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Have you ever thought of prayer that way, as a drive thru order?

I don’t imagine you have but I bet as I describe this type of transaction you might relate with it. I know that I have fallen into this trap and many women I work with have as well; where you kneel down to pray and you just start listing off all the things.

It's as if you are putting in an order.

You know when you are at a drive-thru window, you don’t usually wait for a response right? You just recite what you need and sometimes the person on the other end will recite back what you ordered and then you pull up to the next window to receive exactly what you ordered.

Can you relate with that type of transaction in prayer as well?

Not only do you get done reciting your order, but then we stand up going on our day hoping and expecting that what we put in as our order comes out the way we listed it that day.

Prayer is so much more than placing an order at God’s drive thru window and expecting to receive exactly what we ordered.

Think about it at most drive thru interactions, there isn’t much of a relationship built. It's about the transaction and that’s it!

You mostly focused on getting what you want and the giver focused on getting you out of there quickly. I don’t imagine God is interested in hurrying us along in our prayers.

God is interested in hearing from us, talking with us and helping us.

I am not saying that you can’t ask for what you want or need in prayer, but what I am saying is HOW do we ask for those things. Is it with the intent of putting in our order and expecting to get exactly what we ordered? Then we are truly not building a relationship.

Prayer is not about influencing God to change but to bring us in alignment with God.  I am going to talk a lot more about aligning our will with God in two more weeks so stay tuned for that episode.

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Misconceptions About Prayer

But I also think there are a lot of misconceptions about prayer that keep us from the true purpose of prayer which I will talk about in just a minute

But first let’s dive into some of those other misconceptions about prayer that often turn the prayer into a transaction.

The second misconception about prayer is that you can’t pray for things that you can do on your own.

Like there are rules around what you can ask for help with and what you can’t . God is interested in being a part of your life and helping you in any way possible. Prayer is not about reaching out when we are stuck or backed into a corner and have no other options.

Think about it, you could do a lot of things on your own but you ask for help because it makes things easier. You could do all the housework that you are able to do and never let your family help unless it was something you absolutely couldn’t do alone, but how would that feel in the relationship Would you start resenting the relationship if they were clearly able and available to help?

Think about how you feel when others help you with things you can do on your own. You feel grateful and closer to that person!

God wants to help you in your day, you just need to ask

Which kind of leads into the next misconconception of prayer

If I pray for something I can do on my own then I’m taking God’s power from someone else that needs it more.

Ok, who says God had a limit of power? Is there only a certain amount of power that God has to offer the world and we can only take our fair share? Where in the scriptures does it talk about there being a cap on what God can provide us? I can’t recall anything.

Prayer as a Relationship

You know what prayer is really for? To build a relationship with God.

Prayer is one of the most powerful ways a person can develop a closer relationship with God. Prayer is a connection between us and God.

The Bible Dictionary says,

"As soon as we learn the true relationship in which we stand toward God (namely, God is our Father, and we are His children), then at once prayer becomes natural and instinctive on our part. Many of the so-called difficulties about prayer arise from forgetting this relationship."

Now think about your relationship with your parents or your kids...how do you approach that relationship? Are you continually checking in to recite what you need and say your thank you’s? No you talk, you listen, you rely on each other, you learn about each other

Prayer is a way for us to do all of those things

A prayer does not need to be a formal thing

There is no perfect way to pray

The guide to the scriptures says that,

"A person’s thoughts may also be a prayer if they are directed to God. A song of the righteous may be a prayer to God"

We can include God all throughout our day through prayer in different ways.

Elder Bednar said,

“I promise that the blessings of effective preparation and spiritual protection will flow into your life as you are watchful unto prayer vigilantly and continually.”

Ok who doesn’t want to know that they are effectively preparing and have spiritual protection? I know I do!

Watchful Unto Prayer

So what do we need to do, be watchful unto prayer? What does watchful mean?

To be alert, vigilant, wide awake

Are you that in your prayers?

One way that I have been able to keep my prayers from being a drive-thru order and more alert and vigilant is to record my prayers.

To write down what I want to talk to God about before I pray so that I can focus on the conversation instead of the list that I am reciting. Also that leaves me open to listening as well. Actually I created a whole Journal for my prayers

It’s called the Meaningful Prayer Journal

This journal also helps you:

✔️ Feel Christ’s enabling power

✔️ See the hand of God daily

✔️ Prioritize your day through the Spirit.

You can order yours today by clicking here

Alright now I hope you came out of this episode with a different perspective on prayer that will help you have a closer relationship with God.

Now remember We don't receive the miracles we order we receive the miracles we need.