07/06/2025 When We Pray
5 Day Devotional
Day 1: Preparing for the Mountaintop
Devotional
Have you ever noticed how the most significant moments in your spiritual journey often come after periods of prayer? Throughout Scripture, we see this pattern repeatedly—mountaintop encounters with God following dedicated prayer.
Jesus himself modeled this for us. In Luke 9, before the magnificent transfiguration where his appearance changed and his clothes became dazzling white, Jesus took Peter, John, and James up on a mountain to pray. The disciples witnessed Jesus' glory only after accompanying him in prayer.
Our lives may not include literal mountains, but we all long for those transformative moments when God's presence feels undeniably real. These spiritual high points don't typically happen randomly—they follow our intentional connection with God through prayer.
Prayer isn't merely about presenting our wish lists to God. It's about positioning ourselves to see Him more clearly. When we pray, we're saying, "God, I want to know you better. I want to understand who you are and what you're doing in my life."
Just as a relationship deepens through consistent communication, our relationship with God grows through regular prayer. Even when life feels overwhelming, like Susanna Wesley with her ten children, we can find creative ways to connect with God—whether it's throwing an apron over our head or setting aside five minutes of quiet time.
Bible Verse
"Jesus took with him Peter, John and James and went up onto a mountain to pray. As he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became as bright as a flash of lightning." - Luke 9:28-29
Reflection Question
What creative ways might you incorporate prayer into your daily routine, even during your busiest seasons?
Quote
Prayer prepares us for a deeper understanding of who Jesus is. When we pray, we aren't just asking for things. We are positioning ourselves to see God more clearly in order to have a mountaintop moment.
Prayer
Lord, help me to prioritize prayer not just as something to check off my list, but as the pathway to experiencing more of You. Prepare my heart for deeper encounters with Your presence. Amen.
Day 2: Beyond the Cosmic Coke Machine
Devotional
How often do we approach prayer like a vending machine transaction? Insert prayer, receive exactly what we requested. When God doesn't deliver precisely what we want, exactly when and how we want it, we feel disappointed or even betrayed.
This transactional view of prayer misses the greater purpose God intends. Prayer isn't primarily about getting things from God—it's about connecting to His greater story and aligning ourselves with His purposes.
Take a moment to reflect on your recent prayers. How much focused on your personal comfort, convenience, or desires? How much connected to God's kingdom purposes? If God answered all your prayers with a resounding "yes" right now, would only your life change, or would the world around you be transformed too?
When Jesus taught His disciples to pray, He didn't present prayer as optional. In Matthew 6, He repeatedly used the phrase "when you pray"—not "if." Prayer was assumed to be an essential practice for followers of Christ, alongside giving and fasting.
The beautiful paradox of prayer is that as we connect to God's greater story, we often find our personal needs met in unexpected ways. As we seek first His kingdom, many of the things we worried about fall into proper perspective. Prayer shifts our focus from our limited view to God's eternal purposes.
Bible Verse
"And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full." - Matthew 6:5
Reflection Question
If someone analyzed your prayers from the past week, what would they reveal about your priorities and your understanding of God's character?
Quote
Do you treat God as your cosmic Coke machine? God still provided you a soda, but you'd be upset that he gave you something other than what you asked for. You want God to give you what you asked for when you asked for it? Exactly how you asked for it. That's not how God works oftentimes.
Prayer
Father, forgive me for treating You like a cosmic vending machine. Help me to see beyond my immediate wants to Your greater purposes. Align my heart with Your kingdom priorities. Amen.
Day 3: Awakening from Spiritual Slumber
Devotional
Many of us move through life in a state of spiritual sleepwalking. We go through the motions—work, eat, sleep, repeat—without truly experiencing the fullness of life God intends for us. We're physically awake but spiritually asleep.
This spiritual slumber dulls our senses to God's presence and activity all around us. We miss the divine appointments, the holy moments, the gentle whispers of God's Spirit. We exist rather than truly live.
Prayer is God's alarm clock for our souls. It awakens us from this spiritual sleep and makes us alert to God's movement in our lives and in the world. When we pray, we're essentially saying, "God, wake me up! Help me see what You see, hear what You hear, and feel what You feel."
The disciples experienced this during Jesus' transfiguration. Luke 9:32 tells us they were "very sleepy, but when they became fully awake, they saw his glory." This physical description mirrors our spiritual reality—we must become fully awake to witness God's glory.
