5 Things I Am Learning About Prayer

A while ago I wrote a post on prayer. (you can find it here) Prayer is something that has weighed heavily on my mind for a while now. I think learning prayer will be a life long pursuit and a crucial part of this journey.

In my previous post on prayer I mention how hard it got to know what to pray for in the midst of trial. I think in a way I wanted to protect my relationship with God. I didn't want to ask that "things would align" and then be disappointed or mad at Him when they didn't. For a long time, I stopped praying about fertility in general. We would be in a state of decision making and I refused to ask for guidance, comfort, or anything. I didn't want to talk about it with God. It felt as though I had exhausted that prayer.


I remember during one of our treatments Tyler and I knelt down and he said something like, "bless that everything will look good at our appointment tomorrow." He said Amen and I just starred at him. How could he pray for something like that? He knew very well how the appointments had been going. I think I said something snarky and then we went to bed.

The more open we have been about our journey with infertility, the more we have felt love and support spilling in from all around us. It's hard to know what to offer when you see someone struggling. Most of our friends and family are of good faith and they know they can always offer a prayer. I truly am humbled by the amount of prayers that have reached the heavens in our behalf. I love the power that can come from prayer. However, recent hardships have resulted in several people offering prayers on our behalf and I can't help but think, "I hope they are praying for the right things."

5 Things I am learning about prayer:

1. Prayer is not a wishlist. We cannot expect God to relieve us of our trial just because we asked. Our trials have a much bigger purpose to serve. We don't need prayers that our struggles will disappear. We need prayers for strength. Prayers for faith. We need prayers for courage, understanding and guidance.

2. Prayer can require a proper warm-up. Just as our bodies require a warm-up before exercise, our souls may require a gentle ease into prayer. This can help us regain focus and quite the chaos that has surrounded us throughout the day. I have found that listening to music, sitting in silence, or taking deep breaths have been effective "warm-ups" that have aloud me to get the most out of my experience.

3. The most powerful part of prayer can be listening. It's funny how often we kneel, plead our case, beg for guidance, say "amen", stand up, and walk away. How do we expect to receive answers if we are not still enough to feel them? I once heard a quote, "when you do things in half the speed, you gain twice as much." We must slow down, hold still, and listen.

4. A written prayer can be incredibly insightful. Often times when I am struggle to find the right words to say, I write them down. I keep a journal of prayers and those words have become very special to me. - Just today in writing this I re read those prayers and saw just how many have been answered.

5. It's helpful to pray alone. There is something wonderful about having some "alone time" with God. I think it helps us realize that we truly are loved individually. I have often found I am more likely to lose focus when the TV is on in the room next to me. It is not always easy to sneak away to be alone but I have made an effort to take advantage of the times I do have to myself. It has made a world of a difference in how I talk to God.

A wise man once said, "The greatest purpose and challenge in life is to learn to know the Savior." The Lord wants us to rely on Him. He wants us to draw close to Him and depend on Him. But more then anything, He wants us to know Him. It is through prayer that we can get there.