Week 4 – PRAYER
Above the Situation
– Mariah Gallegos
John 17:20-26: Jesus prays for his desire for everyone to experience and share the same intimacy that he has with the Father. Prayer can reveal deep desires to the Lord on one’s behalf. As for my experiences in the past, I had to lose the things that were most valuable to me to fully be vulnerable with the Lord in prayer.
During the first semester of my sophomore year of college, I got a job working as a server at a nice Italian café, all while taking 18 units and paying for my own tuition. One night after work, I noticed something weird and kind of strange; I didn’t have my cell phone with me. And as a young adult living in the millennial generation, I was very surprised that I didn’t realize it sooner. After grasping onto the situation, I remembered that I had left it in a public restroom next to my job. Unfortunately, it was no longer in there after I went back for it.
On the bike ride back to my dorm, I began to pray aloud, thanking God for everything that was important in my life, in addition to how grateful I was for the things that I didn’t have. Regrettably, I was still upset and tried to convince myself that my cell phone was just a material object. And, just as I was beginning to recover from the situation, within that same week, my teal beach cruiser was stolen. Not only was I already torn about my iPhone being stolen, but I was more upset about my bike because it was the longest material thing I’ve ever owned. But, despite the misfortunate series of events, I got on my knees and praised the Lord once again for things that mattered most and prayed to find him in light of things.
After what was considerably the most horrible week of my life, I remembered Markita Roberson preaching about how “We become holy by virtue of a relationship with our Lord.” Despite the chaos I was facing, I had to find satisfaction with the Lord and understand I am nothing without him. Just as Jesus found his inner being with the Lord, I prayed to find myself righteous above the situation.
No matter what the circumstances were, from losing my phone to losing my bike within the same week, I continued to give God the glory. Just by knowing him in my secret place and recognizing his love for me after all the heartache I went through, God remained by my side. Prayer is something not to be taken for granted but to be enjoyed. It is constructed as adoration, confession, thanksgiving, and an outlet to allow God to reside within us. In addition, prayer can allow for us to be vulnerable and share compassion with God. It is by far the best option I’ve ever made to give God all the glory. Now I challenge those who feel like nothing good could ever come to them to reconsider and keep a steady heart.