Sometimes people find themselves entangled in a stronghold where sin has a tight hold on their lives. Could that be you? God has a promise for you, too. Pray specifically and God guarantees that He’ll hear it. Jeremiah 29:11, NLT For I know the plans I have for you,” says the LORD. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” – Matthew 11:28-30 We may also feel like God can’t handle our issues or concerns, and like we need to “clean this up” before going to Him. We might even feel like we need to come to Him in the “right way”. Some people start to think that they pray about something too much, or they forget to pray with praise first, and many other details. Valerie shares that she thinks God is so much more gracious than we realize, and those details can really paralyze us unnecessarily. Just pray. John Owen memorably said that “the prayers of the [weakest] saints may be useful to the greatest apostle.” We serve a God who hears the prayers of widows and orphans, who welcomes the hosannas of little children, and who uses them all to accomplish his great purposes.

Valerie highlights one of her blog posts called Why God Says No . She discusses reasons that we can examine with ourselves and with God, as well as reasons to accept because this is how God works. Valerie notes that it can be so hard to continue to pray confidently and consistently when we feel like God has said “no” to us. We can wonder, “if God didn’t hear this huge thing in the past, why should we pray to him now?” Dear Lord, I pray that you plant me firmly in your word and love. Sow my roots so deeply that I cannot be uprooted by the storms of life. Let me know that you are God and that you live in me. Help me love myself unconditionally so that I may be confident wherever I am. Teach me to love myself and to never doubt that I am your beautiful child. Amen. John 5:14, NIV This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. See also: Bible Verses about God’s will, Trusting God’s Plan In a group, the prayer of one person becomes the prayer of every person. When I lead in prayer, it is not my job to impress the other people. I don’t have to wow them with my eloquence or amaze them with my theology. I don’t have to prove my spiritual stamina with long prayers or my spiritual brokenness with short ones. It’s not about me.

C.H.A.T. with God

When we’re confident during prayer, we’ll have the faith to pray for God’s best to happen, not just for what we want to happen. So, our prayers won’t be constrained by our limited perspective. By praying confidently, we’ll find ourselves praying for God’s will to be done instead of trying to convince God to follow our own plans. Those pure motives, fueled by confidence that we can trust God to do what’s best for us, welcome God to intervene powerfully in our lives. I cannot tell you how excited I am for this book to be released! I truly believe God wants to do something amazing in our generation, but we’re simply not coming to Him about it. We’re going to programs and hobbies and friends and our phones when He’s shouting through His Word, I AM THE WAY! Come to me! I will tell you why!” I respond. “It’s because you are fasting to please yourselves. Even while you fast, you keep oppressing your workers. What good is fasting when you keep on fighting and quarreling? This kind of fasting will never get you anywhere with me. You humble yourselves by going through the motions of penance, bowing your heads like reeds bending in the wind. You dress in burlap and cover yourselves with ashes. Is this what you call fasting? Do you really think this will please the Lord?”

We have fasted before you!’ they say. ‘Why aren’t you impressed? We have been very hard on ourselves, and you don’t even notice it!’ Father, thank You for inviting me to come boldly and confidently to You in prayer. I’m so thankful I don’t need to feel embarrassed or sheepish when I come to You with vital needs in my life. As I stand on the promises of Your Word, I will lift my voice in humility and confidence, believing that You hear me and knowing that if I ask anything according to Your will, I will receive it. And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he hears us: Her mother prayed for her a lot as she was growing up, because Valerie was frequently anxious and worried. Very early on, she remembers learning that God cared about everything. Her mother established that God wanted to hear from her. As Valerie has gone through different seasons, she has learned to stay faithful during hard times. She has continued to pray and draw near to God.PNW Ep: 69 How to make prayer a lifestylePrayer by EM BoundsWalking with God through Pain and Suffering by Tim KellerWant a journal designed to help you focus in prayer? In 2012, researchers at the University of Nebraska-Omaha asked 815 college students to identify their three greatest fears. Far more than they feared heights, flying, deep water, and even death, the students feared “speaking before a group.” Acts 4:24 tells us that the early church at prayer “raised their voice to God with one accord” (NKJV). From the initial “Heavenly Father” to the concluding “in Jesus’s name, amen” a public prayer is the united supplication of everyone. Why We Should

Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray.Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise.” James 5:13 NIV And we have an assured confidence that whenever we ask anything in accordance with His will, He listens to us. In Pray Confidently and Consistently , Valerie shares how each of these conditions call for different responses. We do not have to let those things keep us from knowing God and from using prayer as a way to communicate with God. We can have hope in drawing near to God in these situations as well. [34:17] Making prayer a consistent habitMissionaries are just regular people, tooWhy we don't pray more for global evangelismHow can we start praying for missions and the worldThe importance are praying for church plantersNicole's biggest obstacles in prayerWhy prayer is our biggest frontline defenseThings mentioned in today’s episode: Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. For I said in my haste, I am cut off from before thine eyes: nevertheless thou heardest the voice of my supplications when I cried unto thee. To pray with confidence, we must humble ourselves and turn away from sin, anger, bitterness and grudges: