What is Prayer?

Prayer is impacting earthly things with heavenly action! In 1 John 5:14, the scriptures tell us: “And this is the boldness we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, he hears us.”

There are many battles we face in our lifetime but one thing is true of them all, no matter how strong we are we cannot win a war alone. These past couple years I have learned this lesson the hard way and yet looking back it hasn’t felt as hard because so many people are praying for me.

When I was first diagnosed with stage four breast cancer I was so ill and just physically spent that I literally put my head down on my kitchen table and just whispered I am done, I have no strength to fight, I just can’t. I was so physically impacted by the cancer, particularly in my lungs and back, and also by very high blood sugar as I found out diabetes was raging in my body too, that I was completely exhausted and had no strength for the battle that lay ahead. God in His amazing love spoke to my heart and said “your job is to rest and I will take care of everything that pertains to you.” I was so undone and weary I couldn’t even cry.

It was then that He began mobilizing any army of prayer warriors who faithfully wage war on my behalf. Fifteen months into this war I can tell you without any shadow of doubt I would not be here without these beautiful valiant brothers and sisters covering and lifting me up in prayer. They have literally been a lifeline.

As I have gained strength and been able to press in more to Jesus personally I have tried to pay forward this consistent valiant prayer for others. I have seen first hand how prayer moves mountains and brings heaven into the earth. I have also seen how much freedom comes from praying first rather than as a last resort. So often we say “all I can do is pray.” Or we wish there was something more we could do besides pray. However the truth is that when we do anything before we pray we are offering our best efforts, strength and words, which don’t add up to much,  but when we pray we are offering His best instead! There is an amazing dynamic of lifting situations up to Him and trusting in His faithfulness and love to move, especially when we struggle to understand the situation. Here is the beautiful reality we don’t need to understand or figure things out we simply need to pray and give it the One who is all knowing!

How else can we take all the turmoil, chaos and pain the enemy tries to bring our way and find a way through it without praying. I have recently been reading in Job and found myself relating to him in a new way. The enemy asked to take everything from Job, just like he tried to use cancer to take everything from me. My former “normal” life will never come back however because of all God has done in this journey I have so much more than before.

I see so many people fighting this battle, and others, that allow the battle to determine their days. It is heart breaking to see the waves of a storm swamping people’s heart and soul. It’s because of prayer that I have found my way to stand on His truth and to say that God determines my days not cancer. It is because of prayer that I was able to find strength in His love and joy. It is because of prayer that I can boldly speak Jesus to so many. I have a freedom that I didn’t have before. I no longer care what man thinks of me. I have no hesitation about sharing Jesus even in circumstances where he doesn’t seem welcome. What’s the worst that can happen? Can’t be any worse than facing death by cancer and God is raising me up in victory over that so of course I am gonna speak His truth!

Whatever it is that hinders you when it comes to prayer I encourage you to step back and reset your eyes on Jesus and remind yourself of the amazing power and authority that He had on earth and that He gave to you. Once you do, stand back and be amazed at how He can bring heaven into the earth!