My constant prayer is that the Lord would make me a woman of prayer. If there is nothing else I can do to serve others and further the Great Commission, I can certainly be a prayer warrior around my home! I can saturate my home in prayer while I clean the dishes, make a meal, or changing a diaper. I can send forth prayers on behalf of our nation and the souls of the lost while running an errand.
As John Piper says, “A woman on her knees sways more in this nation than a thousand three piece suited Wall Street folks.”
I can be a faithful prayer warrior on behalf of my husband and children as my first and primary mission field. I can bless and do good to my husband (Proverbs 31:12a) by diligently laboring in prayer on his behalf. Satan desires to destroy husband, his character and his leadership in our relationship. Satan desires to steal away the hearts of our children(1 Peter 5:8-9), thus even greater motivation to be on the front lines, alert, equipped with the Word of God, praying His truth over our households.
Do you care to join me in becoming women of prayer?
Here are a few powerful prayer resources:
The Power of a Praying® Wife by Stormie Omartian – read my book review here. One of the most valuable resources for loving supporting and blessing my husband that I own!
31 Days of Praying for Your Husband – a free document compiled by Nancy Leigh DeMoss. Use the verses included to pray for him every day of the month.
31 Biblical Virtues to Pray for Your Children – a free document using Scripture to pray for your children every day of the month.
The Power of a Praying® Parent by Stormie Omartian
Pray for the Nation in the Midst of Tumultuous Times – another free prayer resource with Scripture to guide you in praying on behalf of our nation.
Further prayer tools and ideas from my home to yours can be found here: The Treasure of Prayer.
Any further prayer resources that you would like to add to the list?
About Lindsay
Lindsay Edmonds
is first a
lover of Jesus
, wife, mother of four, homemaker, and writer. She loves inspiring women around the world toward simple, natural, and intentional living for the glory of God.
www.passionatehomemaking.com
“We must begin to believe that God, in the mystery of prayer, has entrusted us with a force that can move the Heavenly world, and can bring its power down to earth.”
—Andrew Murray
In prayer, the power of heaven comes to earth. The impossible becomes possible. The need is provided. The Presence of God experienced. Prayer is not a list or a formality, it is, at the core, an engagement with God. The story of my life could be told through the prayers that rocked my world— how my needs, desires, and longings brought me face to face with my Rock and Redeemer—Jesus Christ.
In the opening scene, I’m a young twenty-something woman—empty, hurting, and spiraling out of control. One night, while sitting in a bar, I tossed my first real prayer towards heaven: “God, if you’re real, help.”
“Help.” Not much of a prayer, but it proved a powerful one.
That prayer changed the trajectory of my life. Soon a friend invited me to her church where I truly heard the Gospel. I heard that I was created by God and for a relationship with Him, and I would never find love, fill my emptiness, or experience real life apart from Jesus. The grace of God intersected my mess, He heard my prayer and set me free.
The next scene is of that same young woman, new to her faith, yet struggling to live it out in the midst of a strong pull back to the world and sin. Sitting in my car one night, I broke down in tears. I couldn’t’ do it.
This time, my prayer wasn’t a single phrase, but an audible cry: “God, I can’t live this Christian life unless you change my heart. Give me a heart to love you more than anything else in this world.” I connected the dots…If I loved God, then I would live for God.
Friends, it is hard to put into words the supernatural transformation that occurred as a result of that prayer. Heaven invaded my heart. My desires changed. I began to hate the things that I was formerly enslaved to. I hungered to know God more.
I literally experienced butterflies for Jesus.
God answered my prayer in powerful ways. He gave me a deep love for His word. I began to read it like my life depended on it, and in reality, I think it did. As I read the Word, my prayers began to take on more boldness. Faith fuels our prayers and as I discovered more about God in the Bible, I was emboldened to believe Him more for my life and others.
As I grew in my relationship with God, prayer became more than just a morning quiet time. Prayer was my life-line to a real God who supplied my needs, moved mountains, provided wisdom, and brought His Comfort in times of need.
Another huge answer to prayer was for the healing of my heart from painful wounds. Friends, I was a mess before Jesus. Thankfully, God longs to heal us. My inner healing occurred on my knees—in His presence—as I cried out to the Lord. There are thousands of prayers that went into that season, but the bottom line is this: I was not healed by medicine or therapy, I was healed by the Presence of Jesus. (Yes, He can and does use both meds and therapy.) But it was Jesus, the Great Physician, who touched my soul and transformed a little girl who thought she was unwanted, usable, and useless into a woman who, today, knows she is beloved, pure and called. I am a new creation and living in freedom and wholeness because of prayer.
