Prayer

Gilon: Hey guys, it's The Walking Well Podcast. I'm your host, Gilon Marts. Thank you. Thank you for watching or listening, however you get the podcast. It's season seven and in season seven we have been talking about wilderness places. And that can be a place of discouragement. It could be a place of God, what's happening?

Intro- 00:26

Gilon: It could be a place of spiritual change and transition. Any spot in your life that just feels tough and dry and like this ain't it. Welcome to the wilderness, right? And so this season is all about the tools that I have found in my wilderness space, my space of transition, that have been helpful, right?

It hasn't necessarily wrapped things up, but it's, it's assisted me in my journey. And so we started out talking about the necessity of hope in this space; knowing that it's for now, not forever. We talked about the importance of making peace with time, that time is gonna have to pass. That this is a journey, it's a process, let it be.

And then last episode we talked about participating in our faith, which is to say, Hey, I'm going to believe God for goodness somewhere, right? Because the wilderness has a way of battering your belief. And so today's episode is about prayer and it's, it's a kind of like level two of last week.

It's kind of like a, all right, let's take this a step further, right? Because in my experience, in my transition, in my wilderness spot, I definitely found myself in a space of like, what, what still matters? What are the things that I need to keep, because there are things that aren't working anymore, right? Like, I'm trying all this stuff to wrap up this season, and it's, it's not working. Or God, I asked you for stuff. I thought I heard you right, but the outcome wasn't what I expected or what I hoped for. Or, Hey, this came outta left field and you and me were talking. Why didn't you tell me this was coming down the road?

All of like, all of those experiences- that kind of like, continuum of experiences with God can really... for me, they made me feel like, okay, does anything matter? Like, I'm gonna ask you for stuff. I'm gonna pray. It seems like it doesn't matter if I pray, if I don't like life is going to life and we hate it here.

Prayerlessness = Soul Sickness- 02:09

Gilon: But I can say from experience, prayerlessness is a key indicator of like spiritual depression, which sounds super deep. I sound real deep. But I think it, it is like, it's one of those like, Hey, what's going on with you? Are you, are you okay? And I say that because I think when your hope has been battered, when your belief has been assaulted, even when your sense of like, Hey, I have influence with God has been undermined, prayerlessness is like, is the, is the outworking of the belief that I, I don't have power or authority anymore, or I don't have power or authority. And I think, like I mentioned last week, a lot of times the enemy uses disappointments and discouragements to assault core beliefs and core principles, even identities. And I think what's under assault when life be life'ing is your identity as a daughter, is your identity as a son, is your identity as an heir, as a person of influence in the kingdom of God. 

And for me, my prayerlessness was a response to my disappointment. My prayerlessness was an outworking of discouragement. Like, I am not gonna ask you for nothing because I did that before and it didn't work. You know? I asked you for stuff and this blew up in my face. And so I'm not gonna ask you for nothing. You know, I'm, I'm gonna take whatever life brings because it doesn't even matter. And I had to get really honest. And I feel like. I feel like God was prodding me like, Hey, you need to pray. You need, you need to ask me for stuff.

And not stuff like, ask me for a car, but you need to pray to me and use the same belief and authority that you used in the previous season to say, my day will go. You know what I'm saying? I'm believing you for protection. Like I'm, I'm not even, I'm not even believing God for his promises anymore. Like that's how bad it got for me where I was like, you know, I know there's some core things like I'm supposed to believe for health and healing.

And if somebody's sick, I'm supposed to pray for them. I'm supposed to believe for provision. I know that you've made that available to me. Like that's a promise. But these things that feel like it's a toss-up, these things that are, well, maybe you will, maybe you won't- I'm not, I'm not touching that. I'm only touching the stuff that I know is like a guarantee. 

But that was a moment for me to reflect and go, wait a minute. You know, healthy Gilon , healthy, spiritual, healthy in soul Gilon believed God. And would ask God for stuff and was bold about that. So what's happened? You know, how did we get here?

What's going on? What's wrong? And so you know taking heed to yourself and your doctrine, paying attention to yourself. There are things, obviously, I think we always will go through a maturation in the spirit. You know, the wilderness is about maturing. So there are things that you, you put off and you take on.

