As I spent time in prayer today, I felt blessed with a fresh wave of energy. Two things especially invigorated my spirit: thanking God for what He is already doing and asking Him to give those I prayed for a fresh touch of inspiration.
I imagined the various reactions of those I prayed for as God’s Spirit touched them with a jolt of encouragement and awareness of His presence. Just thinking about it made me smile. Instead of solely praying for their situations to change, I prayed that God would meet them in their circumstances and provide a fresh sense of His presence. His presence makes all the difference! Even when circumstances remain unchanged.
For a friend who has distanced himself from his faith in Christ, I thanked God for the work He is doing to retrieve him. Rather than just praying for the healing of my sick friends, I prayed the Lord would bless them with a fresh awareness of His presence and love. For a young man troubled about his marriage, I thanked the Lord for deepening his desire to connect with Him personally and to align his marriage with God’s design.
In essence, I prayed for God’s presence to be evident to them in their current situations and thanked Him for all He is doing in their lives—both seen and unseen. This shift in focus changed the tone of my prayers. It gave me hope and reduced feelings of exasperation over circumstances that, despite repeated prayers, seemed unchanging.
God is always present and always faithfully at work in His people. My prayer focus simply presumed upon that truth, and it made a major difference in my heart and attitude today.
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