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We live in a broken world. It’s easy to feel like giving in to anxiety as we face wars, sickness, and turmoil. What can we do to combat these things? We can pray a prayer for change. Prayer changes our hearts and changes the world around us. When we commit to being a people who pray for change, we will begin to see the change we desire.

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S1E40 – What is Theology Proper?: 3 Questions to Help You Know God Better – A More Beautiful Life Collective Podcast

We have to start our study of theology by looking at Theology Proper. This is the study of who God is, what God is like, and what God’s nature is. As we look at theology proper, we are focusing primarily on how knowing God more leads to (1) worship and (2) a deeper love. Our study of God should inspire us to know and love God more and more. This podcast will dive into 3 questions that will help you to know God better to start your study of Theology Proper. The Deuteronomy 34 passage is actually EXODUS* 34:5-7. Sorry! View the full post here. Get the Doctrine and Theology Cheat Sheet Here. Get a list of the names of God here. Get a copy of our personal statement of faith creation guide here. Get “Building Our Foundations: 10 Week Study” here. . Visit our Shop to get a copy of any of the resources mentioned in this episode: Read the full post here. I’m your host, Cayce Fletcher, and you can learn a little bit more about me here. While you’re here, would you consider leaving a comment, rating, or review? You can find our podcast, A More Beautiful Life Collective Podcast, wherever you listen to podcasts. Listen on Spotify or Apple Podcasts, or watch on YouTube. Subscribe to the blog for access to our latest content and some freebies. I love creating and sharing resources with you. You can find all of our resources at A More Beautiful Life Collective Shop. Keep creating a life you love, and cultivating your heart for God.

Welcome to A More Beautiful Life Collective. We know that in the hectic hurry of everyday life, it’s easy to lose sight of what matters. This is a moment to pause and realign your focus on the one who gives us peace and rest. We are focusing on discipleship, productivity, and homemaking as we live with eternity in mind. This is the place where you’ll learn to create a life you love and cultivate your heart for God.

Welcome back to A More Beautiful Life Collective Podcast. This is Season 1 Episode 9. This week has been one of those that truly makes you yearn for the kingdom. We yearn for change. We pray for change. We seek a prayer for change.

We live in a broken world, marred by sin, and I feel those effects deeply. This weekend, I had two funerals to attend. Both of the people who passed away were strong believers in Christ and their testimony of faith was preached loud at the time of their passing. We can rejoice in a life well lived, but we still mourn at the sting of death.

A life well lived…

What is a life well-lived?

In the last episode, we talked about Jesus’ command to seek the kingdom of God. We know that to seek the kingdom of God means to seek God’s glory while living with eternity in mind. This is a life well lived. Someone who seeks to glorify God through their celebrations and their sufferings. As I reflect on the lives of those we lost, I recognize that to truly seek God’s kingdom requires a daily discipline of training your heart to reflect glory unto God.

This is so difficult because, in our very make-up, I believe that we are wired to seek our own glory. Because of the sin that resides in us, we desire to become our own God, seeking wealth, power, and prestige to feel like we don’t need to rely on God. To seek God’s glory means at its heart that I am not seeking my own glory.

So, how do I begin to change my desire from seeking my own glory to seeking to give God glory? It is a heart change that requires significant transformation. How are we transformed?

Through the power of prayer.

We are transformed through a prayer for change.

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What is the purpose of prayer?

At the most basic level, prayer is a conversation with God. We go to him with our ideas, questions, and requests to deepen our understanding of him and our relationship with him. However, I think that sometimes, mainly due to our generally laid-back culture now, we hear that prayer is a conversation, and we never think any more deeply about the purpose of prayer, what our prayers should sound like, or anything else. We may desire to pray more, but we lack the knowledge of what prayer is, so we struggle to include more prayer in our lives.

Prayer is just like any other habit that we have in that it can be very difficult to get started with regular practice. But, when we finally get the ball rolling, we find that we can go deeper, farther, more complete in that practice than we ever thought possible. It is something that should be a routine in our lives, as normal and regular as eating. Prayer should be something that goes hand in hand with our bible study as we create a vibrant quiet time at home. To be a Christian, we must pray.

With the state of the world today, we desire change – and we desperately plead for it. We are looking for God to come a redeem broken marriages, heal broken bodies, transform broken societies, and make new a broken world. We need to bring these desires – these needs – to God, to express our heart’s cry. But, we also need to be aware of what God desires to change in the world. We all too often focus on our circumstances, but God is seeking to change us and the world around us. Prayer is a vehicle that God uses to change our hearts.

