Change Your Story

Prayers that Change Your Story

BY KIRSTIN LEIGH

Prayer is the most powerful yet overlooked weapon we have. Praying makes us wise, courageous, tenacious, and unstoppable. It gives us confidence and energy, sharpens our discernment, protects us from discouragement, provides direction, helps us distinguish between busyness and fruitfulness, brings calm to our storms, and opens doors of opportunity like nothing else can.

So why don’t we do more of it? We want to. We plan to. We need to, but…

World-renowned theologian and evangelist John Wesley said that “It seems God is limited by our prayer life—that He can do nothing for humanity unless someone asks Him.”

If this is true, and I believe it is, then it makes sense that the enemy would do everything in his power to keep us from praying.

On this earth, we are in a battle with faith and fear. Good and evil. Our feelings want to call the shots. And let’s be honest, we don’t always feel like praying. We’re busy. We have to work. We get discouraged.

We need a game plan.

Most of us have heard that if we want a powerful prayer life, we need to set a time, find a quiet place, and be consistent. If you’ve done this, you know it’s a game changer. If you haven’t, why not do an experiment? Try it for 30 days and see what happens.

I’ve always prayed. However, as my story changed, my prayers changed. The more I grew in God, read His Word, sought His heart, and understood His ways, the deeper and stronger my prayer life became. For me, this didn’t come naturally. I had to develop discipline. I had to learn not to just go through my prayers but to sit with them. God speaks in the silence. There was a time when my prayers sounded like a grocery list. There was the “gratitude” aisle, the “desperately need” aisle, etc. As I was going through my prayer list one day, I felt God saying, I wanted to give you insight on that, but you moved on before you heard me.

I challenged myself to pray about one subject while listening to a song. At first, I would pray about “one thing” for about forty seconds, then start praying about something else. Every time I did, I would start the song over. After a while, the five-minute song would end, and I would be surprised it was over. I started choosing eight, ten, twenty-minute songs. God was moving!

PRAYER BRINGS US INTO THE GREATEST RELATIONSHIP WE WILL EVER HAVE.

I pray audacious prayers. I have seen some of them turn into realities. I have experienced healing, and I’ve seen it in others. When our prayers are answered, our faith rises to a new level.

There are other prayers that I’m still waiting for God to answer. If you know that what you are praying for is in alignment with God’s will, hold on to hope! Pray continually and without ceasing until you see the results. We serve a God of miracles. Believe for the impossible.

When you can’t pray, praise.

Even though I have disciplined myself to pray “regardless of how I feel,” there have been days when the words wouldn’t come. It was as if a heavy weight was keeping me from praying. This was the enemy. I refuse to let him win.

I turn on praise music. I sing. Other times, I put headphones on and let the praise music seep into my soul. I’ve felt the tears run down my face. I have fought to believe.

Sometimes it is a fight. But it is a fight that, with God, you can win. Praise is a weapon! Praise confuses the enemy and the forces of evil. When we praise God in spite of our circumstance, when we believe for the impossible, we are declaring that we know who God is! That we believe He can do what He says He can do. That He is alive within us and is fighting for us.

God is for you! He created you in His image. He wants you free from faulty mindsets, free from the childhood trauma you experienced, free from depression, anxiety, addictions, people-pleasing, perfectionism, and every other issue that has held you back.

It is through prayer that we find the strength to stand against depression, rejection, temptation, fear, and every other negative behavior and emotion. Praying helps us discover our purpose, it heals our hearts and renews our spirits, and yet it is so much more. Prayer brings us into the greatest relationship we will ever have. It connects us to our Maker, our Father, our Healer, our Redeemer, our Master, our Savior–a Friend like no other.

Prayer will change your story!

2 Chronicles 7:14 ESV says, If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.

When the disciples asked Jesus how to pray, He said, Pray then like this: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil (Matthew 6: 9-13 ESV).

Our prayers are meant to bring heaven to earth.

Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us. (Ephesians 3:20 ESV)

After running away from her dreams and battling addictions for over a decade, Kirstin Leigh is now an acclaimed author, speaker, wellness coach, and the founder of The Change Your Story Workshop, a 9-week program that offers a faith-based, holistic approach to breaking free from what’s breaking you, and discovering how purpose is the key to breakthrough. For more information or to enroll: www.thechangeyourstoryworkshop.com. To find out more about Kirstin, visit www.KirstinLeigh.com.