Last night I was speaking with Sheri Hawley, pastor of Garden Grove Assembly in WInter Haven, Florida (rubbing elbows and dropping names). Pastor Sheri quoted the verse “Be still and know that I am God” Psalm 46:10. I immediately personalized the verse and replied, “God usually says to me, “shut up and know that I am God”. Now we don’t believe that God speaks to us using words like “shut up”, but we also know that sometimes we deserve it!
Perhaps we go into prayer with a formula. A few familiar ones are:
Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication
or maybe
Thanks, Regret, Intercession, Purpose
Many times, we do not deviate from our chosen formula. There is nothing, absolutely nothing, wrong with using a formula. However, no matter what formula we use, there is usually something missing. That missing piece is “LISTEN”. Prayer is a conversation with God. He is the Sovereign God of the universe and we are His daughters. He’s got something to say to each and every one of us. I don’t know about you, but I need to hear what He wants to say to me.
If I am praying because it is time to pray and this is how I do it, I am not praying. I am doing a soliloquy for God. If my formula for prayer is so set in stone that I don’t have room to hear His side of the conversation then I am missing out!
A few of you may be thinking, “I don’t need this! My prayer life is fine. God speaks to me everyday”. I thank God for you! Can you call me and hook a sister up with the “know how”? This is not written to criticize, but to encourage: listen for God to speak to you. If you don’t intentionally make room for Him to speak when you pray, He will weave His message into your life some other way. A word of knowledge from a stranger, a phrase in an article you read, a song on the radio at just the right time. He used several teachers to speak into my life during lectures. Trust me, that can be really uncomfortable!
I prefer for His still, sweet gentle Spirit to speak to my spirit during that special time of the day when it’s just me and Him.
I pray that each of you allows Him, if you don’t already, the time to speak loving, kind, wise, edifying words over you as often as possible! Love you, sisters!
Rev. Caryl Patterson, 1000 Sisters
P.S. if you enjoy this content, you should contact Caryl Patterson via facebook and join 1000 Sisters, a ministry that supports PF Women! Our 1000 Sisters enjoy bonus content and perks throughout the year!