Purpose

Called to Pray

“I love the Lord because he hears my voice and my prayer for mercy. Because he bends down to listen, I will pray as long as I have breath!” (Psalm 116:1-2 NLT).

The trip to Louisville, Kentucky led me from Nazareth to Calvary, and beyond. God continued placing “clues” in my path to reveal my purpose. He strategically arranged for every detail to be discovered, on this treasure hunt, that would not only reveal my purpose, but also His power.

As I traveled towards Calvary, I was led to a church. Upon entering, I picked up prayer cards displayed in the lobby. These were to lead me to my calling from God- Prayer.

I must say, I struggled with this for many years. I had no background in praying “original” prayers to God and couldn’t imagine God would place in me a “calling” that required doing something in which I had zero experience. Shouldn’t you be born with that gift? This was totally foreign to me. In addition, didn’t everyone pray?

I believed I had been born to be a teacher. Even as a child, I “played school”, with my younger brother. It’s all I ever wanted to do. Reading books was my greatest love. Walking into a library and getting a whiff of musty books, made me feel grounded in who I was created to be.

I had no hesitation in selecting Elementary Education, in college, and taught young children most of my career. Why would God choose something so “out-of-the-box” as prayer, when I lived, breathed, and loved teaching children?

As a new Christian, I continued asking God and others, for years, “What is my purpose? What should I do next?” In the meantime, God kept saying the same thing- prayer. I brushed it off, thinking that was everyone’s “calling”. All Christians prayed, right?

Recently, I’ve looked back over journals from that time when I recorded what I felt God was saying to me. Over and over, I asked God what He wanted me to do and He answered over and over that I was “called” to pray.

Even though I wasn’t mentally on board yet, God kept unfolding prayer group after prayer group that I was to attend, in a very calculated way. Sometimes it was with one seasoned woman who had years of experience talking to God in prayer. Sometimes in small prayer groups, other times in larger groups. It was all new to me and there was so much to learn!

I am so grateful to the women God has put in my life who helped me understand the privilege and power of prayer. This was not something they took lightly. They had a calling from God and it was to pray for others daily and deeply. They were so gracious to me and even though I never felt I “measured up” to their level of talking with God, it was not because of their attitude or behavior towards me. They were completely loving, kind and always ready to pray for me and our family.

I just want all of my family members to know that SO many people have prayed for you over the years. Prayers have been lifted to God for health, jobs, safety, salvation, and so much more. I can’t list all of the names of the women and men whose prayers have made and will make an eternal difference for our family. But, I am so grateful for their passion and persistence in seeking the Father for those they know and those they may never meet.

It is a joy when we come to terms with who God created us to be. We may be surprised that God would use us in certain ways, but He is our Creator and has the perfect plan for our lives.

Discovering God’s plan, when we don’t know what the picture looks like, can be like putting a puzzle together, without the lid of the box.

In the last year, God has tied teaching, children, and prayer together. I believe the next step will involve teaching children to pray. I would have never put the two together, in the beginning, because I didn’t know Jesus, then. Now it makes perfect sense!

God’s plan to teach the next generation to pray, at an early age, can truly change the way people interact with God and affect lives worldwide.

Is it possible God has a plan for your life that you have never considered because it’s so far from what you think you can do?

Ask God to put the pieces of your puzzle together. You may be surprised when the picture is revealed!

“Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known” (Jeremiah 33:3 ESV).

It’s all about Jesus! To God be the glory!
Blessings and love, Gayle

© 2018 Gayle Holcomb

4 Comments

  • Linda

    Gayle, you are a wonderful teacher that is definitely your gift! And prayer is your purpose and the two will make big differences in so many peoples lives. I can’t wait to keep learning from you my friend! ❤️

  • becky youngs

    Gayle, I cannot wait to meet with you to share how our amazing children prayed before and during the hurricane! And also how God used your special love offering as such a tremendous help!

    Thank you so much for your heart and for your desire to follow Christ. You are an amazing prayer warrior and teacher!

  • Beverly Brown

    Wonderful post, Gayle. I have learned so much from you over the past 6 or so years. Thankful you’re willing to reveal what God shows you.

  • Lucy A.

    Very glad you sensed the guiding of the Holy Spirit and responded to it accordingly……!
    I advise you to obey only the Holy Spirit’s instructions. He will tell you where to go and what to do, and then you won’t always be doing the wrong things your evil nature wants you to.
    Galatians 5:16 ❤