Prayer and the Holy Spirit

One of my passions is prayer and I love to intercede for other people! I did my undergrad studies at Toccoa Falls College in northeast Georgia and it was there, that I started to become passionate about prayer. My freshman year was a very dark and difficult time in my life and I felt like I was barely holding onto my faith. The Lord was merciful and surrounded me with godly friends and mentors who came alongside me and helped to bear the tremendous burdens I was facing. They listened to me, prayed with and for me, and made themselves available to me. Through their example, I learned so much about the power of prayer. I love praying with and for people; I also love talking to the Lord throughout my day. The Lord often will place a person on my heart and I will stop and pray, no matter the time of day. Sometimes I will wake up in the middle of the night and pray; I don't always know who I need to pray for or what the needs might be, but I pray anyway.One of the things I learned while at Toccoa and also here at CIU is praying in the moment. For example, if I'm talking to a friend and they ask for me to pray; I often will ask if I can pray for them right then and there. They, in turn, often respond positively and it encourages them to know someone is praying for them. I have been guilty in the past of saying I'll pray for someone and then walk away and forget to pray. I have countless opportunities to pray for people, both those that know Jesus and those who do not have a relationship with him. I don't want to miss an opportunity to pray. My friends know if they need someone to pray for something, they can come to me. I am blessed to have a husband and godly friends who take the time to pray with and for me. One of the things that can hinder my prayer life is distraction. Another hindrance is selfishness; when I get wrapped up in my life and concerns or when I'm simply complacent in my walk with the Lord, my prayer life becomes less and the worries of my heart increase. When that happens, I must confess it, repent of it, and ask the Lord to help me to keep my mind focused on him so that I, in turn, can keep the right perspective. Prayer is powerful and effective and I never want to lose my passion for praying and seeing the Lord work in my life and in the lives of those around me.