Worship and Prayer

For a chronic headache sufferer, worship and prayer is the only combination that not only helps me survive, but helps me thrive. In those moments of pain where I need to withdraw from life and retreat into the inner recesses of my own heart and mind, I am at the end of myself. It is there that I have a holy encounter with the Living God, an intimate, honest, raw experience with Jesus. It is there that I have never felt more loved, more held, more precious, more rescued. In His goodness and mercy, He knows what I need and meets me where I am. I worship. I pray. I sing of His faithfulness. When I take the focus off me and I put it on Him, the pain is still there, but my heart and mind are somewhere else: in the presence of my King. Since my focus is on Him, I can leave the rest behind. That is what worship and prayer does; we turn from the hard and are in the presence of the One that overcomes the hard. In Acts, the combination of worship and prayer brought physical and spiritual freedom. “At midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everyone’s chains came loose.” Acts 16:25-26

Lord, we want more of You. Thank you that we can use prayer and worship to be in Your Holy presence. We ask that You change our hearts and minds based on the time we spend with you.

  It was the worship and prayer of Paul and Silas that moved the heart of God and broke barriers! Not just for them, but for those around them. The jailer was able to find salvation and place His trust in Jesus for him and his household based on what he witnessed. Imagine the freedom and salvation others can obtain when they see us worship and pray in our times of hardship! Imagine the barriers that can be broken, and the revival unleashed!