Tonight we were blessed with the opportunity to hear stories of how Jesus is present in our lives. We got to listen as fellow students stood up and talked about the prayers God has answered in their lives, the moments where he has showed up and changed lives, and share the ways he has provided abundantly. It was a huge encouragement to me and I am very thankful for everyone that had the courage to stand up and share. This excitement to share has provided me with the opportunity to share a post that I've wanted to put up here for a couple of weeks. Last year God kinda rocked my world and prayer meeting was a place he met me constantly, so this post is about how my life was changed and hopefully it will inspire you to share your stories!
Prayer is a weird thing. I mean, when you think about it, we are basically talking to ourselves - whether we're along or in a group, we are not talking to a physical person in the room. Some people call that crazy. But prayer is also a pretty amazing thing. We are blessed to have the opportunity to communicate with God. And he wants this! This just blows me away. We are so small and so insignificant compared to the majesty and glory of God. Yet he still desires to be in communication with each and every one of us.
Prayer is very different in each of our personal lives, but what I would like to focus on is prayer in groups. This has always been weird for me too. Mainly because I feel like I stumble over my words and sound like a fool. And I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one with this fear. So, last year when this prayer group started I was scared and hesitant to go. But, from experiences earlier in the year I had noticed that when I was nervous to do something, God always rewarded taking that risk and stepping out in a huge leap of faith. So I decided to take what seemed like a HUGE risk and go to prayer group.
What I'm going to say next is going to seem really cliche, but guys, I need you to understand how serious I am when I say that prayer group absolutely changed my life.
First change - I found out what prayer could look like. I discovered that prayer does not have to be some formal affair - that put simply, prayer is a conversation with God; a conversation with our father.
Next change - I saw people pray for each other and I saw the friendships and deep bonds that come out of that. So I found myself a prayer buddy and began to feel that deep connection to her and through that friendship I was growing closer to God.
More changes - Growing closer to God was transforming my life and I was finally broken down to a point where I could humble myself and confess something I was really struggling with. And this is where the huge transformation started happening. My prayer buddy and I started praying about it often. We prayed in the back of the room at large group, at prayer meetings, and then we met outside of that just to talk. I felt so supported, encouraged, loved and cared for. I can't even explain to you the peace that comes when you know someone is praying for you.
For real, people. Hear me when I say prayer changed my life. I have many more stories from last year and even a few from this year already. I want this year to be amazing for all of us and I truly believe prayer meeting will take this year to the next level. I am so excited for what potential prayer group holds this year. I hope to see you all there! Thursdays 8:30 in the I Club.
Sorry if this seemed long and I congratulate you on getting this far if you're still reading! But I think hearing stories of how God is working in our lives is really inspirational and encouraging. Please share your stories in the comments, even if you shared at large group. You can talk about the Proxe Station, Bible Studies, Fall Conference, Physics class, wherever God has shown up! It's fun to brag about Jesus working through your brokenness :)
