Part II: Leaving a Legacy of Prayer

For those of you who have chosen to venture with me on how to leave your own legacy of prayer, here we go. If you are just joining us, I recommend reading Part I: Leaving a Legacy of Prayer to catch up with how this story began.

Whenever I am uncertain of what a word really means, I grab a hold of my dictionary (okay, it’s usually an online dictionary) and look it up. In this case, the simple definition for “legacy” is “A thing handed down by a predecessor”

When I read this definition, my first thought is what is the “thing” in reference, so I did a little more digging and came up with the word “bequeath” meaning: to “pass (something) on or leave (something) to someone else”. This is exactly what I mean when I refer to leaving a legacy of prayer.

A well-known American poet, Walt Whitman, once wrote a simple poem in the same regards titled “My Legacy”. Whitman left behind a gift for America, his poetic words of wisdom. “I bind together and bequeath in this bundle of songs” (Whitman).

In the same manner of fashion, King Solomon bequeathed his own legacy of wisdom to his family when he contributed to The Book of Proverbs.

¹ The proverbs of Solomon son of David, king of Israel:

² for gaining wisdom and instruction;
for understanding words of insight;
³ for receiving instruction in prudent behavior,
doing what is right and just and fair;

(Proverbs 1:1-3)

Both Whitman and Solomon left a legacy of wisdom based on their own life reflections.

Leaving a legacy of prayer not only involves words, but it also includes actions. If a friend is in need or if you tell someone “I will pray for you.”, you must follow through with your actions and not in word only. Believe me, people are watching what you do.

How to Begin a Legacy of Prayer:

Establish a routine:

An active prayer life includes spending time with the King every day just you and Him. The best way to start your day truly is spending time in prayer and reading the Word. However, I am a night owl too, and there are times when my prayer time comes at the end of my day, yet when this happens, I have to say that the majority of the time, God gets my left overs instead of my firsts. Thankfully God is merciful and understanding, but I would not make it a habit. When you are first starting up a routine, allow yourself room to grow. Just like any exercise routine, you start off slow and build your way up. Before you know it, you will not want to leave His presence and you will look forward to your morning chats.

Be prepared:

During my prayer time is when God speaks to me, so I try to have a journal with me to write down what He has to say. I also bring along my Bible and either a devotional or my bible study materials. Depending on what is happening in my life, I may begin by reading my devotional and look up the passages given, or I will chose a selection from the Old Testament, a Psalm or Proverb, and then a passage from the New Testament. My way is not the only way to pray with God. The point is to be prepared for the Teacher.

Expect To Change or Be Changed:

When I go into prayer, I want to make sure that I have a pure and clean heart before I even begin to ask my Father for anything. ²³ Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.²⁴ See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. (Psalm 139:23-24) Ask God the same of you, and know that when you pray you are either expecting God to change something for you, or, He may turn the prayer back around and ask you to change.

Keep A Prayer Journal:

I had only heard of this concept, but had never seen it in action until I read an article and was able to see the highlighted answered prayer’s from this woman’s heart. Write out the specific prayer and date that you prayed. Then, the fun part is going back and highlighting each time a prayer was answered. Little or big. What a joy it is to see that prayers were answered especially when you are having a discouraging time in your life.

No Prayer is Too Big Or Small:

Know that God does not keep track of the size of your prayer, but the size of your heart instead. Whether you are trying to grow in your faith, find freedom from a stronghold, go on that dream vacation, or buy those new shoes you have been staring at for weeks, God knows the desires of your heart and he wants to meet them. Trust and have faith that nothing is impossible with God.

Pray Together. Be Accountable:

Most importantly, know that where two or more are gathered, there he is in the midst. When you come in agreement with another believer, the power of your prayer is already doubled. Not only is praying in agreement powerful, so is having someone who will hold you accountable. So, find a prayer partner, or someone who would be willing to send you a text, e-mail, or phone call every so often to make sure you are staying on track with God’s word and the time you spend with Him.

By praying on a daily basis in constant communion with Him, I am leaving the lines of communication open to grow my relationship with the Father. Even though you may feel at times that no one notices, God does. He even tells us that the prayers we say behind closed doors will be answered in the open. My last wisdom is to never lose hope. Just like our earthly dad who wants to give us good things, so does our Heavenly Father. He wants to give us the desires of our heart All we have to do is keep knocking. May you continue to leave your own legacy of prayer by diligently and persistently seeking Him.