What will your prayer life look like in 2024 beyond the wonderful start we had with 21 days of prayer and fasting? A consistent prayer life is key to our personal spiritual growth, connection with God, and the impact we have as Christians.
May we be challenged in our approach to prayer by a passage from Luke 11. Here, Jesus’ disciples ask him to teach them to pray. Lean in, because Jesus is about to reveal an important key to prayer as he shares this scenario: A man suddenly has a guest arrive whom he desperately needs to feed, but has no food. So the man goes to his neighbor, asking for three loaves of bread. The problem is that it’s midnight and the neighbor has already settled into bed for the night. His kids are asleep and his house is locked up. What an inconvenient time to ask a favor of a neighbor! That is where the shameless audacity comes into play. Jesus shares:
“I tell you, even though he [the neighbor] will not get up and give you bread because of friendship, yet because of your shameless audacity he will surely get up and give you as much as you need.” (Luke 11:8)
Wow! Can you imagine this display of boldness being a part of your normal prayer life? Jesus is teaching his followers to “interrupt” him at any time and boldly ask for what they need. No matter the time of day or night, come to him with courageous persistence.
Jesus shares with his disciples another key about prayer in the same conversation. He teaches them to pray by saying, “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” That is an important part of this mix. As we bring our needs with shameless audacity, we yield them to God’s will. There are so many things we do not see or understand that God does see and understand, so we trust that his answer to our prayers will be righteous. When we pray this way, we proclaim that we desire things that are in alignment with his kingdom. We even command things into being that are in alignment with his kingdom by using the power and authority Jesus gave his followers.
I am asking the Lord to teach me how to pray with shameless audacity this year. I invite you all to join me in that prayer. Let’s keep growing together