Orar

Orar - to pray

So since my last post was about prayer, I thought I'd continue in that vein. This summer I began to really pray. Even before I left, I had begun to meet people who really prayed. I wanted a prayer life that wasn't just half-hearted or meaningless (not that mine were). I simply didn't feel like I knew enough. I am thinking of 4 people specifically who, in the last year, have taught me a lot about prayer. I have a feeling this post will end up looking like an acceptance speech of sorts, but I want to say thank you where thanks are due.

Sarah Mac. Friend, fellow high school ministry leader. Before I was even hired for this position, God placed me in relationship with this girl. Since I met her, her profound prayer life has been something that has inspired me. She knows so much about so many kinds of prayer. I knew I needed to align myself with this friend because she was going to play a big role in my prayer development. I wanted my prayer life to look more like hers. I know she was praying for me when I was gone. And now that I'm back, we pray together so often, covering our ministry and each other in prayer. I love that we challenge and inspire each other to do so.

Anabelli. One of our Costa Rican Contacts. This woman is full of the Spirit. When she prays, she speaks Scripture. She prays verses over people. A woman who knows her Bible that well and just speaks it over people. We joke that she has a direct line to God, but she does. She listens as she prays. She genuinely lifts people up and listens to what God has for them. And then she speaks it in boldness. It is incredible to witness God speaking through her in prayers. She is a passionate woman, unafraid to weep at the beauty or the brokenness she is feeling as she prays. She holds nothing back in prayer.

Jenny. One of my ATLs this summer. This girl is BOLD. She was always praying for miracles. And anything that happened, her first go-to was prayer. For three weeks, I had this woman as an example and inspiration in prayer. She is unafraid to pray for big things, knowing that even if they don't happen now, they can in the future. I learned to make prayer a first reaction rather than an afterthought. During one of our weeks, Jenny came to me, excited about the opportunity to pray for a boy who was severely sick and confined to his bed. He could neither speak nor move nor eat on his own. I want to say that we spent an hour praying over this boy. There were no noticeable changes in him, but it united us with his parents and pastor in purpose and heart. Prayer changes everything.

Shelby. PPM intern/ATL. She knows when she needs to get away. I'm reminded of the many times Jesus escaped to go have time alone to pray. That's Shelby. In our fourth week of ministry, we decided to teach the team about prayer. Shelby spoke on the authority we have in Jesus' name. So much so that nature might even obey. There was one moment a day or so after her lesson that we were having a church meeting, and the rain began to thunder on the tin roof over our heads, drowning out the testimony that was being shared. I began praying that God would hold back the rain, and when I glanced at Shelby, I knew she was doing the same. What excited me was that immediately after that, I sensed a significant change in the volume of the pounding. I found out later in the summer that she is also unafraid to pray for healing. Even multiple times for the same thing. Why do I give up?

Kristy. ATL. She was only in Costa Rica for one week. She had no idea why she needed to be there. And she has no idea of the impact she's made on so many lives, mine included. Kristy is another bold one. She is unashamed to ascribe things to spiritual warfare. She had an old knee injury flare up. She knew it was satan trying to take her attention away, so she asked us to pray for healing. We prayed several times, and each time she chose to BELIEVE she would be healed. Multiple times. Even when nothing changed. And when I came to her broken, she lifted me up and prayed truth over me, and then sent satan packing with his lies.


There are probably a lot of other instances/people I could talk about, but this are who come to mind. I have grown SO much in my prayer life over the last year. What excites me is that I will never be finished learning about how and why we pray or what prayer accomplishes or the many kinds of prayer. It's an exciting journey that I'm glad I don't walk alone.

Know that I'm praying for YOU.