I will never forget the prayers that birthed this ministry. Sensing early on in my walk with Jesus that my life was not my own anymore, I laid down my life to the call with one simple prayer, “Wherever you lead, I’ll go.”
There is no formula, there is just surrender.
I see myself, in my early thirties, walking the streets of Oxford, England. I was there as a seminary student when the Holy Spirit gripped my heart for women who don’t know Jesus. One of my professors quoted D.L. Moody who said, “The world has yet to see what God can do with one life fully committed to him.” That line ripped thru my soul like hot lava. I wanted to be that girl! So walking through the cobblestone alleys of Oxford, I talked to Jesus about this burning in my soul, I said, “Send me. Use me. All of me, for all of You.”
That simple prayer —“send me”—birthed Redeemed Girl Ministries.
The next two years of my life would be the most intense, God-shaping season I’ve ever experienced. The Lord guided me to start Redeemed Girl. Step by step, He led me. First, calling me to write my story in a book called Sex and the City Uncovered, and then working miracle after miracle to get this unknown-nobody published. From there He miraculously opened doors on college campuses across the nation for me to share the Gospel.
Prayer is my oxygen. I’m desperate for Jesus. I didn’t know what I was doing (and still don’t) and desperately needed the Lord to lead. Prayer opened every door, provided every opportunity, imparted wisdom, and empowers everything we do at RGM.
This last testimony is one I’ve shared often with single women. The Lord faithfully answered my years of praying for a husband in a way that still blows me away today.
I’ll be honest, at times my prayers for marriage were full-on-ugly-cries as I wavered in unbelief asking, “God, why not me?” But most days, in my quiet-time, I recorded the same simple requests in my journal.
I prayed for a man who loved Jesus more than anything else in this world.
I prayed for a man who would be a ministry partner.
And selfishly, a man who would be taller than me.
(Yep, God can handle our non-spiritual requests.)
Finally, I always prayed, “Don’t give me what I want, give me your best!”
Let’s be real—this request was not answered overnight. Few are. Years passed and I would waver in faith, until one day I sensed God calling me to step up my game. He wanted me to start a prayer group for women to intercede for our future husbands. This sounded crazy to me, but I’m so glad I obeyed. I emailed some friends and we met on the first Monday of the month.
Something shifted in my prayers during this season. Instead of showing up with my list to tell God what to do, I began to listen to the Holy Spirit, asking Him to show me how to pray. As I allowed the Spirit to lead our prayer times, I experienced more confidence that I was praying God’s will. About a year later, I met Justin, Looking back, I know the Lord was showing me how to pray for him and preparing my heart to meet him.
Friends, these are just a few examples of how prayer has transformed my life. But here’s the honest truth. I still feel like a rookie. I feel like I’ve only scratched the surface of what God has for us. That being said, I want to take this opportunity to share my top 7 truths on Becoming a Woman of Prayer.
1. Prayer is best when it is raw, messy, and honest. I think the more real we are with God, the better. He loves for us to bring our true selves before Him. Don’t worry about having the right words, or reciting specific phrases, prayer is simply talking to Him
2. We have not because we ask not. (Matthew 7:7) The Bible tells us to be persistent and to keep asking. As I look back on specific prayers over the years, I know that God wanted me to ASK, so that I could SEE Him as the PROVIDER.
3. God’s delays are not God’s denials. Often we stop praying when we don’t see an answer, when in reality, this is the time that we should keep praying. Just because we are in a waiting season doesn’t mean God said “no.” As I reflect back on my years of singleness, I know the Lord allowed that season for my good. His delay in answering my prayers was for a purpose that I could not see at the time.
4. Prayer + The Word go hand in hand. If you want to become a woman of prayer, then here is my challenge: Become a woman of the Word! The Bible fuels a prayer life. It shows us how God worked in the past and reminds us how He can work today. Don’t limit God through unbelief. The same God who parted the Red Sea, brought down the walls of Jericho, and raised Jesus from the dead is the One who hears You. When you are immersed in God’s Word, then your prayers will come from a deep well of faith.
5. Keep a prayer journal. I have stacks of prayer journals in my office from the past 15 years of walking with Jesus. These journals help me tangibly see how God answered my prayers. Sometimes I will flip back through journals from 1999, 2004, 2009 and stand in awe of what Jesus has done. He is faithful!