Necessity of Prayer- 04:58

Gilon: But there are some things that I've found that even in the transition of season, even in the growth and maturation, continue and carry with you, right? Like there's a, there's an element of like when the children of Israel were crossing to Jordan, there were things that they had to leave behind.

It's like, this will not go, right? This can't go with you when you cross over. And so there's some, some things, some traditional beliefs, even some religiosity that like in different phases of your faith you put down because they don't serve you no more. They were for a time, just like the law was for a time. They were for a time, and now you're growing up out of them. 

Prayer is not one of those things. Prayer is the alphabet. Prayer is your connection. Prayer is your awareness. Prayer is your... it's like your attachment to God. And when I say that, I mean as people we all have a, like a core attachment to a caregiver, right? Everyone has a mother. And so like in the therapy counseling world, in the child development world, attachment is the relationship that you have with a central caregiver that you get everything that you need for life through, right? You're learning social skills, you are learning that the world is safe, that you have someone that's gonna respond to you. This person takes care of your most basic needs. In, in this relationship, you learn how to be human. And our attachment to God is that same way. But prayer is that attachment, right? We come into the world connected to God because-- anyway, we come into the world connected to God and prayer is one of those ways that we can, we can foster, we can grow, we can become more sensitive to that connection that core relationship with the Lord.

Prayer as Detox- 06:30

Gilon: I say all that to say, the big takeaway is prayerlessness is a symptom of a sick soul, right? And when you're in the desert, when you're in the wilderness, child, your soul can get sick and, and soul sickness can reveal itself in so many ways. So I have found in this space that prayer is oxygen. 

And prayer is oxygen, one, because it's a soul detox, right? There's something transformative that happens when you just sit down, when you take a walk, when you gather with other people and you pray. And for me, I have always been someone who prays out loud and not like, our Father who are in heaven. Although, you know, sometimes that's a thing. I pray, like I, like, I'm talking to one of my friends. I pray you know, in the car driving. I'm just talking to God like, Okay, so this is whack. I don't like it here. I feel like you don't care, like, or God, this was really good. I see that you're like connecting these dots for me. Like it's just always been a way that I just talk to God. I just talk. 

And I have found-- obviously when I first realized like, oh, things are shifting in my faith, things are shifting between me and You, or even shifting just internally for myself. I did a lot of complaining. I totally did a lot of complaining, which I think God has a tolerance for. Cause it's like, hey, you got cares, cast them over. But there, there's a part of saying this is hard. There's a part of saying like, this is all the stuff rumbling around on the inside of me that needs to happen for us as believers.

And I think that we need it like air. There's this, I am, I'm breathing out and I need to breathe in whatever you have for me. You know, man doesn't live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds outta the mouth of God. And so obviously the detox part can be, Hey, I'm telling you all the stuff that's going on with me and, and I'm expecting to hear your voice.

And even if I don't hear you say anything, I know that being in your presence does something for me. Like. I am always in your presence, but prayer brings an awareness of that presence, that awareness of, okay, wait. You're here with me. Or even just like, all right, I just said a bunch of stuff. I said, I hate it here. You don't care. You this, this, this, this, this-- is all that true?  You know? It gives me the moment to go, all right, this is the stuff that I'm feeling now. Where's the truth? Right. 

And so prayer is a, it's a spiritual discipline. But it's also the core of our faith life, like praying is, is our core muscle. Just like your abs, our core, core muscle group. They help you stand up, they make it possible for you to sit down and hold yourself up. Your prayer life is that way and not prayer life in the sense of, You know, this is something I'm supposed to do. I know I've gotta do this. It's an obligation. No, it's, it's a part of your identity. It's who you are. Prayer is who you are. Just like breathing is a central part of what makes you alive and who you are. Prayer is that way too. 

And so for us in the wilderness, it's important. Important that you know, that prayer is a place where you soul detox. There's so much pressing that's happening. There's so much stretching that's happening in these places. There's so much that God is trying to scoop up out of us. There's so much that God is trying to implant into us. It's important that we are- Hey God, this, this, this and this. I don't, I don't need to carry this pressure. I need to diffuse that and give that to you. And so it's a soul detox. 

