I've started writing this post about five times, but haven't been able to finish. I wanted to get this right. I needed to write in such a way that would cause people to listen. That was just too much pressure for me until I was reminded that if God wants to use my writing He will, and whether or not He does is entirely up to Him. So, here I am to tell anyone who stumbles upon this about something I think is of infinite importance.
Prayer.
Don't you dare check out and stop reading here because you think you know everything there is to know about prayer and have it down pretty well. You don't. Probably none of us do. Before I launch into what I wish I could tell the whole world, I want to give you a truthful and unguarded description of my life just 12 months ago.
I was in the middle of my freshman year of college, and spiritually growing like a weed. Or at least I was about to. I had received some of the best Biblical teaching of my life last year at my church and at Cru's Winter Conference. (God blessed me immensely with an incredible Jesus-loving community here at OU that I can never say enough wonderful things about). So, after learning so much all semester and being fired up by the conference, I had a desire to be close to The Lord like I had never had before. All I wanted was to experience Him and see Him work like never before, but I didn't quite know how to get there. If you've spent a good portion of your life in the Church and around Christians like I have then you may know this too: sometimes your head knowledge gets in the way of an actual relationship with Christ. I felt like I knew so much. I can share the Gospel with a stranger, I can spend hours reading the Word, I love to worship, and I confess and repent of my sins. I believe I could have safely said "I love Jesus." 12 months ago and meant it fully, but I did not know God. Not compared to how I know Him now. When did the change happen? How did the change happen?
What do you think the purpose of prayer is? For me, the answer to this question was something I had to learn for myself. In January of 2013, OU had it's 24/7 prayer movement going on. Sounded pretty cool to me. After all, I was all fired up about my faith after Winter Conference. So, I got involved in the movement and signed up for a time to go and pray. I went to the little building that had been rented for the sole purpose of allowing students to gather and pray over campus all day everyday. I sat down on the floor by myself and began to pray. Let me just say that the Holy Spirit working in you is the most incredibly awesome experience you can have. My first hour in the prayer room I broke down crying. The second hour I could hear God speaking to me as I spoke to Him. The third hour I felt burdened for particular people and areas and prayed harder than ever. I think I stayed in the room that first night until about 2AM. I had tasted what a deeper communion with Jesus was like, and I was hooked. I still am.
Since then, prayer has become the most important part of my life. Not to say that I never prayed before my experience with the 24/7 movement, but that time absolutely changed my life. See, here's what I learned... The more you pray, the more essential it becomes. I found myself spending every moment of free time I could at the prayer room, but then I noticed prayer spilling over into every part of my life. It left the "things Natalie does just as part of her routine" category and became something I just found myself doing for the joy and communion that come with it. Prayer has become such a constant in my life, and I want you to know that if it feels surface level to you or useless or routine, you are missing out. Try again. As you spend more time talking to God, you spend more time listening to Him too, and you will begin to hear Him speaking like never before. You will be more in tune to the Holy Spirit prompting you to pray for specific things. I want everyone to experience this. Prayer causes closeness with the God who made you. Prayer causes conviction. Prayer causes things to happen.
If you live in Norman, I cannot tell you how excited it would make me to know that you want to join in on 24/7 prayer this February. My hope is that it will be just as life changing for you as it was for me and that your prayer life would explode! If you don't live here, I still challenge you to look at how you pray. If prayer hasn't become an essential and incredible part of your life, I encourage you to take time to be still and allow The Lord to work in you through prayer.
If you intend to make prayer a priority in your life, prepare to be changed.
"The prayer power has never been tried to its full capacity. If we want to see mighty wonders of divine power and grace wrought in the place of weakness, failure and disappointment, let us answer God's standing challenge, "Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things which thou knowest not!'" -J. Hudson Taylor
https://www.facebook.com/pages/247-OU-Prayer-Movement/1418042411762284
And if you want to sign up for a time slot, do that here. Or you can just show up: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/lv?key=0AgCtNdbmrfMQdEhUVVc3ZktlWGZtaDlOX195WjkwTkE
