Ahh! The ‘prayer-poor life’. 😭 Let me just go ahead and say this up front. IT IS NOT YOUR PORTION! You are created and have been saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, for way more than for you to be unable to live a “Prayer-rich life”.
The reason you get so stressed about prayer (and spending time with God in Worship or meditating on His Word etc) is because you think that you have to pray because, well, you are a Christian, and that’s what Christians do. But... the day you understand what prayer really is, is the day that you will yield to God’s invitation to pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17)
So in this week’s B.O.O.M Tips, I’ll take you on a journey to explore what prayer really is, why the Lord invites you to have a “prayer-rich life” and why, darling, you cannot afford to continue dwelling in “prayer-poverty” 😭, 😉
#coachtoyinsboomtip2
Okkk so first things first; the day you understand what prayer really is, is the day that the thought of praying will no longer stress you out. Instead, you’ll be running, heart in hands, towards the Lord, accepting His invitation to “pray without ceasing” 🏃♀, 🙏🏽, 💝
I have spent most of my Christian life feeling like stuff like prayer, spending time in worship or the Word of God is more of a chore and a bore than anything. But as I grow in the Lord, I realise more and more that I was created and saved to have my spirit live fully engaged with the Most High God in an intimate, intentional and consistent way. When the Bible speaks about “Walking in the Spirit” (Galatians 5:25) this is what it means: for me to be fully, intimately and consistently engaged in and with God, yet fully present and active here on earth, and PRAYER, my dear friend, is one of the most powerful ways to achieve this. 🔥 🙏🏽
Prayer is not ceremonial. It is intimate, intentional and consistent engagement with the Lord. 🔥 🙏🏽 It is one of the ways that your spirit gets quickened to experience, engage and fall in step with God; God, who is your home, your new natural habitat when you decide to follow Jesus.
On Friday, I’ll share some more practical thoughts about what prayer actually looks like in real life, and you will begin to understand how it is possible to PRAY WITHOUT CEASING.
#coachtoyinsboomtip3
So practically, what does prayer look like?
You can use words, glances, full on gazes at the Lord, songs, poems, letters, silence, listening … more listening … more listening … responding, all of the above, and more. Intimate, intentional, unceasing engagement.💞
And yes, prayer can be what most of us are familiar with, where you lock yourself in your room, get on your knees, clasp your eyes shut and talk to God, then listen to Him. But because this same God who you are praying to has given you assignments in this earth, things to do, etc, at some point you have to get up off your knees and begin to live and “do”, right? 🤔 But should that end your prayer life? NO! Because just like lovers have frequent moments of heightened and focused intimacy interspersed with continuous conscious and sub-conscious ‘each other-mindedness’, with prayer you can and should have frequent moments of heightened, intimate, intentional and focused engagement with the Lord, interspersed with continuous conscious and sub-conscious ‘God-mindedness’.
This past week (ending yesterday actually) I ran 5-Day Prayer Challenge with the ladies in my Life Circle www.thenarrowgateway.com/lifecircle and this prayer challenge is basically made up of practical tools the Lord gave us that we can use to help us grow a lifestyle of being “prayer-rich” or praying without ceasing. On Sunday’s #boomtip time slot, I’ll share with you one or two of the very practical tools we use to grow the lifestyle of praying without ceasing.
#coachtoyinsboomtip4
Hi! So, the Lord gave me a few tools that I have used to help me to become increasingly prayer rich. One of those tools which I will share with you today is this:
SET PRAYER TRIGGERS
Identify at least 5 everyday habits or practices that you do frequently in a day and then attach to them a new meaning: a trigger/reminder to you to begin to pray.
So for instance, a few years ago, I began to squat whenever I brush my teeth. I had watched a series where the star used to squat while brushing and I was like, this is a great idea! And I started doing it! And I still do it, almost 5 years later! So, for you, your habitual practice could be when you step into the shower, or every time you glance at your watch, or every time you pick your phone and click that Instagram app, or every time you get up and walk to the kitchen (for lovers of food like me, that would be a great one! Hahaha). So create a list of habits, and then attach to that habit, a reminder to yourself to open your heart (and your mouth, if this is possible depending on where you are) and pray.
Will you try it? If you can pray in tongues, please do so most of the time. It’s a potent gift from God to you – you are praying mysteries that God knows and that align with His mind for you. Also, don’t worry if you are doing this in an office full of people; you can pray under your breath. But get into the habit of praying until you get distracted, and the moment you realise that you have been distracted, reset your focus on the Lord, and start again.
I am trusting God that this week’s #boomtips have inspired you all to grow into a lifestyle of praying without ceasing. Being “prayer-rich” is not about ticking boxes to be able to tell everyone that you pray one million hours a day 🙄 It is about a mind and heart set towards God, where you grow into setting your mind on Him consistently, engaging Him intimately in heightened moments of intense and singular focus, interspersed with consistent, intentional, intimate God-mindedness and engagement.
Coach Toyin, Founder of The Narrow Gateway
As always, I end this by saying, I am Coach Toyin, fully convicted by my own words and very much still under construction in the hands of the Father.