Lately, God has been stirring inside of me each and everyday about the power of prayer. Sometimes, I get so comfortable with doing life in my normal routines that I can get reliant on myself. I don’t want to be dependent on myself. I have been in and out of seasons where I think I am depending on God but I have become complacent in prayer and depended on myself more than I realized I was. I have asked myself recently if I am putting all of my energy into praying for God to take care of me, direct my steps, give me wisdom, and show me His love for me or am I trying to figure things out on my own. There are days I need to be woken up, just like Jesus did in Luke 22:46 when He said, “why are you sleeping”? Wake up and pray! Wake up from your slumber or your passivity and take some action. Quit trying to figure out problems or circumstances inside your own brain. RISE UP and PRAY so that you will not fall into the temptation from the enemy to walk in doubt, unbelief, fear or deception.

Just like an alarm clock going off in the morning to wake up your physical body to get out of bed, the Spirit of God is sounding an alarm to wake up and RISE UP and PRAY more! This alarm being sound is coming from the Holy Spirit being our helper because He knows that He was sent to come along side us and give us solutions to life. When we receive Jesus as our Savior and make Him Lord of our life, we have the Holy Spirit sent to live inside us and guide us in our decisions. He is there waiting for you to ask Him what to do in your situation that you are facing right in front of you. The difficult circumstance, the mountain that seems too big, the challenge that feels like it will take you out, right there at that point of emotion, it only takes a moment to call upon His name for help. He will meet you right where you are at. He doesn’t expect you to be further along than you are, He knows you and He loves you. He is asking you to ask Him and look to Him for help. It really is so simple to RISE and PRAY. It just takes a decision that we need more of God. We need more of His love, we need more of His wisdom, we need more of His power and ability in our lives. Sometimes we talk about prayer but struggle to do it. We have to take the next step to set aside time to intentionally pray. Prayer is simply talking to God and listening to what He would say back to you. Just like having a conversation with your best friend, you can have the most amazing conversations with God. He is the smartest, most brilliant person in the universe and He wants to talk to you and walk with you.

I had a precious friend give me a book back in December that has been such a sweet gift to me. It is called Draw the Circle, The 40 Day Prayer Challenge by Mark Batterson. He is a dynamic pastor of a great church in Washington, D.C. He has a podcast called www.theaterchurch.com if you would like to check him out. This devotional daily prayer book has been fantastic. God has used it to challenge me to Rise Up! I was already praying but God is stirring me to pray more, seek more, and ask more. This book has encouraged me to contend for the promises of God for myself and be brave to ask God for big things. If you want to order a copy today off of Amazon, you will be stirred and blessed by this book. My expectations are growing and increasing and strength comes when I stop and pray. Today, the alarm is sounding to wake up. God is calling each one of us to RISE UP and PRAY! God can do the most amazing things in our lives when we make room for Him.

Will you take the challenge to hear the alarm from the Holy Spirit and respond to RISE UP and PRAY?