Growing up in the church, prayer was a routine part of my life. We would pray before every meal and then say a prayer every night before bed. These prayers were usually short and monotonous and lacked intent and boldness. It wasn’t until I entered adulthood that I realized the real power of prayer.
In his 40-day prayer challenge, Draw the Circle, Mark Batterson says, “Bold prayers honor God, and God honors bold prayers.” God isn’t offended by your biggest dreams or boldest prayers. He is offended by anything less.
Draw the Circle is the most influential book I’ve ever read on how to truly tap into the power of prayer. I was blown away with what I read as I turned every page. I couldn’t wait until the next day, so I would often read ahead. Before reading this, I failed to grasp the power that prayer had. It is literally our direct line to God. We can come to him, just as we would come to our own dad, and pour out our hearts’ desires, fears and praises.
I used to be so intimidated by prayer. I would hear my dad and mom praying so confidently, eloquently and with so much wisdom and power that I feared sounding inadequate when I would pray. Will God even hear my prayers? Do I need to string together some fancy words and phrases in order to be heard or in order to please him? I had so many misconceptions about prayer.
Praying boldly is intimidating. What if God doesn’t answer our prayers? What if we make fools out of ourselves and out of him? What if my prayers aren’t important enough? These were always my biggest fears. But diving deeper into his Word, we see that every single prayer is important to him. He always shows up and shows out.
And those who know Your name [who have experienced Your precious mercy] will put their confident trust in You,
For You, O Lord, have not abandoned those who seek You.
— Psalm 9:10 AMP
Take your worries, your fears and your mountains to him. Turn your routine, timid prayers into audacious ones. Pray boldly, pray fervently, pray as though it depends on God because, after all, it does.