… and go for REALITY instead! For years we’ve gone about repeating bible verses over and over, in the hope that saying them all the time, meant we would become them. Has anybody out there noticed that that idea doesn’t work? Even sincerity can be dodgy, we need to activate our faith by living it! There’s nothing wrong with knowing, and prayerfully linking bible verses to our circumstances, but we need to remind ourselves that we are not ordering something from a catalogue – we are conversing with Almighty God, the God of all the Ages, the High and Holy One! Let’s ask the Holy Spirit to help us. HE knows how to pray!!

In every kind of trouble, it’s not all about what I need, it’s about what He wants. Under pressure, we are more than capable of praying those catalogue-type repetitive prayers, given the right circumstances. However, the best kind of prayer is this: “what do You want right here, right now, Father God?” Then we need to stop and listen for His whisper. Love Himself is knocking on our door, just let Him in, because He will not desert us. 

The day before yesterday, hail stones the size of tennis balls were hitting the side of our house and a medium sized waterfall began to merrily cascade down from our bedroom ceiling onto our bed and the floor. It was scary, a-n-d … I forgot my own advice! Eventually, because the Lord is always gracious, when I stopped praying prayers AT Him, and talked TO Him, He whispered to me: “It’s all OK, just wait, you’ll see, it will be OK.”  I’ve learnt that He does not always answer us immediately. That’s because He’s the King and we are not. Every time I went back into anxiety, I handed the situation over to Him again… and went off to sleep. 

Then at 1.00am this morning we had to physically move out of our bedroom, because the waterfall started up again with a vengeance, so I focussed on what He had said to me, and I started to do a lot better… This is how faith grows, it gets stretched by something bigger than we are!

In the middle of the first storm, our neighbour was on her way to pick up her child from school, and she too encountered very large hailstones and a bit of someone else’s roof- while she was driving her car!  She’s OK praise God. But, even though I didn’t know it, I was praying for her at the time.

Actually, I didn’t have a scripture settle in my heart until after the hailstones stopped crashing into our house! Then I suddenly remembered: “…before you call I will answer you…” Isaiah 65:24. I kept on asking Him to help us, and the Holy Spirit totally helped me find my peace in the middle of this physical and emotional storm. Until I get another scripture, I will simply hold onto what He said, as we wait to find out what happens to our roof today.  

Right now I want to talk about conversational prayer – the kind that isn’t formal, but it is based on relationship. It often seems so natural that you aren’t sure if you are doing it right! It means we don’t talk AT Him, we talk TO Him. Remember, He’s the best Dad ever!  Our Heavenly Father is always watching, always listening to every single cry and prayer. That means He isn’t like earthly Dads, preoccupied by other things. 

He lovingly pays attention to each and every single one of us. Right now the Holy Spirit is roaming all over the earth … 2 Chronicles 16:9a – “For the eyes of the Lord move to and fro throughout the earth so that He may support those whose heart is completely His…”  It is good to remember that the Holy Spirit is our support team and He hovers over each and every one of our hearts. He has such a deep love for human beings – whether they know-Jesus-yet-or-not.The very essence of leaning on Him means, without His stability we will probably fall over!

Matthew 21:22 says: “If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.” Here’s another slant on that —  I believe He is good. This means I can receive His totally focussed personal attention at any time. I can always talk to Him. Remember, He doesn’t hold grudges – Jesus already paid for our access! Just talk to your Father about what is happening, and ask Him to help you deal with it.  Ask for His wisdom, and comfort. Whether you have been formally introduced to the Lord or not. He knows you. 

When we look at Jesus’ life on earth we can see that He did not demand this or that from the people He prayed for, He simply prayed for them. He saw their need and met it. We have complicated the Way our Heavenly Father works to the point that people think they must meet certain conditions to hear from Him. Back then, not one person who asked for help was turned away, they all received acceptance and love. At calvary, His compassion overflowed toward mankind. IT STILL DOES – it’s bigger than the waterfall in our bedroom!

Psalm 145:8: “The LORD is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love.” Psalm 103:8 – “The LORD is compassionate and merciful, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love.”  Matthew 14:14-21- “And when Jesus went out He saw a great multitude; and He was moved with compassion for them, and healed their sick.” Matthew 9:36 says- “But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd.” 

It isn’t about whatever is happening to us, it is about our faith in His goodness holding us up in spite of the situation. Our abstract concepts need to go into the bin. Now we are deliberately choosing to learn to live using our faith in His Kingdom reality. Bless you! 👋