Prayer is a target- 09:45

Gilon: The other thing, that prayer is, is it's, it's a target, right? So we talked about believing God being a very vulnerable thing last, last episode. And prayer is like taking that vulnerability one step further because it's saying, this is a specific thing that I'm asking you for. God, this is a care on my heart and on my mind, and I am asking you to move on it. This is difficult when you're in a wilderness space. This is difficult when you're discouraged. It's difficult when you feel disappointed because That core identity of being a person of influence with God, being someone that could, like Esther, roll into the King's court and ask for something has been assaulted with disappointment, right? It's been undermined with discouragement, with hopelessness. It's, it's a part of you now that you question, and you may not have questioned it before. 

But to be prayerful is to assert yourself again. Is to go, No, this is truly who I am, still a person that God hears. When I make my supplication, when I make my request known, God still cares. Right? Because in the Ls, in the disappointment, in the things not going the way that you had hoped or planned, the message received might have been: God doesn't care. God's not faithful. He doesn't hear you. And, the things that matter to you don't actually matter to him. Right?

And so to take a stance of prayer, to take a posture of prayer is to go, that's not true. Even though my discouragement is maybe whispering or shouting that at me, even though these past experiences are telling me that this is not gonna be any different than the last time to take a posture of prayer to go, No, no, no, I still am beloved of God, I still am someone that God bends his ear, his ear down to hear and to listen to. I still am the daughter of a God of deliverances, someone he sings and surrounds with songs and shouts and deliverance. Like I am still that person. I'm, I'm still her. She is still me. We might have had some little scuffles back here, but I know who I am and I'm not going to allow disappointing circumstances or disappointments to rip that from me, right? I'm gonna contend for that. 

And the thing about life is that it be life'ing, right? Like Jesus said, Hey, in this life you will have trouble. Right? That's a guarantee. I'm telling you that's what's gonna happen. But I think about this verse often that says, the kingdom suffers violence, which means to say stuff's gonna happen, things are gonna pop off.

And violence in the sense of like, it's gonna be disappointing. It's gonna be discouraging. You know, you going, you gonna plant something and maybe the crop might fail. Like that's life in a fallen world. But the violent take it by force. And I think sometimes the wilderness is about creating people that are spiritually violent.

And not spiritually violent in the way that we may have seen on a political level, not spiritually violent in the way that maybe you have experienced that's been kinda like nasty, but spiritually violent in the sense of, Wait a second. I know who I am, I know who God is. We are not rocking with this right here. Like this is not what it should be. This is not how you treat people. Like this is, This is residual of sin. This is residual of the fall, and I'm not rocking with it. That's not good enough. What needs to be seen is the sons and daughters made manifest. The earth is groaning to see us show up as we are, as who we are, and I'm gonna show up as who we are. And I'm gonna demand, right? I'm gonna make these demands. I'm gonna place a demand, not just on the Holy Spirit, but like, Hey this has fallen. Hey, this is in decay. This is not as it should be. This is dysfunctional. 

This is what redeemed life looks like. This is what it looks like when someone with compassion shows up. This is what it looks like when someone who knows who Christ is and represents, re-presents him to the world, looks like- this is what that looks like. Right. And I think we've gotten that mixed up. Obviously in some ways. We have a really interesting view of what it looks like to show up as representatives of Christ sometimes.

But this is about our identity. This is about who we are, who we know that we are, who we know that God is. And so putting your faith out there saying, Hey God, I'm asking for something specific, is to put a target out there to say, Hey, Lord, hey, this is, this is on my radar. And I, I'm trusting that it's on your radar too.

Hey Lord, like this person is sick. And this is not your best for them. This isn't what you promised them. And I'm gonna still believe you for, hold you to your word. Because as much as I wanna let disappointments have me question your character, have me question your faithfulness, have me question your integrity.

I'm not. No, I'm, I'm a hold to, you are still integrous, like that is still who you are. And I'm still a person that has your ear. I'm still a person that has your heart. I'm still a, a daughter that you really do care about. And so it's putting a target out there to believe God again. It's putting a target out there to see God manifest. It's putting a target out there to see God move. 

We need Stamina- 14:40

Gilon: And I think in that as well, because the wilderness is about a journey because the wilderness is about time passing, there's an element of spiritual stamina that God wants to see us develop, which is not exciting news. But I think about my, my dogs, right?

When I'm training them- not that, we're dogs to God, that's not what I'm saying. But when I'm training them, there's a, there's a point in time when I'm teaching them something new and I give them a treat immediately when they do the thing that I, I'm asking them to do. Like, oh, good job, good job, good job.

