To all of my ‘Ladies Who Love Christ’, I am so excited to be back here writing & I sure have missed you! What a wild few weeks, huh? Despite all that is happening around us, in the midst of such craziness we can be certain of WHO holds our future & this is something I have been so very grateful for lately. He is such a good Father and even when we can’t see that full picture, we can trust our Father who does.

I have been doing so much thinking about prayer lately and what an integral piece it is in the life of a believer. It is such a special component in our walk with Jesus and He is continuing to make my heart sensitive to our need for this ‘daily prayer’ in our lives.

What is prayer? First, let me tell you what it is NOT but we often make it about this. Prayer is not about getting what we want. So many times we use it as a quick means to ‘ask ask ask’ with little heart behind it other than what we desire in that moment. Do not get me wrong, it is ok to seek The Lord for the desires of our heart but not before we make HIM our utmost priority.

Scripture tells us in Psalm 37:4 to “Take delight in The Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart”. Notice it says ‘Take delight in The Lord’. The heart behind our prayers should be more about seeking The Lord, His will and wanting more than anything else to know HIM. The aim of our life and walk with The Lord should be to truly delight in Him and to immerse ourselves in His presence.

Prayer is deep communication with our Father & such a powerful way to do this. Prayer is such an encouraging component (and an often missed one) in the life of a believer. It is valuable one to one time where we can come before our Creator for direction, wisdom, guidance and encouragement. A place where we can lay our burdens down and where the pleas of our heart are heard and fully known.

When we can come to The Lord and be open about our struggles, our fears, our concerns, our desires and our need for Him, this Ladies, is life changing prayer! It is not about changing God’s mind but rather more about changing our heart. My prayer has become more about purifying my heart than anything else. I pray for my desires to be lined up to that our Father. If He doesn’t want it for me, I do not want it and that is a BOLD prayer to pray!

When we lay down our desires, our hopes, our wishes and we let go of what we ‘expect’ our life to turn out like and we boldly PRAY for The Lord to fulfill every ounce of His will for our lives this is when we can cultivate a deeper faith walk with Jesus. This all hinges on prayer.

Today I want to provide you with a little ‘guide’ to help strengthen your walk with The Lord & more specifically your prayer life. I am by no means an expert but I am a girl who loves The Lord with every cell in my body and I am challenging you to do these things. It is not about performance, please do not misunderstand but it is a structure that you can follow to make sure you’re prioritizing your prayer life.

I am certain you will be amazed at how Jesus just meets you in your special place and how He strengthens you in perfect measure. He will filter your hopes, dreams and desires through His sovereign hand as He draws your nearer into an intimate sweet relationship with Him.

1. Stop and Pray: I have had to learn to immediately write down my prayer requests and those I want to lift up in my special time, lest I forget all together. When someone asks for prayer and you want to lift them up, stop and pray. At the very least, stop and write it down so you can lift it up. Keep a journal or post-its nearby so that when you say you will pray, you pray. As with anything, this habit has to be cultivated.
2. Create Space in Your Life: With all of the love in the world I would like to challenge you here…. stop prioritizing all of the things that do not offer eternal value in your life and start giving Jesus TIME. How many times do we crowd Him out when He is there and ready to hear our petitions and hearts cry? Look for those pockets of time where you can get away with Him and pray. Powerful prayer needs your focus, your time and your attention. In a world that begs for our attention everywhere else, we must make this a priority to create a routine in our life that involves audacious prayer.
3. Get Creative: Prayer looks different to everyone. For me, I like to pray in the privacy of my office and I also pray ALL DAY! There isn’t a particular spot that I “have” to be to pray. However, sometimes my worship is prayer and singing and just immersing in His presence on the floor in my office. I am constantly talking to Jesus. Isn’t it an amazing thought that THE King of the Universe, our Creator & HOLY Father is always ready to hear from you? I am a visual person! I love to write and when I can SEE things in front of me, I am much more apt to follow through. I created a prayer board where I drew a line down the center of a dry erase board. On one side I have PRAYERS and on the other PRAISES. I use post it notes to write out my prayers and when The Lord answers, I move it to praises. This makes me SEE how many prayers He has answered. It is a visual to His goodness in my life. I also journal prayers. Find what works for you and get creative.

I would like to provide you with some scriptures to really reflect and meditate on in your devotional time. I want you to open The Word here and really start to understand the power of prayer in your life. Pray for The Lord to touch your heart and give you His wisdom as you seek to make your prayer life a priority. He is a good Father. He is sovereign and HOLY and so worthy of our praises and most of all, our heartfelt prayers.

Pray about it girl, and just watch what He does in your life and heart.

REFLECTION SCRIPTURES: (I am not writing these out as I would like you to cultivate the habit of opening The Word and digging in. You will be amazed at how you grow as you study and strengthen your prayer life with Jesus).

• Romans 12:12
• Colossians 4:2
• Philippians 4:6-7
• Jeremiah 29:12
• Psalm 145:18
• Matthew 6:7
• Hebrews 4:16
• 1 John 5:15
• Romans 8:26
• Psalm 5:3

Blessings,

Ashley Poptodorova