Can you let the past influence your prayers?
This seems like an obvious answer to me. But a friend once asked me to pray about something and then made the comment "but don't let the past influence your prayers." It is something I have sat with for quite a while. Something I have pondered so to speak. I never responded to that comment because I instantly knew it was a discussion I needed to have with God to really figure it out.
I can't say that all these months later I have a definitive answer as to what was meant by it. But for the most part I feel like the past should influence my prayers. Maybe I should have asked what was meant by it but I didn't and so this rambling isn't going to be about that at all. It is about what the Lord revealed to me about prayer during this pondering. And how He used that one comment to open up a great dialogue between Him and I! Prayer is very personal. It is our communication with our Creator and I will never say there is a cookie cutter way to it. This is what I have discovered about my prayers to my Father.
So should I let the past influence my prayers? The short answer is YES! But I am here to ramble 😆 so that's just what I'll do!
Because my prayers are not directed at what I want for my life I can use my past. I have made mistakes and I have had triumphs throughout the years. Those experiences definitely influence my prayers. I desire to consistently be in God's will. I use my past to ask Him to keep me obedient to Him. The mistakes I made also remind me what it feels like to be out of His will and to be in darkness. These scare me straight so to speak! I do not want to be away from Him again therefore when I pray I use this part of my past. I will ask God to remind me of what it was like, to not let me forget, to not let me take Him for granted so that I do not become complacent in my relationship with Him. Some of my past, a lot of my past, is not great to remember, and I don't ask Him to help me recall details but I do want to remember what it is like to be away from Him so that I am not tempted to wander.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, I use my victories, to praise Him! I give Him all the glory. I thank Him that I am alive today. I truly believe that if He would not have sent certain people to intervene in my life I would not be here. The path I was on was that dark. There is nothing good in my life that hasn't come from Him and I use it in my prayers. I use the good parts of my past to influence my prayers too.
Enough about me! How does my past influence my prayers for others?
We may not all go through the exact same things in life. And we for sure don't all go through them at the same time. But we can relate to each other right? We can understand people's emotions and reactions to situations. We can relate to choices that have to be made, chances that have to be taken, and we can understand this because of our past. When I see a friend, a family member, a stranger, going through something, my past helps me connect with that person. My past gives me a window, no matter how small, into what they are feeling.
I may not know what it feels like to lose a spouse but I know what deep sorrow and a heavy heart feels like and therefore I can pray for that person based on my own knowledge of those feelings. I may not exactly remember what high school was like but I remember the ups and downs of it so I can relate to our youth and I can pray specific things for them. I may have an amazing husband who is a terrific dad to our kiddos but I had no example of a good husband or father growing up. That part of my past helps me relate to people who struggle with those types of situations now. I know the effect they have and I can pray VERY specifically for them. If I didn't have children with Autism, ADHD, OCD, dyslexia and sensory overload anxiety then how could I relate to children that are a different-kind-of-perfect and their parents.
I am not trying to say that I get everyone because I do not. There are times when I have no clue what to pray. When I simply and quietly say ok I am here Lord and I do not know what Your child needs but use me and help me pray for them. Sometimes He gives me the words and other times I sit in His presence silently and the Holy Spirit prays on my behalf. There have also been times when I didn't know what I needed or what I should do. Times I have been too heartbroken to speak, times I couldn't get any words out through the sobs and the pain. And again He is so good to me and I will simply tell Him that I am here and ready to listen and be comforted.
My past isn't an "answer all" to my prayers but without a doubt it influences my words and thoughts when I go before my King in prayer.
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