Prayer and Obedience

Kay Daigle What does prayer with obedience look like? Claudia McGuire, BOW Team Member, talks with Kay Daigle about it. She uses Psalm 31 as her example of exactly how she prays and obeys God from reading and meditating on the Word of God. This is an episode for any Christian who is searching for a deeper prayer life and application for her Bible reading. Claudia's honest insights into her prayer own life are invaluable. Recommended resources involving prayer Why is Prayer So Hard? Part 1: A Matter of the Heart & Part 2: Life Issues Prayer for the Overwhelmed Entrusting the Future to God Practical Prayer Solutions Seeking Joy in the Psalms This episode is available on video if you prefer to watch. Timestamps: 00:18 Introductions 01:22 What does it mean to pray with obedience? 05:39 Psalm 31, an example of how to incorporate scriptures into your prayers and obedience 34:11 Other resources on prayer TranscriptKay >> Hi. I'm Kay Daigle. Welcome to our podcast for Beyond Ordinary Women. My friend who isn't actually a guest because she is a member of our ministry team, but this is Claudia McGuire, and we've had her on many times. Welcome, Claudia. I'm so glad you're with me today. Thank you. Claudia >> I'm happy to be here today. Thank you for asking me. Kay >> Right. Well, Claudia is going to talk about praying with obedience. Now, Claudia has lots of experience in the church world. She worked at Chase Oaks Church for almost two decades, I think, a long time. She still speaks and teaches Bible studies and does leadership stuff and will speak at a retreat or a training of any kind. And so today, she's going to talk about prayer. We've talked about prayer before, but today, Claudia wanted to talk about praying with obedience. So I have to ask you what does that mean to pray with obedience? Claudia >> Well, I think that is a great question. Kay >> You never expected one! Claudia >> I didn't very well, actually. I don't think we think about it. I'm wondering if we think about that aspect of prayer enough for those of us who who do pray. I think that we just don't take into account that prayer is more than just casting our cares on God, just throwing things at him and saying, “Help me. Get help me get out of this—or whatever.” There is an aspect of obedience, and that's kind of what I want to talk through as I go through this psalm. Psalm 31 is what we're going to look at. But prayer in itself, which is the ability to communicate with our creator. I think it started way back in the Garden of Eden, and Adam and Eve used to walk in the cool of the day in the garden and talk to God. And I don't really see or know specifically how that morphed into our current prayer life. You know how we pray today, but we do see prayers all throughout the Bible, and it’s just a privilege that I think our God has given us. Not only is it a privilege, but it's also something I think that involves an aspect of surrender when we come to God. It involves trust that he's there. It takes vulnerability on our part to actually come before the throne of grace, as the Bible calls it. And then, really when we open our hearts and our needs to the Father, that also involves listening and believing that he hears. So if we're actively praying about something without listening or looking for God to answer, we might be missing one of the biggest aspects of prayer, which is obedience. Like if I'm praying about something—my obedience or what I might hear or sense—it’s that I just really need to keep praying about this. It’s something I don't have a peace about. I have no idea what the answer is or the outcome is going to be.