Prayer is like a conversation, but there is much more to it. So let’s dive in.

What should prayer not look like?

We’ve all had a conversation with someone when we can tell that the attention of the other person is wavering. We may be putting our heart and soul into a story, sharing something that we really care about. But, the other person clearly is not listening. Maybe their focus drifts towards their phone or a conversation nearby. Maybe they start staring off into space or their responses become monosyllabic. Maybe they just completely change the subject to talk about something they find more interesting.

Or maybe we’ve been in a conversation with someone and the person is continuing to talk about something that we really wish they wouldn’t. We try to extricate ourselves, but we don’t want to appear rude. So, we end up being the person who gives off those vibes of “let’s move on.”

When it comes to prayer, I think that we can be both of these people at once – the person who is simultaneously not listening to their friend while also droning on about a topic that clearly only matters to them. We are ever speaking, never listening.

Jesus has some pretty strong words against those who pray like this in the Sermon on the Mount.

Matthew 6:5-8 says, “Whenever you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites, because they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by people. Truly I tell you, they have their reward. But when you pray, go into your private room, shut your door, and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. When you pray, don’t babble like the Gentiles, since they imagine they’ll be heard for their many words. Don’t be like them, because your Father knows the things you need before you ask him.”

In this passage, Jesus is preaching against two primary dangers of, what I call, “prayer ruts.” These are times when we have gotten into a routine with prayer – a habit of prayer – but instead of being life-giving, it becomes soul-draining. These prayer times lead us away from God, instead of towards him.

2 Dangers of Prayer Ruts

Showy Prayers

“And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others.” Matthew 6:5

We begin to pray what we feel like we should pray. We add a lot of flowery language to our prayers that we think sounds good, but we lack a certain genuineness about our prayers. We show a lack of authenticity in our prayers.

I see showy prayers often in church or before family meals. These prayers are done as a performance. However, the performance might not even be for God. These prayers are oftentimes just said so that other people will look at the speaker as someone who knows their stuff and has their life together. It’s religious virtue signaling.

Communal prayers are important. Having times of prayer in church is invaluable, and if you don’t have that time of prayer, you really need to question what your church is preaching. James 5:13-14 describes how prayer is the answer for any situation, and that those prayers – whether praising God or praying for healing – should be done with a group of people. Importantly, you need to pray with conviction and authenticity. You need to make sure that you are not praying for the sake of your audience. The only one whose opinion matters is God’s. God answers a prayer for change, but he does not answer a prayer for show.

Rote Prayers

“In praying, do not use vain repetitions, as the Gentiles do: for they think they shall be heard because of their many words.” Matthew 6:7

To pray rote prayers means to pray without thinking about what we are praying for while not believing that God will either listen to the prayer or answer it. We show a lack of faith and conviction in our prayer life. When we begin to get into a habit of praying, we sometimes pick our favorite wordings for prayers. (In fact, if you start paying attention to other’s prayers, you’ll notice that everyone has their favorite prayer catchphrase – their go-to sayings that they include in all their prayers.)

This isn’t bad. Paul had his Doxology (Romans 11:33-36), Peter his prayers for grace and peace in his letters, and the priests of the Old Testament the priestly blessing (Numbers 6:22-27). Jesus taught his disciples a model prayer in the Lord’s prayer (found in Matthew 6). Yes, this was a model prayer that we can build on, but it also provides words for what we can pray when we don’t know what to pray.

The issue with rote prayers is when we pray them to check something off a list, with the hope of a certain outcome, or in order to gain brownie points with God without the adequate heart change. Rote prayers can provide words when we are tired, stressed, or in despair. But, praying them (or praying a certain amount of them) does not do penance for your sins. It does not get you a special audience with God.

Rote prayers can easily just become noise. If we pray without a heart change – without the right mindset – that is exactly what our prayers are. When we pray with a heart change, we can have a prayer for change.

A Right Prayer for Change

So what do right prayers look like? What is a true prayer for change? It’s a prayer that asks God to change our hearts and believes he can affect change in the world around us.

Now, I’ll say that again because it is truly life-changing if you believe this is true.

A true prayer for change is a prayer that asks God to change our hearts and believes he can affect change in the world around us.

When we pray with the mindset that God is seeking to change us as well as change our world, we recognize that the outcome of the prayer has a different measure of success than just what our request is coming true.

