WEEK 1 – The Purpose of Prayer.

When you type in the word ‘Pray’ on google search there are many pictures that pop up: a boy kneeling down with his hands gathered together and his head down, a person raising his both hands up in the air, some quotes concerning what prayer means, etc. Jennifer Dean, the author of our book ‘Live A Praying Life,’ starts her first week, asking her readers what we think about our prayer life.

A. God says, “What a great idea! I’ll take that under advisement. Maybe—just maybe—if He can bring Me enough documentation or can make a strong enough case, I’ll consider His idea.”

B. God says, “The majority of the requests on this matter are leaning in the other direction. I’ll have to deny your request. I have to go with the majority.”

C. God says, “Someone else got here first.”

D. God says, “You’ve let Me down so many times. What makes you think I would give you anything you asked for? You don’t deserve to have your prayers answered.”

E. None of the above.

Day 2 and 3 was days to prepare my heart to clearly know that God is unchangeable and only sovereign. Day 2 and 3 supported what I learned on Day 4, in which the fact that God searches for an intercessor. Both in Exodus 32 and Ezekiel 22, God searched for an intercessor, a person who understood God’s heart and shared His desire, even before He poured out his wrath upon the Israelites. “What God wants to do on the earth, He will do through intercessors” (27). I understood that prayer is needed because it is a sign that I am cooperating with His desires and plan, not the other way around.
“The purpose of prayer is to release the power of God to accomplish the purposes of God.

It was hard to understand what the author was saying. However, God broke it down and let me experience it myself through my praying heart. Then, His power slowly but clearly started to show through my prayer. My mind was already being nurtured to be an intercessor-minded throughout the week. Whenever I met old and new friends, God gave me the heart that wanted to ask Him to draw them to Jesus more and more. The only thing I thought about was this—to be used by God to lead my friends to Christ who will give real happiness to them. God cooperated with me and I cooperated back with Him through more prayer and desire to understand His desire, not mine.
I want to pray properly, not only praying kneeling down or taking 30 minute of my day to pray separately. Just like a school life, I had a prayer life, not a pray-ing life. But I want to connect my heart to God’s and download God’s heart to mine by humbly asking Him to plant His desire and his plan in me. I want to be the intercessor of God, who understands His heart and desire that longs to save my friends from darkness. In order to do this, I have to continue being diligent in putting basic foundation beneath prayer that is having personal time with Him, which is also a daily-walking with Jesus.

Meditation By Dream Kim