Recently I had a revelation about myself; I am terrible at keeping in contact with people and checking in on them, I am terrible at maintaining relationships. One of my best friends, Londyn, wrote me a letter that opened my eyes to this revelation. In this letter, she detailed a timeline of our friendship, recalling the times I had stopped returning her calls, checking in on her and spending time with her altogether. She explained to me that she felt that our relationship had died because of my lack attention to it. I am currently in the process of learning that our personal life often mirrors our spiritual one. This letter caused me to reexamine not only my relationship with Londyn but my relationship with God. I realized I was neglecting my platonic relationships, as well as neglecting my spiritual walk.

When I examined my life, I realized that I fell out of a relationship with God because I stopped talking to him. Any relationship that you don’t water with attention, will eventually wither up and die; so was the truth for neglecting my private time with God. Recently I made the commitment to pray more and it has made all the difference in my spiritual journey. Prayer is the thing that fortifies and anchors me in God. It’s that thing that truly brings me out of whatever I am experiencing in life and allows me to enter his presence; focusing my mind on God and his promises, not the challenges.

How to pray.
Initially, my prayers started with me acting like Jesus was in the passenger seat of my car. I would talk to him about everything from how my day went, to my deepest problems. I carried that mentality where ever I went; I made a habit of talking to Jesus. I wanted him to be more real to me than the people I spoke to every day. Eventually, I started to carve out specific times of the day to center my mind and focus on God. Now it has evolved into the time where I clear my mind and my heart and not only speak to God but listen. It is in my prayer time that I hear the hopes and dream that God has for me. Praying often and consistently has allowed God to download his purpose for my life into me. In 2 Chronicles 7:14 it states, “ if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” Prayer is the time where we humble ourselves, seek the face of God, then watch him forgive and heal us. In Prayer, is Power.

Bible verses that have encouraged me to Pray.
Mark 11:24
Matthew 26:41
Romans 12:12
Matthew 6:9-13
Luke 18:1
Romans 8:26
Philippians 4:6
Colossians 4:2

Treaha Weatherspoon