Casandra Martin

“To be a Christian without prayer is no more possible than to be alive without breathing.”  – Martin Luther King, Jr.

I love Dr. King’s perspective on prayer. Prayer is essential to life as a Christian. It gives us focus, shapes perspective, honors holiness, and fuels surrender. In prayer, we meet God. We draw near to His presence and learn to bow in submission to His sovereignty and humble ourselves before His mighty power. Our eyes, which get so distracted and dazzled by the world, become reoriented in the light of His glory.

Faith finds its footing in prayer. Prayer acknowledges who is King and who is servant. It helps us seek His will in all things, asks Him to move in our circumstances and struggles, and opens our hearts to the blessings He longs to pour into our lives.

Intimacy is born in the arena of prayer. It is here that our souls become most transparent, our motives move into the penetrating light of His wisdom, and our actions must stand beneath the gaze of His faithfulness and purity. Here is where we are most deeply known and where we learn to know Him. He invites us into prayer because it is the place where relationship grows best.

In experiencing the power of prayer, we are transformed. As we pour out our hearts to God in prayer, He moves in and fills us with Himself. Prayer helps us shed the selfish, me-oriented baggage that we tend to carry around. In its place, God changes us to look more like Jesus. With each word, we take on more of His character. With each confession, we receive more grace. With each note of praise, we learn to seek His face. With each act of surrender, we walk deeper into His presence.

My Jesus Resolution today is to pray. I want to pray without ceasing. I want to develop an awareness of His presence that is so vibrant that I can’t help but invest myself in conversation with Him. I want prayer to be as natural as breathing.