Prayer Life

Beth Moore tweeted something this morning that really got me thinking:

"Some things just flat-out aren't going to happen if we don't get our tails up and pray with faith, courage, passion, and confidence.  As the saying goes, we can't keep doing the same thing the same way and expect something different. Let's press in to a new level of prayer."

I literally reread this tweet over and over and over again.  She might as well just have put @awilliams0720 in the beginning and spoke these words straight to me because I NEEDED to hear this!  For some reason I guess it's never occurred to me that praying for the same thing in the same way over and over again, but expecting different results could be a "problem area" in my prayer life.  Then, the question came to mind "What is my prayer life even like?"

Let me completely pen and transparent here:  I pray, I believe in prayer, but do I have a prayer "life"?  What does a prayer LIFE look like?  Sadly, when I begin to actually dwell on it and ponder my prayer "life" I just see the occasional "bless this food" and "Lord help me to..." kind of prayers.  So if this is my prayer LIFE, why would I EVER expect for things to be different in my life?  

On the flip side, I did get a glimpse of what a true prayer life if like about 3 months.  Brant had applied for a new job.  One that would have moved our family to a different state, and one that he desperately wanted.  He got pretty far into the interview process and it really looked as if we could be moving.  From the day of his first interview and for the next month, I felt like we both immersed ourselves (morning, noon and night) into prayer for the Lord's will to happen - not our's.  It seemed that when our whole future was up in the air, a peace that passes all understanding still prevailed.  I remember telling Brant one day that I was feeling a peace and presence in my life that I simply could not understand.  It was incredible.  

And now, I look back on that few months and wonder what happened?  And sadly, I know what happened. 

I stopped.

I stopped immersing my life in prayer. I stopped seeking His will and praying for His will.  I went back to "my" normal.  

But I don't want my normal anymore.  I want my normal to be a life that seeks His way everyday; a life that runs after Him; a life that moves only toward Him.  

So today is the beginning of a new adventure - one that uses Him as my guide and uses His lamp to light my path.  I want to pray with courage, and passion, and confidence that He will do great things.  He is the author and perfecter of my life, so I will cover every inch of my life and prayer and seek the Holy Spirit who lives within me.  This is what I want!  This is a prayer life!  This is what I will start TODAY!