30 Day Prayer Challenge

1 Thessalonians 5:17 NLT “Pray without ceasing”

Has God ever placed a person in your heart to pray for? How long did you pray for that person? A day? week? month? Or have you incorporated that person into your daily prayer life? The person God placed in your heart, are you able to see the quick work that God is doing in their life because of your consistent prayers? Or maybe after you prayed for that person did their actions go contrary to your prayers? Did you feel like giving up because it felt like God didn’t hear your prayers for them? If so, this is why God tells us to pray without ceasing because He needs time to work in them or because there is a spiritual warfare that we have to pray through.

Last year in the beginning of 2018, I saw a post on Instagram “Pick a person and for the next 30 days pray for their happiness. Don’t tell them you’re praying for them. Watch God work”. I picked a sister-friend who a rough ending of 2017. Well God heard my prayers, because in 2018 she received a job offer that she didn’t qualify for, a salary to match the position, and a fiancé within the same year. After witnessing her blessings, I said that I’m going to do the prayer challenge again this year in 2019. This time God placed in my heart a family member and another sister-friend. I decided that I was going to remix the 30 day prayer challenge and pray for their peace, health, joy, wealth, love, mind, body, spirit and their happiness.

The family member that I was praying for was a bit more challenging than I had anticipated. I knew I was truly interceding and standing in the gap on their behalf with this prayer challenge. There were some days after speaking with my relative that I became frustrated and would say “UGH!! They’re never going to change”. Those feelings and thoughts made me want to give up and stop praying for them. I then realized during my morning prayer time that was the enemy causing spiritual warfare. The enemy was mad because I was praying for this person’s entire being and he didn’t want me to stand in the gap for their life to change. I had to ask for strength to pray and press through the frustration. Needless to say the 30 day prayer challenge was a process for myself as well as my relative. Since then I noticed that God did answer some of the specific prayers and I see positive changes in their life. I’m grateful that God chose me to be their prayer warrior.

As for my sister- friend I had a different 30 day prayer challenge experience. I prayed similar prayers for her as I did for my family member, but I noticed the change in her two days into the challenge. One day when her and I were catching up on life she texted “I learned a lot about myself since 12/30/18 and I need to change a lot that I wasn’t expecting.. So I’m just trying to figure me out. So I really just been listening to sermons, meditating, praying, and crying (of course). I responded “OMG it’s a beautiful transformation. It’s ugly at first but when you draw closer to God watch”. In that God felt moment, I knew that God heard my prayers and had already began a work in her before He placed her in my heart for the 30 day prayer challenge.

Praying for a person from the inside out and from the top of their head to the bottom of their feet is no easy assignment. There will be times where you will be attacked spiritually, mentally, and emotionally. The enemy will try everything in his power to make you want to give up, but you have to pray without ceasing. Sometimes it will take more than a 30 day prayer challenge for their heart to desire more of God and to be striped of their old ways thoughts and habits, but God hears your prayers. Or maybe praying for that person puts you in agreement with what God has planned for their life. A 30 day prayer challenge could be the beginning of their transformation so keep praying!