By Dannah Gresh, founder of True Girl
Maybe you, like me, have been confused about how or what to pray lately. That happens sometimes.
Could it be happening to your daughter?
Probably. Last summer we asked our True Girls what kind of support they needed from you. One of the things they asked for was help learning how to pray.
I've been there! In fact, not that long ago. Several years ago I joined women from around the globe for a prayer challenge provided by our partnering ministry Revive Our Hearts. What a thrill that morning to awaken to know that I would receive an email in my in-box that told me how to pray.
Rather than feeling deflated and uncertain about praying, I took a long prayer walk with the Lord on the evening of our first prayer day and was surprised when I spontaneously erupted into prayer based on the email challenge. I mean ERUPTED! A flow of awe and worship and reverence and excitement about talking to the God of the Universe streamed from my mouth as I watched the sunset over a golden cornfield. My prayers have returned to me. I was unblocked!
Here is what I realized has happened: my confusion and uncertainty was, in fact, both a symptom of a problem in my prayer life and the fruit of God releasing me to something more authentic. With rising controversy in our culture over almost any important subject worthy of conversation, my prayers are being redirected. I’m being forced to stop petitioning God for my needs, my wants, my comfort, my provision, and my opinions. And I am beginning to ask God what He wants.
My friend, Dr. Karen Ellis, calls this kind of intercession “Kingdom Prayer.” Those are the prayers we begin praying that give God permission to disrupt our lives, our world and our social order to usher the power of His kingdom into this broken world. When things get bad enough, we get past the things of comfort and begin to pray the kinds of prayers we read in Scripture.
- “Lord not my will, but yours.”
- “Your kingdom come!”
- “Your will be done!”
In short, we begin to pray the way Jesus instructed us to! We model what’s prayed in the pages of the Bible. Why? Because God acts through His own words. Hebrews 4:12 reads:
For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
I want that “living”, “active” power in my prayers. I also want and need discernment right now in a way I never have, but only God’s Word can truly provide that for me! My prayer life has been complicated and compromised by letting the news feed direct my petitions rather than feasting on Scripture to chart my conversation with God. I believe that as we do this in a unified voice, we will begin to see God move in our world.
“When we pray Scripture back to God, He can’t say ‘no.’” -Dr. Karen Ellis
I invite you to teach your daughter how to pray this year! Make it a bucket list goal for 2023. Pray with your daughter! And let it be kingdom prayer that flows from our tongues.
BONUS TOOLS TO RESUSCITATE YOUR & YOUR TRUE GIRL’S PRAYER LIFE!
2023 Power-Packed Prayer Calendar [Yours for a gift of any amount.]
Jesus used Bible verses to talk to His Father. The True Girl 2023 Power-Packed Prayer Calendar will help your daughter pray like Christ. Each month, we'll introduce a new verse as a prayer. It's a skill she can use her whole life long! The True Girl 2023 Power-Packed Prayer Calendar is our gift to you this month when you make a gift of any amount to support True Girl! (Available while supplies last.)
True Girl Power-Packed Prayer Box [Subscription]
The verse of the month is also the theme-verse in the True Girl subscription. So if you really want to pack some power, subscribe today. We'll ship the calendar to you in this month's subscription box along with daily devos for your girl, a mom+daughter date to discuss praying God's Word, stickers for the calendar, and a whole lot more. Check out the True Girl Subscription Plan!
Mom, Teach Your Daughter To Pray
I share a video challenge (transcript in the blog) about how to teach our daughters to pray.
Prayer Is Action! [Podcast]
Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth and I interviewed Dr. Karen Ellis for the Revive Our Hearts Cry Out podcast which is a great place to start if your own prayer life needs resuscitating!
Our True Girl theme verse:
"So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” John 8:31,32
Mom, the best way to teach your daughter to live like an authentic True Girl is to live like an authentic True Woman. And to do that, you've got to get your life lined up with the Truth of the Bible. Listen to Dannah Gresh every weekday on Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth's Revive Our Hearts podcast. The program features biblical teaching, interviews that offer godly advice, and other opportunities to abide in God's Word.
TRUE GIRL IS A MINISTRY OF PURE FREEDOM, A NON-PROFIT 501C3 THAT RELIES ON DONATIONS FROM FRIENDS LIKE YOU.
