So, at first glance this strange title probably has a lot of you guys wondering: "Jake, what on earth is this?" And if I were you guys, I would do the exact same thing. So, just go with it for a second...
Praying Mantis Man
In a world full of questions and uncertainty, I bet we all wish we had a superhero to come swoop in and take our struggles or troubles and vanish them with their laser vision (I'm going to pitch that one to Marvel). And recently, the world has been buzzing about superheroes: Black Panther, Captain Marvel, that ant guy. But the reality is all those heroes are seen on screen or in comic books, not in Richmond.
And that's okay. Remember our verse from yesterday, "When you pass through the waters, I will be with you," (Isaiah 43:2). God knows that we go through things that scare us, confuse us or even leave us inside with the doors locked. And because of this God is ALWAYS with us! He will never leave our side!
Now, we know that when you want a super hero to come save the day, there is always a specific way to get their attention. With Batman, the police would shine the Bat Signal in the night sky to let him know they needed him.
"Then when you call upon me and
come and pray to me, I will hear you."
While we don't have Batman here in RVA, what we do have is a God who loves us and wants to hear us! The Lord wants us to know that He is ALWAYS with us and that He is ALWAYS available to talk!
When we go through tough times it can be really easy to pick up our phones, watch TikTok for hours or watch that same Netflix show for the tenth time. Eventually our phones' battery runs out, we've done the same TikTok dance over-and-over again and we end up right back where we started.
The Good News is that God's love never runs out! He is ALWAYS there when we need to talk! However, when we want to talk with God sometimes we don't know what to say. We think we're going to say the wrong thing or say something silly.
BUT the truth is......GOD'S LOVE NEVER RUNS OUT! He will love us no matter how silly we think our prayers are! But for those of you who sometimes are lost for words, I wanted to share with you guys the way that I first learned how to pray!
REFLECTION SECTION
So, for today's "Reflection Section" I am going to share with you guys a few steps on how we can start praying with God today! I encourage you guys to try this sometime this week!
1. A - Adoration: In this first section, we will open our time with God by just reminding ourselves
of who He is! Ex. Dear God, You are Amazing and Awesome!
2. C-Confession: In this next section, we will ask God to forgive us for the times when we messed
up. Ex. God, I am sorry for not being patient.
3. T-Thanksgiving: This is where we can thank God for all the amazing things He has given us in
our lives! Ex. Thank you God, for giving me a roof over my head and bed to sleep in.
4. S-Supplication: In this final section, we can ask God for things in our lives!
Ex. God, please give me more patience!
A great way to remember all this is....
1. God, You Are _______
2. God, I'm sorry for ________
3. God, Thank You for __________
4. God, please __________
If you guys have any questions, comments, or just want to talk head over to the Youth Lounge and enter the chat, type your name and send me a message! I would love to hear your guys' thoughts on today's blog!