Prayer Warriors

So y'all, last Sunday, I taught kids worship. I always LOVE doing this, but I'm gonna be honest. I was not made for public speaking. I can write about it all day long, but when I start speaking (even to well receiving children), I'm a hot mess. Moses and his speaking issues ain't got nothin' on this BB! And we won't even begin to touch the blonde BB's track record in this area. We are a pair, fo sho!

Well this time, the story was all about Peter (Acts 12:5-17). He had been put in prison because he was telling peeps about God. Long story, short... Herod was after all the people that were preaching about Jesus. Some had already been killed, and Peter was next. God's work for him was not done, and He sent an angel and broke him right on out of the big house. 

When Peter arrived at his friend's house, his Christian buds were praying so hard that they didn't even notice he was there just a knockin'. Y'all... that hit me like a ton of bricks! I want to be the kinda prayer warrior that doesn't even notice the prayer being answered or the text notification buzzing or the kiddo crying.  

Can you even imagine how we would change our world, if we let go of it all long enough to lay it all at the feet of Jesus... without being interrupted? I'm certain that our days would change. Our relationships would change. Our lives would change. Our world would change!

Ya know, Jesus spent so much time teaching us about prayer. He gave us many other commands...Love God, love you neighbor (Mark 12:30-31), make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:16-20), but he stopped and taught us how to pray (Matthew 6:9-13). He made sure we truly understood. With this lesson, there were no parables or confusing examples. He was crystal clear.

And I'll admit, I'm either so good or so bad at prayer. Sometimes I'm Johnny On The Spot prayer perfect. Other times, I'm a lazy dumb dumb. I'm usually ok with the whole "pray without ceasing" thing (1 Thessalonians 5:16). I sometimes pray all stinkin day. But the deep prayer that strengthens and changes our relationship with our Father, I'm a little lax in. Perhaps I need to let go of some things so I can draw closer to Him. Maybe I need to let go of some distractions. Maybe I just need to let go of excuses. What about you?

Now I'm gonna let you in on a little trick I do... I assign daily things I do as reminders to pray for peeps in my tribe or for my family or church. For instance...

Every time I use mascara, I pray for my friend Cheri that loves her some eye products.

Drinking coffee? Well that goes to Sasha.

Taking vitamins or protein shakes? Jenny.

Teasing my hair? Liz (And oh I love to tease it til it's MAD). 

Fixing my bangs? Heather.

Reading C.S. Lewis? My pastor.

Emergency siren? The person being attending to.

I have probably 30 of these! One for my dads and brothers and husband and kiddo and church leaders and tribe members. And I sometimes forget, but then God gently nudges me back on track. It keeps me praying for others. And keeps my focus better.

Maybe this will help even just one of you! Just think... if I commit to doing better with this and one of you commit to doing better with this, oh my WOW! That would be huge work for the Kingdom. I can't even imagine if all of the BB army committed to this!! We would be seeing miracles all around us and blessings overflowing! Amazing things would happen!

I am really going to add this to my #beintentional campaign. And I so hope you will join me. Think about what you can let go of this week to start being more intentional with prayer. Let's shake up the Kingdom this week, BBs! It's the least we can do for our sweet Father!

“Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 NIV