6 Power-Filled Ways to Overcome in Prayer

Life Can Get Overwhelming

Lately, the circumstances of life have become overwhelming. I shared in the weekly emails how I recently moved across the US in order to take care of my mother-in-law and be closer to my own parents. My mother-in-law’s health was failing quickly, so in a short amount of time, my family quit responsibilities, paired down our belongings, and broke our lease to set up a new home base on the other side of the country.

Sometimes in the midst of all that we need to take care of, we easily become focused on those things that need to happen to make the best of our lives. A good example is the recent hurricanes that came through the US. Our move put us in the path of the second of these swirling terrors. Everyone was talking about the power going out and the potential damage. There was so much to do to get ready for the potential worse.

What I noticed in my life is that I have to balance the need to prepare with the naive faith that God will take care of me. Sometimes I expect the worse and plan for it to happen. Sometimes I trust God’s protection and do nothing to prepare. Both are dangerous.

Do We Plan Or Do We Trust

Obviously, an innocent, simple trust in His protection will lead us to actually not pray and not prepare.  This approach leaves us unprepared for the mysterious ways of God. When He seemingly doesn’t come through we blame Him for not taking care of us.

Assuming the worse is also dangerous. Expecting the dangers to occur leads us to focus on what we need to do to brace ourselves and our prayers are directed toward getting ready instead of affecting change. We do this for hurricanes, terrible medical diagnoses, bad relationships, etc.

As Christians, we are to live somewhere in between. We are to trust in His almighty protection. We are to be prepared in and out of season, making the most of every opportunity. And, we are to pray always. Here are six power-filled ways to overcome in prayer:

How to Overcome in Prayer

1. Worship

In the midst of the urgent, worship realigns our hearts to love God and see Him as in control. While there is a potential to become negligent in preparation by naively trusting in God, we should never forget His protection and His ability to change things for our good. Nothing is impossible with God, so in every circumstance, we have hope for things to turn in our favor. No diagnosis is fatal; nothing is hopeless.

2. Read the Bible

When the Israelites crossed over the Jordan, the manna stopped arriving on their doorstep. God still provided for them, but it was more in the midst of the battles. The walls of Jericho did fall down, but they had to spend seven days walking in faith.

Psalms also remind us of the conflict of trusting in God. He is always good, but He doesn’t always show up the way we expected. How do we navigate this in our own lives? Reading the Bible helps give us direction.

3. Speak God’s Goodness

Dread and worry are not supposed to be characteristics of a Christian. Still, sometimes we get overwhelmed. Speaking out the goodness of God reminds us He is still above all our circumstances. We will not be overcome, but with God we are overcomers. We all need to be preachers to ourselves because our spirits need reawakening and our bodies need reminding we don’t walk by sight but by faith and awareness of God’s continual goodness.

4. Pray With Someone

If you choose the right people to pray with, you can really encourage your faith. Jesus didn’t take everyone to go with Him to pray for the dead girl; He only took Peter, James, and John, and the girl rose from the dead. Job found the wrong people and became more discouraged. Find people who push you to more of God and pray with them.

5. Talk With God

Without God’s perspective, we will be led astray. Job finally found his peace after talking with God. Elijah got out of his depression after talking with God. Moses found his confidence after talking with God. As followers of God, we need to hear Him speak to us. Overcoming in prayer is not only about what we say but more importantly about getting connected to God.

6. Brace For Impact

Once you have spent time with God through these previous steps, now you can make the preparations you feel are necessary. You may feel God will protect you while you are in a car, but there is no need to drive around without a seatbelt. We all have mistakenly thought God would do something that didn’t happen. Step out in faith, but allow yourself grace to make mistakes.

Like the Israelites, we have crossed the Jordan, and life is a mix between God’s provisions and our taking possession of the land. Let’s press into God to hear Him tell us we are powerful and can affect change in our world. Test these steps and see if you start overcoming more in your prayers.