Prayer

This week, more than ever, I have realized the power of prayer. 1 Thessalonians 5:17 simply says, "Pray continually." And James 5:16 says, "The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective." Luke 18:1, "Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up."  I think that we, as humans, give up on God really easily. We think that if He doesn't act within the first 24 hours of us asking for help, that He has forgotten about us. This is not so. There is a reason why David is called a man after God's own heart. There is a reason why Paul could be content with what he had. They always went to God in prayer and worship.

I won't go into detail, but I got so caught up in a problem this week that I eventually broke down, crying, because I saw no way of fixing it. And, if you know me, I don't cry often. It just shows how much that I had dived, head first, into a problem full of sharp edges and spiders, without praying and asking God to go before me.
 
Prayer is powerful. As it says in James 5:16. It is so easy to push God aside and try to jump over that barrier wall keeping us from where you want to go, simply because it seems like God is just standing next to it, leaning on a giant sledgehammer. The key is to not give up. Keep asking. Thank Him for all He has given you already. Spend a few days only listening to worship music. Learn to acknowledge His splendor and wonder. 

I believe that God sometimes tests our faith. Not for His own amusement, but to show us something new that we can achieve by acknowledging His presence. Then, when He feels like we are ready, He helps us. I certainly feel like my relationship with God has been strengthened throughout this week. 

What I was forgetting, is that Jesus tells us time and time again that He will get us through the rough patches of life. He goes before us. I don't know about you, but I'm comforted my that.

A word that has been popping up in my mind about Jesus this week is "breakthrough". Jesus is the ultimate bulldozer in our lives. He can breakthrough those problems so that they're only dust and rubble- unable to build itself up again. He can trample the fears that hinder us from reaching our goals. He is our breakthrough.