“Please, God, protect my kids.” she begged.
As I continued listening to her prayer, I discovered no one was in immediate danger. We gathered that day like we did every week to pray for our kids’ lives and futures.
So why did it sound like we were begging a kidnapper to have mercy on our kids?
We sounded more like desperate solicitors than His loyal friends and love-struck brides. I shifted in my seat, sat up from my previously hunched over prayer position and opened my eyes. My forehead scrunched together as my brain searched for answers.
“Remember My personality.” He whispered.
That was it. My request, and finding an answer is huddled up in His personality.
Who Are You, Lord?
In Exodus 3:14 He introduced Himself to Moses as I AM. When a person introduces herself to us she usually says, “Hello, I am so-and-so.” But God left it hanging.
“Hello, Love, I Am.” He says.
I AM what, God? Who are you?
Is it possible to know You beyond the elusive “I Exist” type of God?
Lots of people exist. (POTUS exists. Stephen Curry exists. Kim Kardashian exists. ) But when we invite each other to share in our lives and experiences, we truly comprehend and experience the intricacies of another’s’ personality.
So yes, tucked inside His three-letter-name, I AM is intimately knowable.
And He promises that if we seek Him we will find Him.
So how do we pray by connecting to His personality?
I have certain friends I call when things pop up in my life.
If something dramatic happens in my parenting experiences, I call Kallie.
If I have a bible truth to unpack, Michelle.
When my heart chokes with demands at home, Husband whispers his wisdom of balance and rest.
Each friend’s personality has a different strength I tap into when I want to celebrate a win, unload a burden or reel in my role at home. I vent and she listens. I trust the strength of his personality to provide answers, hope or next steps.
And the truth is, we pray because we want I AM living, breathing, and moving within our lives too.
Prayer invites His existence into ours.
So how do we change our prayers from begging an distant god to have mercy on us to breathing our prayers through the incredible kaleidoscope of His personality?
Hints of Personality
I AM.
I Exist.
If you have never met God or invited Him fully into your life, this is your starting point.
Example Prayer: Hello God, my name is __________. I believe you exist. Please come into my heart and my life and be God of everything concerning me. I want to learn how to trust You.
The Lord is Peace (Judges 6:24)
Example prayer: Jesus, our family is going through a terrible time right now. We don’t know how this will turn out in the end. But you promise to be our Peace. We welcome you into our home, our minds and our decisions. Thank you that You are our Peace.
The Lord Who Sees Me (Genesis 16:13)
Example Prayer: Does anyone care about what I’m going through? If I post about it on Social Media, would anyone get it? Yet, You are the God who sees me. You get all of it. I exhale and let myself be seen by You. You know all my details and You have a beautiful future ahead for me.
The Lord Who Heals Me (Exodus 15:26)
Example Prayer: I made so many choices that fractured my life. My family is suffering. We are in deep pain. I don’t know where to begin and I don’t know how it could possible change, but You are the God Who heals me. I welcome your healing power into my family today.
The Lord Who Protects Me. (Jeremiah 32)
Example Prayer: I feel helpless to protect my kids sometimes. Anything could go wrong at any moment. Sometimes Im so scared I don’t want to bring them anywhere or expose them to anything. But nothing is too hard for you. You have the power to keep them and the power to rescue them from the scariest places.
Vent and Remember
In the prayer meeting I referenced above, we asked God to protect our kids from physical danger and negative influences. As moms, we want to control environments and situations for our kids. So we pray from a place of fear, funneling all of our effort into solving the problem and convincing God to join us by begging for mercy.
But God has a better way.
King David had a knack for pouring his raw and honest heart out to God through the filter of His personality. First, we vent our pain. Then we remember who He is and tuck ourselves and our problems into His personality traits.
(Read Psalm 3-6 for more examples of “vent and remember” prayers.)
Let the answer to the question, “Who is He?” become the framework of your prayers.
How to pray by Remembering His Personality.
1. Start by listing the problem you are having.
Problem__________________________
Vent it out before God. The Broad Shouldered One is listening.
2. Explore Different Personality Traits of God
Option 1. Sit quietly and ask God to answer who He is in relationship to your problem..
Option 2. Google or Pinterest search “Names of God”
Option 3. Google “who is God when I’m (enter problem here) bible verse”
Option 4. Check your bible concordance. Look up the word describing your problem or the word opposite of your problem.
For example: anxiety:peace; sickness:health; danger:safety.
3. Build a Prayer
Take the verse that came up in your search and begin to pray it. Enter your name or your child’s name anytime you see a pronoun. Reread the verses and continue praying as the words come to you.
Sound too simple?
God’s not trying to play hard to get. If you ask Him, He will come right into your heart and spirit and speak softly into your everyday life. When you look into the bible you will see His personality spilled out on all the pages.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Looking for other moms to pray with? Moms in Prayer International has groups in all 50 states and around the world. Visit their website for FREE prayer resources and to find a group near you.
Leave a Reply