Why settle for merely existing when God offers abundant life? Prayer invites us into that abundance by awakening our spiritual senses. It removes the fog of complacency and helps us see with clarity the purpose and meaning God intends for our lives.
Bible Verse
"Peter and his companions were very sleepy, but when they became fully awake, they saw his glory and the two men standing with him." - Luke 9:32
Reflection Question
In what areas of your life might you be spiritually sleepwalking, going through the motions without truly experiencing God's presence?
Quote
You are the walking dead. Cause you've been sleepwalking the whole time because you are in a spiritual slumber. You've just been walking fully asleep, thinking that you're awake because you're just spiritually asleep.
Prayer
Lord, awaken me from spiritual slumber. Open my eyes to see Your glory, my ears to hear Your voice, and my heart to feel Your presence. I don't want to just exist—I want to truly live the abundant life You offer. Amen.
Day 4: The Sacred Art of Listening
Devotional
Prayer is often misunderstood as a one-way conversation—us talking to God. We come with our lists, our needs, our desires, and we speak them all to God. But what if prayer is meant to be a dialogue rather than a monologue?
The most transformative prayers often begin with silence. Counterintuitive as it may seem, the best way to start praying is to stop talking. To pause. To be still. To create space for God to speak.
Our culture is deeply uncomfortable with silence. Studies show that many people would rather experience physical discomfort than sit quietly with their thoughts. We fill every moment with noise, activity, and distraction. Perhaps this explains why our prayer lives often feel shallow—we never quiet ourselves enough to hear God's voice.
Psalm 46:10 invites us to "Be still, and know that I am God." This stillness isn't passive; it's an active posture of receptivity. It's putting down our agendas and surrendering our need to control the conversation.
When we learn to listen in prayer, we begin to recognize God's voice in our daily lives. We notice divine promptings, spiritual insights, and holy coincidences that we might otherwise miss. As Archbishop William Temple wisely observed, "When I pray, coincidences happen. And when I stop praying, the coincidences stop happening."
Bible Verse
"Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth." - Psalms 46:10
Reflection Question
What practices might help you incorporate more listening into your prayer life, and what fears or resistances do you have about sitting in silence before God?
Quote
The best way to start a prayer is therefore to actually stop praying. The best way to start a prayer is to stop praying and to pause and to be still and to put down your prayer list and to surrender your own personal agenda just to be quiet and just to be in the still.
Prayer
God, teach me the sacred art of listening. Help me to quiet my racing thoughts, set aside my agendas, and create space to hear Your voice. Speak, Lord, for Your servant is listening. Amen.
Day 5: From Habit to Transformation
Devotional
Spiritual transformation rarely happens overnight. Like physical fitness, spiritual growth comes through consistent habits practiced over time. Prayer is perhaps the most fundamental of these spiritual habits—the foundation upon which mountaintop experiences are built.
Jesus didn't just teach about prayer; He modeled it consistently. Before His transfiguration, before choosing His disciples, before His crucifixion—Jesus prayed. In the Garden of Gethsemane, facing His greatest trial, Jesus fell to the ground and prayed, "Not my will, but yours be done." This prayer of surrender exemplifies the ultimate purpose of prayer: aligning our will with God's.
The journey to a vibrant prayer life begins with small steps. As with eating an elephant—one bite at a time—we develop a prayer habit one prayer at a time. Start with just a few minutes daily. Use the PRAY method: Pause to be still, Rejoice with thanksgiving, Ask with faith, and Yield to God's will.
Over time, these small habits accumulate into profound transformation. Prayer shifts our desires from personal comfort to God's purposes. It awakens us from spiritual slumber. It connects us to God's greater story. And ultimately, it prepares us for those mountaintop moments when we experience God's presence in extraordinary ways.
The power of prayer isn't in perfect words or lengthy sessions—it's in the consistent connection with our Creator who longs to transform us from the inside out.
Bible Verse
"Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, 'My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.'" - Matthew 26:39
Reflection Question
What small, sustainable prayer habit could you commit to this week that might grow into a transformative practice over time?
Quote
How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time. And so today we just start with one prayer, right? And then tomorrow we try to do it again, and the next day we do it again, and the next day we do it again.
Prayer
Father, help me develop consistency in prayer. Transform my sporadic conversations with You into a life-giving habit that changes me from the inside out. I surrender my will to Yours, trusting that Your purposes are greater than my preferences. Amen.