Because I wanna reinforce that very quickly. Like, oh, that's what I'm looking for. That's what I'm looking for. But as they mature in a skill, as they mature in a trick, or the request that I make of them walking along the leash, those treats become less and less frequent. Because I need them to know the behaviors, what's expected, right, not necessarily something I'm always gonna reward. There are rewards here and there. Good boy, good job. You know, like praise or whatever. But there's some stamina, right? I need to know that if I'm telling you to sit, you don't need a treat to stay in your sit. You know that you're gonna get a treat, right? Or, it just becomes so ingrained in you that you don't need a treat to do it. It becomes a part of who you are, right? 

And I think sometimes there's a spiritual stamina about us that God wants us to, to develop that says if I don't get it right now, I know enough about you to know that I'm going to receive that thing that I'm believing you for, and I'm not gonna come off of my faith because time has passed. I'm not gonna come off of my request because the last thing didn't work out. I'm gonna continue to make my request known to you. And so. I think to see your faith manifest, it does heal you in the process. You do start to see like, okay, hold on. God is still God, I'm still a person that he loves.

I'm still on his heart and mind. And those things were what they were, but they don't undermine my identity as someone who can make a request of God and see God move on a thing. I'm gonna remain in faith about that. And so, like I said last week, the wilderness is about maturation. And this is a point of maturation to be a person of prayer, regardless of if the last thing worked or not, regardless of if, Hey man, this didn't go the way that I thought it was gonna go.

I, and I'm not gonna then turn in and accuse God of being unfaithful. I'm gonna go, all right, that was a bit of life. That was a bit of the fall. You're still, God, I'm still your beloved. We gonna keep rocking in this thing. And I'm gonna grow up. I'm gonna mature. I don't need a treat. This time, I'm just gonna believe you to see the thing that you said I would see.

I'm gonna believe you for the thing that you said was mine. And I'm gonna stay on that until I see it. And so prayer is, is oxygen for us. It's so necessary. And if you find that you're not praying, if you find that you're not asking God for anything, if you find that you're not getting in a space--

Pray Out Loud- 17:15

Gilon: oh, and here's the other thing I wanted to say. Pray out loud. It's so important that you pray out loud. It's so important that you hear yourself make a request. It's so important that you pray God's word back to him. Because faith comes by hearing. And so a lot of times we're, when we're prayerless, we're faithless.

And we're just, I'm not going, I'm not putting anything out there. But it's a, it's a thing about being built up in this spirit. And so your reserves have just gotten real low. Your faith reserves have just been depleted because maybe you believe for something and it didn't work out, or life just, you know, backhanded you in a way that you didn't see coming. But pray out loud. Pray so that you can hear yourself. Pray so that your faith is being fed, your spirit is being fed off of the word that you're speaking. 

Homework!- 17:54

Gilon: And so that's my encouragement for you this week, to pray about something, ask God for something. Not just like, you know, believe for good in general, but like, be specific. I have a journal. It's a little pink, soft-back journal that I am going to stretch myself and write for some specific things, some specific requests and just date them and see. Cause I think my faith needs to see the answered prayer. Because sometimes we're just like this God, that God, this God, and we're not writing it down so that we can see when God has answered a thing, right? And so to see my faith strengthened and built up, I'm gonna start writing down specific requests, dating them, and then when I see God move on them, when I see God answer them, you know, write the date on when it was answered and check it off. Because I think that'll be a really powerful practice for my faith. 

And so I encourage you to pick one thing. Write it down somewhere, put it on a sticky note somewhere where you're gonna see it. And pray over that thing daily. God, I thank you that I receive x, I thank you that I receive y, I thank you God that I see this thing.

And if you gotta start small, start small, that's fine. But don't come off of your faith, right? Pray daily. Get before God. Lord, I thank you for this. I thank you for this. I thank you for this. God, I'm believing you for this. I pray over this person. I thank you that I have a clear mind. I thank you, Father God- whatever, but pray.

Pray this week. Pray daily. Pray often, pray unceasing, just pray. So that's my encouragement for you this week. We'll be back next week with more tips for the wilderness. I pray that you have an amazing week. Boss it out. Love you guys. Bye!