6. When we can’t understand His hand, we trust His heart. I have friends struggling through some very difficult days. One friend in particular whose prayer for physical healing has yet to be answered. I’ve watched as her deep love for Jesus has grown more and more through this journey. Cancer is an ugly, nasty disease. And though it ravages her body, it has not changed her faith. We live in a broken world. Yes, God answers prayer, but sometimes His answers arrive in packages we don’t expect. Our hope is in Him, not in a particular outcome. He is good. The key to faith is trusting His heart, even when we don’t understand His hand.
7. God’s Best is Worth Praying For! Prayer is a force that brings the power of heaven to earth. I want to encourage any woman reading this to pray bold prayers. If you have a desire or vision, pray it into existence! If you have a longing, take it to the King of Kings. I honestly believe that we partner with God through our prayers to bring about the will of God in our lives. From ministry to marriage, I’ve seen this truth played out in my life time and time again. God’s best is worth praying for!
“Beware in your prayers, above everything else, of limiting God, not only by unbelief,
but by fancying that you know what He can do.Expect unexpected things above all that we ask or think.” —Andrew Murray
We’d love to hear from you. Our “Becoming Series” is a conversation where we can learn from each other. Please take a moment to comment below. Share your greatest answers to prayer or any wisdom that you have on this subject. RGM will choose one comment to receive our new “God’s Best” Print(pictured above). Winner will be announced Tuesday, March 8th!
Love ya’ll,
Marian
God’s Best | Art Print (Hand-lettering & Design by Andrea Howey)
redeemedgirl.org
We are all prayer warriors. I’ll be the first to confess that this is not easy for me. Making time to commit to pray shouldn’t be difficult, but it always seems to be. But, what does prayer even look like? If you were asked, or if you asked me or any woman of Christ, I believe we would all say that we pray every day in passing. The last time you were running late and couldn’t find your keys? That little, instinctive prayer for help was lifted up. Without diminishing the importance of that constant connection and communication with our Father, let us not forget the importance of committed prayer and intercession that is so powerful.
It’s perhaps too easy to think of intercession as an elite spiritual calling, but I believe we are all called to intercede. 1 Timothy 2:1 tells us: “First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people.” To intercede is to make an appeal to the Lord on behalf of another. The Holy Spirit is constantly interceding in prayer for us, and we are called to do the same for others. I fail at this daily. I keep a note on my counter to remind me to be in daily intercession, and I still don’t do it. There is a spiritual battle being waged in and around us every moment of every day. There is an enemy who tries to distract us; convince us we are too tired, it is too difficult, or that we are simply not needed. Why would God listen to my prayers? What difference can my prayer make? But prayer isn’t of our power. It’s not a difference we make. It’s an appeal to our Father to move on behalf of a person, or a people. He has the authority to make all the difference.
This past week, as I was with exchange students from another country, many of whom had never heard the gospel before, my heart was heavy with a spiritual longing. I believe the Holy Spirit was urging me to prayer. When it comes to making disciples of all nations, each of us has our own unique spiritual gifts that come into play. But I firmly believe that all of us, before action, are called to prayer. Prayer inspires God to work. Prayer invites Him to flex His muscles for us. This past week, as the gospel was shared, I could see and feel the Holy Spirit stirring in many hearts. I did nothing but pray for those sharing and those hearing, and watched God work.
Prayer, intercession, supplication: these are not for the so-called spiritual elite (if there even is such a thing!). These are for everyone, everyday. As women of Christ, we are called to pray first, then move to action as He directs. But how often do we want to skip prayer and jump into action? The pride in us tells us to just take control of a situation, and do something! The doubt in us tells us that prayer is nothing, and doesn’t make a difference. But faith says God will move when we pray.
Sisters in Christ, let us exercise our faith first in prayer and intercession, watch God work, and move to action only as He tells us. I believe in action, but I believe first in prayer. For God can do far more than any of us ever can.
“16 Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.” – James 5:16
adorningtheheart.com
TITLE: Becoming a Woman of Prayer Buy Now
Prayer Is Our Response to God’s Invitation.
So often we think of prayer as something we do to break through to God—to get His attention and to get Him to listen to us. But intimacy with God is His idea. He has taken the initiative, and prayer is His gift to us. It is an opportunity for us to respond to His invitation to intimacy by calling, crying, and singing to Him. Prayer is our response to the One who has called out to us and desires to be in a relationship with us.
In Becoming a Woman of Prayer, Cynthia Heald will encourage you to respond to God’s invitation to deeper intimacy with Him.
Product Details
Published: March 7, 2017
Binding: Softcover
Trim Size: 5.5 x 8.25 in.
ISBN: 978-1-57683-830-3
www.navigators.org
