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Prayer (A Man's Perspective)

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Prayer is one of the greatest gifts God has given us in Christ. Through prayer we claim the promises of God given to us in His word for His glory. Prayer is also one of the primary means of communion with God. When we pray, we literally come before the throne of the Creator of the Universe in order to fellowship with and worship Him. We, sinful humans, made righteous through Christ, can come before the majestic God of the universe. That’s enough to make you shout (as my dad would say), but there’s more: He actually WANTS us to ask Him for things. He loves to and rejoices in giving good gifts to His children. Prayer is a beautiful thing.
When you begin praying with someone, it’s like going on a journey with them. You pray, wait, and rejoice at the way God answers prayer. You get to see the different ways God acts on your behalf and you can look back at all the times He has answered. These are just a few moments in Asia and I's journey of praying together. I pray they encourage you.

I can’t remember when we started praying together, I just know we did. It became a nightly thing. Normally, if it’s at night right before we get off the phone, I pray. We’ve prayed for different things, for wisdom, patience, purity, and also to intercede for others.

One of the most beneficial uses of prayer has been in moments of disagreement or when one of us feels hurt. In those moments, the immediate response (of the flesh) is to lash out in anger or frustration. But the Spirit always reminds me that we must glorify God and honor each other, even in our disagreements. Another thing that happens in those moments is that I feel inadequate to do what needs to be done. If I’ve hurt Asia in some way, I know I can’t heal her. If we’re disagreeing about a decision or the way something went down, I need wisdom to articulate my thoughts and feelings clearly, while simultaneously being tender and patient with Asia. I can’t do these things on my own, so I call to my Father for help. When we pray together in moments like these, God has continually given us wisdom and the strength to honor Him in these rough moments. When we pray, it subdues our flesh and clears our minds a bit, allowing us to think clearly and speak lovingly to one another.
A particular instance that stands out happened earlier this year (I think). Asia and I had gotten so busy that our time for communication was shrinking and we were feeling a bit disconnected from each other emotionally. This wasn’t the first time this took place, so there was a growing frustration that began to come to a head. I distinctly remember feeling like I had dropped the ball in a massive way and knew I needed to come up with a plan of action for us to get over this hurdle, but I could not come up with an idea. I tried, I tried, and tried again to no avail. Then a thought occurred to me: I hadn’t prayed yet. It felt like someone splashed cold water on my face, waking me up from a deep sleep. No wonder I couldn’t come up with anything! No wonder we kept getting in this situation! I hadn’t prayed/been praying. So I asked Asia if we could pray together and we did. I specifically remember praying James 1:3-5 where God promises to give wisdom to those who ask. About 2 minutes later, an idea came from nowhere,” I could just call her at X time.” I had never thought of it before. She hadn’t suggested it. I am 100% confident that idea was from the Holy Spirit, answering our plea for Him to help us through this struggle. And the idea worked! Praise God!
Another time I remember Asia and I praying together was for a friend of hers. We prayed for her almost every night for a few weeks (I think), asking God to draw her into deeper intimacy with Him, to do whatever it took to get her attention and show her His glory. Sometime later, Asia’s friend ended up having a serious health issue that resulted in weeks in a hospital and months in therapy. Her testimony during that time: I’ve been closer to God more recently than I’ve ever been. Praise God! I’m not saying we caused her health issue to take place, but I am saying that we prayed for God to draw her and that’s what He did.
These are just a couple of our stories, but I hope they encourage you to begin praying together. God acts for His children when they ask Him to, in His unique way. He promises to do so. He wants to show His glory in your relationship, displaying His goodness and faithfulness so you can delight in Him. Don’t leave Him hanging!

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