I Feel Like I Do A Lot of Blog Posts About Prayer...

However, that is not exactly a reflection of my prayer life!

Last night after FCA, a group of us got together to pray about a Spring Break trip to San Diego where we will be sharing the gospel with the students of San Diego State University. Some of us are still considering the trip, some have definitely committed. But it was such a great opportunity for the whole team, or rather part of the team, to come together and get on the same page with each other! The verse I studied yesterday morning was Philippians 2:1-2 which says,
    "Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, ² then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind."


This was an opportunity for us to share in the the Spirit together, to be like-minded in our goals for this trip, to be of one mind and labor together through prayer towards furthering the kingdom of God on campus at San Diego State University. Anyways, meetings like this usually go as follows: someone will step into the leadership position, sort of make a general statement about why we are there, what we all want to be praying for, etc. Then we break up into small groups of about 2-3 people and pray out loud for the things previously stated and whatever else our hearts may be burdened for concerning the circumstances. As I listened to my own prayers and then to the prayers of the two freshmen girls on either side of me I realized something: we don't always come into prayer with a pure heart intent to be with God in this way, intent on sharing with God what's going on in our lives and what our goals for whatever the circumstance is. I feel like this is a continuation of what the Lord revealed to me last year when I wrote my blog post "So Here's the Story". But we especially don't always come into prayer with a pure heart when it involves praying out loud in a situation where others will be listening. Last year this was a huge pride struggle for me! I felt my prayers needed to be deep and meaningful and that pauses or stutters in my prayers were a huge no no and resulting in my own mortification when this did happen. Because of this my prayers were always rushed and hurried by my feelings of needing to fill in the silence. But, when we come in to prayer with a pure heart, not prideful, and we simply say whatever is on our hearts at the time, whether that may result in a long prayer or a simple short prayer, our time in solace can be sweet and revealing. I truly believe that listening to the prayers of others when they come before the Lord with a humble heart reveals so much about their relationship with Him: what God has burdened them for, what they are struggling with or are fearful of struggling with, their goals, their desires, etc. And I noticed that the longer someone has been walking with God, the more intimate their prayers become, resulting in, at least for me, a much sweeter time spent with Him. Observing someone's prayers is almost as if you are peering into someone's soul, because you catch a glimpse of what their whole life is about, generally and specifically.