, trusting that God’s ways are good and perfect and submitting their self to Him. Fail. Try again. Following where Mercy leads with an ardent heart.
Guilt has no place here. This is the home of peace.

This is the only explanation for how King David in all his struggle and failure with sin can be understood as a man “after God’s heart”.

When confronted with the realization of his sin—and let’s face it, we all live without realization at times—this was the key: humility, honesty. This isn’t an excuse, this is the freedom of the children of God. Too often we use, I use, this freedom to my hurt, but that can lead us back to His heart, if we are willing.
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The Way After God’s Heart
Honesty in prayer (and all of life!) isn’t just OK, it is THE way after God’s heart. This is the humility God desires.

What do you find to be your biggest challenge when it comes to praying? I’d have to write a whole extra post to tell you about mine! Actually, that’s why I wrote my book.

Let’s Seek God Together
If you haven’t already, join our free and private email list where once a week I send out a prayer for you to join in for our persecuted family. We praise and ponder the truth, goodness and beauty of God.Join here.

If you already have joined me, thank you! I am deeply honored to get to come alongside you in this way. I love this community.

Human with you,

Raynna

I am the co-founder of this ministry of prayer called The Martyrs’ Cross. Along with my husband Jay, the designer behind the cross.
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