HOW CAN PRAYER CHANGE A LIFE?

We have the privilege and pleasure to have Johanne Roberston, who is editor and co-publisher at Maranatha News, allow us to reprint her post.

An invitation to Journey with Johanne

Praying Hands

For the past several months, God has been calling me to something new. And I want to share it with you.

He’s been calling me to pray.

Of course—he’s been calling me to pray my entire life—but more recently, I’ve been aware of God calling me to pray for specific people, people He has laid on my heart who were struggling.

I’ve found it easiest to write out my prayers.

As an encouragement, I’ve sent those written prayers to the people I was praying for, along with hymns and songs of praise. Some of those people have told me that God has been using those prayers to bring about change in their hearts and in their circumstances. That’s been humbling to learn.

It is impossible that I could pray for people
and not be affected myself.

I’m feeling an incredible sense of gratitude to the Lord for this place called intercession, in which God has called me to serve others. It’s a different place, a place of quietness, surrender and humility, but also of gut-wrenching fear at times. It’s a place of truth, faith and healing, and of a refreshing boldness in God that calls me, beckoning me to come deeper.

I feel different. I feel as though
God is calling me differently.

I don’t know what that means, but I know it’s not about friendships, family, fame, crafty words or songs with nice lyrics. It’s about a loving God who is calling us, all of us, to total surrender as he rearranges our lives.

I feel an incredible presence of the Holy Spirit
as I wake up in the mornings.

I know my prayer life in the past—outside of praying for people he’s directed me to—has been minimal. I know it, and I’m sensing that perhaps it’s just time for me to get serious with God’s calling on my life; not just to believe God for others, but to believe Him for myself, to believe that God truly loves me.

Yeah, perhaps it’s time to give it all to Jesus.

So I prayed a new prayer:

“Here I am Lord, surrendering to your will: surrendering my life, my friends, my thoughts, my heart, my business, my family, my finances, the deep places I don’t talk about, the things I don’t understand, the things I barely do, surrendering my victories and my defeats, everything that’s wonderful about me and everything that’s not.

I surrender all the people and things that have devastated and shattered me in the past, and offer forgiveness in every situation of hurt as I seek your face this day. Cleanse me lord, purify my thoughts.

Take hold of me and change me from within. Let your will become mine. Help me today be who you’ve called me to be. Even today. In Jesus name. Amen.”

I share these intimate thoughts with you, friends and readers, because I believe that surrender is ultimately what God calls us all to. I’m excited to see what He has in store. Throughout 2013, I’ll post up-dates, as I feel led. I invite you to join me in the journey.

Thank you so much Johanne for showing us how prayer can change a life.

 Johanne Robertson

 Johanne-Robertson---photo

Johanne  is a writer, speaker. She is co-founder and co-publisher of Maranatha News, (www.maranathanews.com) a Canadian Christian Online News Source celebrating 16 years of serving the Christian community, and co-founder of Read for Life, a ministry encouraging Canadians to read life-changing books.

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2 comments

  1. I LOVE this post because it is so exactly how God speaks to me about and in intercessory prayer! God bless you as you intercede! One of the most beautiful words He unveiled to me was how intercessory prayer is like Nehemiah rebuilding the walls. There are holes around the walls of those we lift up… and God uses our prayers as we stand in that gap, “blowing the horn” of healing, protection etc, so He can strengthen them to hear and receive Him etc.

    1. Hi Pam, Thanks so much for your word of encouragement and your kind and thoughtful comments. I wasn’t going to share this blog with anyone seeing it was dealing with intercessory prayer but a wonderful friend of mine, said it would be a good idea for a blog, so here it is. 🙂

      Yes, I agree with your thought about “God using our prayers as we stand in the gap …” That comment really resonates with me.

      Thank you for sharing your thoughts here and God bless you as you continue to be a source of encouragement to so many through intercession. – Johanne

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