Prayer

I'm not just thankful for the fact that I can go to God in prayer on my own, though that is a huge blessing in and of itself, obviously. Just having the ability to approach God at any time of day, to cry out for help, to seek His help or guidance, to thank and praise Him, to feel His love, is a beautiful gift. But in addition to the wonder of just being able to spend soothing moments alone with Him is the incredible blessing of being able to spend time with Him with friends.

I love that God has placed great Christians in my life, that His people are always encouraged and built up and renewed when they seek God together, and just fellowship with one another. Group prayer has become a much larger part in my life than it ever was before. Whether I'm just praying with one friend, or a whole circle of people, I can feel God's power and presence, sometimes even more strongly than I feel it when on my own. I guess there are just different dynamics to public and private worship: there are lovely, intimate times when you are alone with Him, and then there are glorious periods when you are with friends and His love fills you, overflowing from your heart and pouring out to others around you. Sometimes His love feels so much greater when you're not only seeking to love Him back, but love His children around you as well.

It's also a treasure to know that I have friends who have my back with prayer. My church family prays for me, my friends pray for me. Sometimes I know they're off remembering me in their private prayer time, other times I am able to sit with them as they pray for me and let their comforting words wash over me. It's also a great moment to feel God's love and express your love for a friend when you can sit down and pray for them yourself, too.

Some of my dearest worship moments have come when I've been with friends, when they are seeking and loving God with me. When we are loving each other. We pour out our hearts to God and to each other; we worship with tears or with off-key songs and we are not ashamed. We are together and yet we are alone with God. We pray and He is near to us, and we grow stronger together. Our bonds grow and we know that it is all because of God's love pulling us together, and our prayer time drawing us close in His Spirit. It's something I don't always spend enough time doing, but yes, I am so grateful for prayer.