When Women Pray
Thirty-plus women gathered in a room connected by a mission: prayer. Drawn from Brooklyn, Long Island, Orange County, Westchester, New York, and even South Carolina, to South Jersey for a Face-to-Face Meet Up, this Face Book private group – under the leadership of our visionary Joyce A. Jones – has impacted women’s lives and their loved ones phenomenally!
Being a member of this group has truly expanded my mind and heart on the capabilities of prayer. Something not tangible, without material value, closed to no one, not defined, or structured by man, is so powerful that it brings women to the feet of God! All I know is that prayer works, and I’ll never in life ever think of it as a little thing or just a thing that we do.
We greeted one another for the first time, we shared food together, we listened to two dynamic messages, we were individually prayed for and prayed over one another. Our “soul train line” was transformed to a “spiritual self-awareness line.” The women each stated something about themselves with words according to the first letter of their name as they danced down the middle of the line. This was extraordinary in itself as our age range went from about 30 to 65+, with many health challenges in the group. And y’all, we had some moves!
Women shared intimate details about what this event meant to them, some visibly moved that day, others being transformed weeks after the event occurred. As I looked over this beautiful garden of fantastic spirited women of God, I knew I needed to write something about them, about us. From all stages of life – mothers, daughters, grandmothers, aunts, sisters, cousins, friends, pastors, elders, ministers, deacons, professionals, entrepreneurs, and leaders – we stirred the Holy Ghost power in that room.
It was like all previous prayers from the “call” came to a head at one time in this space. We’ve been building an atmosphere of prayers that shake the heavens through this prayer group. Just to make things perfectly clear: When Women Pray 4 U (WWP4U) are not praying idol routine random words without meaning! Prayer is a conversation with our Father God, through Jesus Christ our Savior with the help of the Holy Spirit. Our prayers (words based on Bible truths, thanksgiving, gratitude, heartfelt desires, needs, healing, salvation, God-ordained motives and actions) have a purpose, are part of a process connected to God’s will, and produce fruit (results)!
Why would I desire to share this story with you? Because of the monumental heights prayer takes on and divulges. As different as we women are, we are all the same!
Here’s what many of these fabulous faithful sisters shared in common.
- Embraced the fact that we are loved by God and each other, and are never alone.
- Found the freedom to come out of hiding, letting go and saying yes to God.
- Experienced such an overwhelming spirit of togetherness that transparency and authentic exchanges of self prevailed.
- Realized that we are all coming out of something and are in need of support.
- Apprehended how essential it is for us to have continuous loads of self-confidence, with the God sight of who He says we are and that we can accomplish all He desires of our lives, through His Spirit.
Caring and sharing is what this community of sisters-in-Christ is all about. We show up for ourselves and each other weekly in prayer and thanksgiving to God. We deal with and release everything and anything that doesn’t look like or sound like something from our Father. Our prayer line is powerful, so much so that even today (more than a month after), the overflow from that women’s event is still healing among us.
God reaches into the soul and touches what He knows needs fixing, although often our prayer focus has a different tone. My experience has been like this: The prayer is for manifestation of a thing (healing, financial independence, service in the Kingdom, restoration, and revelation for loved ones to the presence of God). His answer? First giving me a process to deal with my confidence, impatience, courage, and anxiety. God’s focus is always on the “me” in us that no one else sees.
Prayers are answered as we say “YES” to God and get out of the way so He can move for our own good. In other words, we must get comfortable not knowing all things and be able to adjust to “different.” Progression towards the end product of what we thought always involves something different, and we must have total trust in Him.
Prayer places what’s on our mind and in our heart into the presence of Jesus. He knows that we have been carrying heavy loads, the weight of our pain, the burden of sin, a heap of worry that challenges us. Jesus says: Come to me, my children, come to me. “For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Prayer opens the way to receive who Jesus is: He is good and His way is good, not burdensome, or difficult. (Matthew 11:29-30 NIV)
This scripture is not telling us that life will lose all of its trouble. It promises us that we can face life triumphantly with God. It’s when we tell God what to do and try to alter His plans that things don’t work well. I wonder what would happen if we consider the tests or trials we must endure in this light: “So we are convinced that every detail of our lives is continually woven together for good, for we are His lovers who have been called to fulfill his designed purpose.” (Romans 8:28 TPT) It’s all about His way, Father God the Creator.
Pray! It means something to our Father. Believe in prayer! Trust Him to bring LIGHT to your prayers in the name of Jesus!
Gayle Smith, Author, Christian Life Coach (certification pending)
