Wednesday, March 02, 2011

Relentless 1.0




Relentless.   This word has been coming to my mind a lot the past few days.  The Learner’s Dictionary defines the word as: 1 : continuing without becoming weaker, less severe, etc 2 : remaining strict or determined 


My four pound Yorkie barking at the neighbor’s cat = Relentless
My baby girls watching toy commercials at Christmas time = Relentless
Telemarketers at dinner time = Relentless
Grey hairs popping up on my head = Relentless
My prayer life =                  

Oh, how I desire for the above blank to read "Relentless". 

My first experience with prayer was when I was about 8 years old.  My parents were diligent to take me to church every Sunday and teach me the basics of the Christian life. It was during this time I confessed The Lord as my personal Savior.  

My family had a precious friend (my dad’s best friend)that I called “uncle”.  Uncle Curtis spent every Sunday afternoon with our family, every holiday and family event that happened--he was there.  When he was not at our house, he would call to check on us.  He was single and he considered us his family.  We considered him part of our family too.   

As a child I didn’t truly understand the full meaning of the word "cancer" but that is the word my parents used when they explained to me why Uncle Curtis had been admitted to the hospital.  All I knew was it sounded scary. He was in pain and very sick. That made my child's heart sad.  I wanted to fix-it but something told me I couldn’t.  Deep inside I knew there was One that could help Uncle Curtis and I knew I needed to get “ in-touch” with Him and talk to Him about Uncle Curtis.  One night, I remember laying in bed and I decided to "pray".  I had heard about prayer at church.  Now it was my time to cry out in prayer as best as an 8 year old could. My prayer was as simple as it could get: “Dear God, please help Uncle Curtis feel better and if he can’t feel better please let Him come live with You”.   The next morning I awoke to our phone ringing and the next few minutes that followed hurt my heart deeply.  I could hear my mom crying as she told my dad the news.  Uncle Curtis had died early that morning.  My mind quickly recalled my prayer the night before.  I knew at that very moment that I had gotten “in-touch” with my God.  I had prayed and He had heard me.  That was just the beginning of my understanding about the power of prayer.

I have prayed countless prayers since that night when I was 8.  Prayers about everything.  Yes, everything.  Prayers for sick people, well people, sick animals, prayers for bills that needed to be paid, prayers for guidance, prayers for souls, prayers for peace.  I have even prayed for food to multiply (that will be the next blog post).  There have been many times when I didn’t know what to say or how to pray so I just cried out for help.  And He always heard me.  He has always answered.  He always will.

Prayer is a very important part of my life. Is my prayer life relentless?  I'm not sure I'd say "yes".  However, I do want to continue without becoming weaker and I want to be determined as the definition states. I need to improve.  I believe we all have room for improvement in this area of our lives.  

I like what Pastor Jim Cymbala shares in his book, Breakthrough Prayer:
"Because we are God's children...we can bring our needs to him with certainty in prayer.... Prayer is not some kind of heavenly lottery. Nor does the Bible counsel us to pray with an 'I hope this will work'...attitude. Instead...prayer brings us before the throne of grace as children seeking the help of their heavenly Father. That's the heart of breakthrough, successful prayer--the bold confidence that we are talking to the Father who delights to supply our needs. "   
I plan to write more about being "Relentless" in prayer.   I hope to share some of the things that I have seen The Lord do through answered prayers in my life and the lives of others as a means of encouraging you in your prayer life.   I will also share some of the resources that I have helped me in my prayer life over the years (books, prayer journals, prayer wall, etc).  I am not an expert in this area and I don't have it all figured out, however, my heart's desire is to share with openly and I pray that something I say (or have done) will encourage you to pray relentlessly too!   
Also, I'd love to hear from you too.  Please feel free to share your personal testimonies to the power of prayer and the faithfulness of The Lord in your life. 

May we be relentless together in prayer.  



"Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus" (1 Thessalonian 5:16-18). 


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Today, I am linking up with Courtney at Women Living Well


2 comments:

Lizzie said...

Indeed that is a prayer of mine as well. Thanks for the reminder.

Wendy said...

This really touched me today Becky....I want to be relentless too!! Thank you so much for sharing!

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