When and Where I Pray

[Aafroqween Sanctuary]

Prayer has become a refuge and when I say refuge I mean a secure place in time and space where i can go to and be with my God. I come into prayer with questions, concerns and issues; yet I leave with answers, assurances and plans. I enter the prayer place longing for that singular comfort and getting it. If you want to experience the supernatural in your life, I suggest you try this.

I turn everything off...television, cell phone, lights. I get on my knees...yeah! I said it! I get down on my knees and clasp my hands like my mama taught me when I was 5. I close my eyes and start talking. When I first began to pray I didn't think I was doing it right. But I was determined! I just needed to be in His presence and I promised myself I wouldn't give up until I made a connection. So I just talked to God, I even apologized in case I was messing up and asked Him to just bear with me. And the more I talked trying not to worry so much about right and wrong, the Holy Spirit stepped in and taught me to pray from my heart. I found out that God has always been waiting for me to talk to him; but I used to think I had to do or be something special to get His attention.

For a while I found myself talking to my God about my problems because I was in so much pain. I found myself able to freely express feelings I couldn't say to the person who had hurt me. I was able to say things I couldn't say to anyone else. And I felt like not only was I free to say them without judgement, but the words were going somewhere specific, not just into thin air to disappear. Somehow, God touched me in my spirit and let me know He was listening.

After a while of talking to God like this, sometimes crying, sobbing, wailing, sometimes just rambling, sometimes just saying "I don't know God." or "Please help me." over and over again; I began to experience a joy in the midst of prayer that gets me to smiling and even laughing, sometime sharing inside jokes with God. Now I have a definite peace the moment I get up off my knees.

When I pray, I just know everything is going to be alright. My circumstances might even take some time to change, but prayer changes my attitude right away. Prayer changes my mind. Prayer changes my filter and I see the world through adjusted eyes. My God gives me a certain type of clarity that surpasses the immediate moment and stretches out into a situation beyond where I can see.

I get convicted through prayer by the promise of God's word, the force of God's will and the power of the Holy Spirit. Through prayer I find the strength to be obedient and the courage to be faithful.

The more I pray the more I want to pray. I look forward to those times when I can put all other things aside and just be in the presence of The Father in a way that is intimate and sacred.

To be honest, I am still working on my obedience. There are times when I am called by my heart to pray, but my mind or my ego resists. I know I need to hear a word of truth and maybe I am too caught up in my own will to submit, so I might put praying off for a while. So I do often have to spend some time in prayer repenting for being so headstrong, amongst other things.

I am beginning to find that the most important and fulfilling prayers are the prayers of thanks and my prayers for blessings upon others. I decided that instead of always praying for God to do something for me or to solve a problem, that I would just spend the first parts of my prayers thanking him for all that he has already done for me. As an act of faith, I thank him for all that he is going to do for me. I am reassured by His word of all that he wants to bring to pass in my life and so I can pray in confidence for all that lies ahead of me. When I pray for blessings upon others, I may start out with an intention to pray for one or two people whose circumstances I know need attention and end up including people I hadn't planned on praying for. By the time I come up, I find 30-45 minutes or more have gone by. Time just flies. And I feel so very good. I don't need to call the people up to know if my prayer worked. I simply need to lay it at my Father's feet and know that His will will be done.

And I always pray for my husband and my children every day. I learned as an adult that my mother has been praying for me all of my life and I know that she has interceded on my behalf. I 'll never know how many times her prayers have covered me when I didn't have the sense or strength to do right, be right or live right; let alone ask God for help on my own. I pray in gratitude for the gifts that are my beautiful children and ask blessings over the circumstances of their lives, whether it is grades, each of their unique growing pains, or that they will come to know God for themselves and seek their own relationship with Him. In my marriage, one of the most important things I have learned to do is pray with and for my spouse to keep God at the head and in the center of this relationship that needs His grace and presence so much. When we can't see past our own issues, which is more often than I am comfortable admitting, it is only God who transforms our deepest conflicts like mistrust, miscommuncation, lack of respect, or misplaced priorities and brings us back into one accord as husband and wife. We are almost always the cause of our own problems, but without His help we are rarely the cure. It is with God's guidance that we are taught a better way and strengthened in our abilities to humble ourselves, repent to each other, and move forward with forgiveness and a renewed committment. This is a life long journey and prayer must be a life long companion in any marriage that survives, not to mention thrives. God's love for us is a healing energy that inspires us to love one another according to His will. When we do, we always find the love our hearts are longing for.

Prayer is one of the best uses of my time and energy. Far more effective than obsessing or trying to control.

I've taken to praying at the office, in the car, in the shower, on my laptop, wherever and whenever the call comes. I've learned that my God is always listening for my voice, and I am always listening for His. Sometimes, I just let God know I am listening and open my heart to "hear". Its a matter of being receptive, taking the time to be still and accepting what God has to give. Taking a few minutes in a quiet place has helped me through moments of interpersonal conflict on the job. Taking a few seconds of silent prayer in the midst of a heated conversation has given me authority over my tone and attitude to prevent me from saying the wrong thing in the wrong spirit.

Prayer is a supernatural phenomenon. No doubt about it. The mechanics of prayer defy common logic and widely accepted forumlas of "how things work." If we are looking for prayer to operate according to the expectations of our friends and family or on the timelines and outcomes set by popular culture we will miss the blessings of prayer. These words don't do the experience justice and I can only attempt to describe it as it comes for me. Your prayer experience will be unique to you and its unparalleled by any other.

I pray that you will find your secure place within time and space to go to and be with our Heavenly Father and receive the power of prayer into your life. Prayer is a sure fire way to strengthen our relationship with God. And He wants that from us more than anything.

In Love,
Fisiwe