Prayer is our conversation with God. Though he knows our heart, he wants to hear from us. Most conversations are a “give and take”. While I speak, you listen and vice versa. When I look back over my prayer life, I have been known to make demands—especially for things I wanted or I thought were best for my life at the time. I didn’t listen, as I was too busy talking. Those demands still sneak into my prayers, but I certainly hope I better follow the will of God by seeking and listening.

In Priscilla Shirer’s book, Fervent (inspired by the movie, War Room), she explains that “praying with precision is key”. Be specific in your prayers. We best keep our prayers focused when we pray about the areas where the enemy is working. Shirer further states that we must trust God for the right things, sense his direction about what to do and then take action accordingly.

Sometimes, the wait for His direction and answer cause us to become weary. Specifically, we wonder if God really hears us. Or why He chooses to delay His answer. Though I can name multiple times in my personal life that God has answered a prayer with a blessing better than I could have imagined, I often get discouraged by the one prayer he has not yet answered. This is what the enemy wants---discouragement and doubt.

One way to be reminded that we should wait on the Lord is to keep a prayer journal. When discouragement and doubt find their way in your walk, pray thankfully for all the prayers that have been answered. Keeping a sense of thanksgiving will thwart the enemy.

Within your conversation with God, thank Him expectantly for the prayer He will answer. Wait for him. As difficult as it is to see “in the moment”, His timing is always perfect or our future. His ways are best.