Life Changing Prayer Advice

There is no specific way to pray that “works” the best. Many people struggle with this, including myself. I used to shy away from open prayer or even praying in the moment for someone because I never felt as though my words were good enough or “right.” But the truth is that we can all go to God and literally just cry, and He will understand. No time spent with the Lord is useless.

With that being said, the molding process that we go through with Him has many teachable layers, each with a specific purpose. If we don’t see movement in our lives despite all our prayers, there is always a reason. At times, that reason is to rest, but other times it’s because we haven’t spoken direct enough words. What does this mean? While there are no “magic words” needed to set an answered prayer into motion, there ARE specific intentions that need to be clarified for us to pray the prayer that God will answer. Let’s go deeper…

You may have heard popular sayings such as, “I asked God to teach me strength, so He allowed me to endure weakness. I asked God to give me resilience, so He made me wait. I asked God to teach me courage, so He gave me a mountain to climb,” and so on. Now, think of what you have been asking God for, yet haven’t seen Him move on yet… How do your prayers for the desire match the lessons or challenges that you’ve been going through? Perhaps all this time, He has been preparing you, molding you. Or maybe you have been asking for something that you’re not ready to receive. Reflect on this.

Personally, I have been praying to God for many years to “bring me a husband.” I have vowed to walk the steps needed to be “ready” for such a blessing. Time and time again, I’d go through every angle in prayer… “Where is he? Where can I go to meet him? Have I already met him? Will you tell me what I need to do, please? Why are so many men in today’s world not interested in being in a committed relationship? Should I be more proactive, or wait on you, Lord? Should I join a dating site? Should I approach a man first? Should I make myself more available socially? Should I direct my focus on other things? When will it be time, Lord… when will you bring this union together?”

Now… they say things like, “When you reach the end of yourself, that is where you find God.” Or, “God’s power works best in our weakness.” So, like a devoted Christian woman who is almost 40 and still waiting for God to answer this prayer, I finally broke to His molding in the most unexpected way. Only this year did I go to Him and make my true intentions clear, and even then, He had to gently pull it out of me…

The Lord asked me, “What do you want?” I responded, “A husband who’s a good Christian man.” God repeated Himself asking, “What do you want?” I said, “To have a man be my partner in this life to grow old with.” A third time, the Lord asked me, “What do you want?” I began to cry. He was searching the hallways of my heart in the deepest places; I could feel it.

For a few days, I reflected on His question and allowed myself to find the words that would honestly and vulnerably reflect my prayer request with pure intention. Then finally, after many years, I felt the words glow from my heart like a beam of light… I knelt on the floor, bowed by head, and prayed…

“God, please make me into a wife.”

The moment these words came out from my lips, He immediately began to move! It was as though He rolled out a parchment across the table of my heart and showed me, in full detail, the “plan.” Years of His mysterious ways were just clearly laid out like they were always accessible to me! He then revealed the ENTIRE next leg of my journey. He said…

“First, you must stop pushing away the very thing you have been asking of me. For far too long I have watched you defend yourself against love rather than fight FOR it. You cannot bring that defensiveness into your marriage.

Next, we need to quiet down all that fear you have in allowing him to see your heart. The right man will be the right man, and there is no fear in love. Do you doubt me? You should not doubt me. You cannot bring fear into your marriage.

Lastly, you must continue to focus on becoming a suitable wife, rather than asking me where your husband is. I am working on his heart just like I am working on yours. When he asks me to make him into a husband, I will give him the same set of instructions. Until then, you both will focus on who you are becoming in ME, and not when I will bring you the other.”

Let me just say… after God spoke all of this to me, I had zero follow-up questions, lol. What I realized is that I had been asking Him for what I can have, not what I can give. What I desire, but not how to be desirable. What I can be blessed with, not how I can be a blessing.

All of this came over me like a beautiful wave of clarity that I allowed to cleanse me of every anger, fear, and doubt… and for the first time in my whole life, I realized that despite all my “human plans,” I wasn’t actually ready for marriage until now— 2024, at almost 40 years old. Now, my heart space, emotional space, mind space, soul space, and even home space, is completely ready to be shared with the man of God’s choosing. What a blissful feeling it is to be ready in the Lord’s timing!

I wanted to share this personal story to offer some encouragement for anyone out there who has been praying a specific request for a long time yet hasn’t seen God move yet. Do not be discouraged! Do not give up! You see, there are no magic words, but there IS a readiness to set clear intentions. If the words in your prayers aren’t producing any forward progress, revisit your desires. Align with your deepest, vulnerable self. “Go there.” Be honest about the dreams in your heart; after all, God put them there!

We all have a powerful, intuitive voice that we can access at any time. Listen to it. When you strip away the anger, fear, and doubt, what do you want? I’m asking you now just as God asked me… What do you want?

With Love, Michelle

“You have my heart…”