Do you find yourself praying only when you need something from God? Are you praying for miracles and getting nothing but frustrated and discouraged? Do you wonder if God still works miracles? We recently asked Amy Groeschel to let us into the kinds of prayers she and her husband, Pastor Craig Groeschel, pray.
Paint a picture for us of what your prayer life looks like.
I view my time of prayer with God as my Daddy/Daughter time. Prayer with the Father is the most intimate relationship I have. I need and crave quiet moments in prayer to begin and end my days. I keep a growing list of people for whom I regularly pray. As needs surface throughout the day, I’ve learned to quickly ask for God’s help.
My prayers are informal, but I seek to have a heart that is reverent and sincere.
For most of us, that sounds like a huge challenge to get to where we pray like that! What steps did you take to build your daily prayer practice?
I’m confident there’s hope for anyone to strengthen their prayer life because of how poorly I began, and how prayerless I was. It simply wasn’t natural for me like it seems to be for some. I am easily distracted, and a busy worker bee.
But there came a day of decision in my life—a resolve—that I would love the Lord my God with all my heart, soul, and strength through seeking Him in prayer. I needed and wanted an intimate relationship with God, and quality time communicating is what builds intimacy.
We’ve heard Pastor Craig challenge us to think about how big we pray. He has said, “If God answered ‘yes’ to every prayer you prayed for the last seven days, what would change about the world?” What are some of those big prayers you’re asking God for?
Oh, man. This makes me want to shout and cry at the same time. I pray big prayers. Not because I’m a big-shot Christian, but because I know we have a big Daddy! I also realize that I am not alone, but praying in agreement with many other believers. I pray for unity and spiritual passion to grow in the hearts of believers. I pray for a spiritual awakening so big that Christ-exalting churches will not have room enough to contain the overflow response at their doors.
When I ask God to bring salvation miracles, freedom miracles, healing miracles, and relationship miracles, I am boldly persistent and ask with childlike faith. It’s not that I don’t doubt, because I do sometimes. But my desire to please God with my faith is greater than my doubts.
For you, what is a miracle? How do you know something is a miracle when it’s not something really obvious?
Great question. We often only want to attribute miracles to those things that we directly requested from God. Like when I’ve seen the miracle of someone I’ve prayed for for a long time coming to know Christ. Or when I pray with other believers and we witness “impossible” healings become reality. I love it when I ask God for confirmation about something I’m uncertain of and He brings it in outstanding ways.
I love the many times that I asked God to provide something specific within a specific deadline and He delivered. And on two unforgettable occasions when I was at a loss of what to do and prayed, “I can’t do this. Please help. I need your wisdom.” Guys, I’ve got miracle stories with these prayers!
I’ve come to realize that God is always working miracles in our midst whether directly or indirectly in response to our prayers.
@amygroeschel
Yet I’ve also experienced the untold miracles—all the big and beautiful ways that God worked for good when prayers were answered differently than I expected. At first, mild to major disappointment can set in, but I’ve come to realize that God is always working miracles in our midst whether directly or indirectly in response to our prayers.
How often do you ask God for miracles?
I guess every day, because every answered prayer is a miracle. I saw a miracle yesterday because I prayed for God to minister in a timely manner to someone through another sister in Christ, and He did! The deal is that it was very tempting to manipulate this and not wait on God to answer my prayer. In my impatience, I wanted to play the role of the Holy Spirit to nudge my friend along. I’m so glad I didn’t give into that temptation because my faith was built as I saw God answer this prayer!
How do you and Pastor Craig continue to ask God to miraculously heal your daughter, Mandy, when it seems like God hasn’t answered that prayer for so long?
Craig and I will remain persistent in our prayers for Mandy’s healing. We know God doesn’t need reminding, but I guess He needs our hearts committed to knowing that He is the answer. He is our Healer.
How would you encourage our readers to pray bolder, bigger prayers?
The main thing to me is to remember that our God hears! He hears the prayers of the righteous (those living for and through Him), and that He is pleased and responds to our faith-filled prayers. So, join me! Let’s ask. And while we’re at it we might as well ask big.