So far this year – we’ve covered “My Grace-Full-Life,” followed by “Peace-Full,” “Mercy-Full,” “Joy-Full,” “Faith-Full,” “Hope-Full,” “Truth-Full,” “Fruit-Full,” and “Mind-Full.”  After this issue, we’ll wrap up the year with “My Thank-Full Life” and “My Worship-Full Life.”  But before we get there, this month, it’s about “My Prayer-Full Life.”  

When I was a little girl, I loved bubbles. To be honest, if you were to hand me a bowl of soapy water and a pink plastic wand right now, my inner 5-year-old would squeal with delight. I love the iridescent sheen and the gentle way bubbles bounce and float. Besides getting that one incredibly huge and perfect bubble, as a little girl, I loved the ribbon of bubbles that would pour out of a generous wand!  The result felt like a million bubbles dancing around me!

But remember all those failed attempts to get the bubble to appear? The times when no matter how gently you blew, the soapy water wouldn’t cooperate? The result was just a sad spray of soapy water instead of a glorious bubble.  Yet, even when our best efforts didn’t yield results—we persisted. We continued to try until we got our perfect bubble.

We persist in many things in life, knowing that the best things come to those who don’t give up. But one area that we give up on too quickly is prayer. In 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, it says, “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”

To pray without ceasing is a tall order. But not an impossible one. It’s an opportunity to continue reaching out to our Father and then, watch the generous blessings and beauty of His answered prayers pour forth. The thing is—because His answers don’t always come out as we expect them to, we sometimes miss them.

That’s why praying without ceasing and being diligent to His will matters so much.
In 1 John 5:14, it says, “Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.” And in Galatians 6:9, it says, “And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.”

We don’t give up on prayer because, in God’s timing, He will answer us when we’ve prayed according to His will (four incredibly important words that we have to acknowledge and agree with for a successful prayer life!). Jesus told the parable of the persistent widow in Luke 18:1-8. Just as the judge acted on behalf of the widow who refused to give up, so can we count on our Heavenly Father to act on our behalf.

To clarify—this isn’t about any and all requests. God isn’t a genie to grant us our three wishes (or the wish for more wishes). He examines our hearts and our motives. But we can rest assured that if our prayers line up with His will and in accordance with Scripture, He hears us! His answers may not look as expected, but we can count on them to come through.

So keep praying. Don’t give up. Let God honor your patience and persistence and when He answers, be in awe of His great goodness and how when He answers, it’s always for our benefit and better than we could expect.

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Verse of the Month: Philippians 4:6

Song of the Month: “Battle Belongs,” by Phil Wickham

Recommended Reading: Warfare Praying, by Mark Bubeck; Dangerous Prayers, by Craig Groeschel; The Battle Plan for Prayer, by Stephen and Alex Kendrick; The Power of Praying Through the Bible, by Stormie Omartian; Praying Prodigals Home, by Quin Sherrer and Ruthanne Garlock; Handle with Prayer, by Charles Stanley; Praying Women: How to Pray When You Don’t Know What to Say, by Sheila Walsh