90 min. a Day Prayer Challenge and the Lessons Learned

If you had asked me to rate my prayer life 6 months or even a year ago, I would have told you that on a scale of 1 to 10, I was about a 6.  Not too shabby, but still could use some improvement.  This passed weekend I attended a conference and heard a message that was about many things, but touched on the topic of prayer.  (I had recently started a prayer schedule/notebook as seen in my previous blog) I picked up the speaker's book and began to read it that very day.  Guess what the first chapter was about?! If you guessed prayer then you were right.  One of the statements in his book touched me very deeply.  He said that of all those he had seen who serve in ministry and had spent at least 90 min. a day in prayer, everyone of them saw growth in their spiritual life as well as in their ministry.  That hit me between the eyes because I want nothing more than to see the Children's Ministry where I serve to be blessed by God and to reach children.  So I made a challenge to myself and my ministry partners: For three days, we will pray for 90 minutes a day.  To help with all of the distractions we decided to eliminate social media for those 3 days. 

So what happened in those 3 days?  Well, to be honest it was hard.  That's right, you just heard a woman who is a Preacher's daughter and Preacher's wife say that 90 min. a day of prayer was hard.  To be still and quiet three times a day for 30 minutes was difficult for a driven, busy mom.  Once I set the stopwatch on my phone and couldn't believe it when I was done praying and yet clock only read 21 minutes. ;)   I stopped several times to take my 3 year old to the potty or to break up an argument between my 2 kids.  One day my phone even rang off the hook! lol  Satan did all he could to put road blocks between my fellowship with God.  Despite all the normal daily distractions, I kept on.  I kept hearing things ring in my heart.  "If I can spend 90 minutes on FB then why can't I spend 90 minutes with my Savior?" "Why do I strive so hard exhausting myself when if I would only pray about it, God would do the work?" "Why am I leaving my children to chance instead of covering their lives with prayer?"  All of these convicting thoughts wouldn't let me quit. 

I will tell you that I feel like I touched God in a new way and I believe it was really only the tip of the ice burg.  I saw God move in my life and in the lives of others like never before.  It almost took me by surprise when He revealed Himself through this.  One afternoon I was beginning my prayer time and Grace was home and playing and the thought struck me that I should invite her to join me.  Many times we as adults pray in the early morning and late at night and our children NEVER see us pray.  In fact, when I showed her my prayer notebook, she said she had no idea that was what that was.  I prayed as she listened.  Later that night she told Jeremy that she teared up hearing me pray because she knew I really loved her! Wow! That made me think, if we as parents are to be spiritual leaders in our home then we need to model the Christian life for them in a VERY practical way!  We are always told that if we want our children to have a love of reading that we should read to them every day.  In that same thought, if we want our children to love prayer then we need to let them hear us pray. 

I'm sorry this blog tonight has no Scripture attached (although there are many to choose from), but I just wanted to encourage you to PRAY PRAY PRAY! I will not promise you it is easy, I will not promise you that Satan will not try to distract you, but we must spend time with the One who died so we could live!  Every moment you spend in prayer is better than a moment NOT spent in prayer.  My 3 days is up, but I plan to continue, will you join me?