There are different types of prayers. Though there are differing perspectives as to the number and names of the various types, they generally fall into these categories: 1. Adoration · 2. Lament · 3. Thanksgiving · 4. Petition · 5. Deliverance · 6. Contrition · 7. Guidance. These types of prayers are found throughout the Bible, especially in the Psalms. We need to have balance in our prayers and not lean too heavily towards the side of requests without the right amount of praise. To lean too heavily toward the side of (toxic) positivity without recognizing the need for lament.

When we begin to understand this, we recognize then that prayer is more than just requests or petitions we bring to God. All too often we call prayer a conversation, but it is more like a list of demands during which we never pause to listen to what the other being in the conversation, God, has to say. We need balance in our prayer time with God. We want to have a prayer for change, but we need to recognize who God is when we pray. He deserves all the praise and glory.

Power of a Prayer for Change

When we come to God, with the expectation for change to occur – both in us and those around us – we will begin to see some pretty amazing things happen. We serve a powerful God, and we need to expect profound things to happen because of God’s power. James 5:16 says, “The prayer of a righteous person is very powerful in its effect.” When we pray, earnestly, for an outcome that is God-glorifying and in accordance with his will, we will see change happen. That is a true prayer for change. We will see fruit from that prayer.

A Prayer for Change

What is a prayer for change? A Prayer for Change is to pray that God will move and work around us. That he will redeem. The work has already begun with the death of Jesus on the cross and it will continue until the return of Christ with his kingdom. Through prayer, we are a part of God’s kingdom work now. We partner with him with our words as we lift up our needs and the needs of those around us to him. God is powerful, and he will answer our prayers. We need to be mindful of what we are asking God.

Jesus says, “Ask, and it will be given to you. Seek, and you will find. Knock, and the door will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. Who among you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask him.” (Matthew 7:7-12)

Do we believe that God will enact change in the world? Do we believe that he truly answers prayers? Jesus said emphatically that God moves in the here and now and that our prayers will cause change. Our prayers matter.

Interestingly, the next bible verse (v. 12) in that passage in Matthew 7 says this, “Therefore, whatever you want others to do for you, do also the same for them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.” When we pray, we do not wash our hands of the matter and walk away. That is not a show of faith – if we pray and then move on and never act on the matter. If we pray, we also have to be obedient to work in that situation. Faith requires action – both in righteousness that we do and in the enacting of God’s will by being his hands and feet now. James talks about this. He says in chapter 2:15-17, “If a brother or sister is without clothes and lacks daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, stay warm, and be well fed,” but you don’t give them what the body needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith, if it does not have works, is dead by itself.”

When we pray for change, we also have to be ready to be the person to bring that change. We have to go forth and begin working.

A Prayer for Change in My Life

Prayer is a habit that requires both consistency and spontaneity as you grow in your relationship with God. We should pray continually (1 Thess. 5:17) and pray in a way that shows we still believe that God is working (not like the Pharisees and the Gentiles). It is never for show. It shows that our hearts are in alignment with God.

If you are worried about a situation in the world, the first question you should ask yourself is “Have you prayed about it?” If you are worried about a situation in your life, the first thing you should do is pray about it! It is easy to fall down the rabbit trail of your mind and spiral to dark places when you begin to feel anxiety about something. Prayer stops that anxiety in its tracks because you know that a sovereign God is in control and your prayer is working for change through him. Prayers change us. Prayer also helps to humble you, as you are reminded of how God should be first in your life. Prayer helps to encourage you as you begin to feel the peace of Christ. Prayer motivates you to serve, as you begin to view your life with kingdom eyes. Through the holy spirit, our spiritual life begins to be transformed through prayer.

This is our prayer for change. We pray for change. And, we change because we pray.

Thanks for joining me this week on A More Beautiful Life Collective Podcast. I hope you’ve enjoyed this teaching today. If you have, please leave a rating and review wherever you listen to this podcast. This helps others to find the show. If you would like to get more encouragement sent straight to your inbox, you can subscribe to the blog at https://amorebeautifullifecollective.com. I hope you’ll join me next week for the next episode!

Will you pray with me?

Lord,

Thank you for all who are listening. For everyone who is seeking to work for you, to be your hands and feet. For everyone who longs for change in themselves and in the world. Please help to align our hearts to reflect yours. Please help our actions, our words, and our lives bring you glory. Please work in this broken world and redeem it for you. We pray for peace.

We pray all this in Jesus name,

Amen.

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