Mark Batterson in his “Draw the Circle” book on prayer says; “Too often we say ASAP prayers – as soon as possible. We need to start saying ALAT prayers – as long as it takes.” He also stated: “Prayer is not a means of outlining our agenda to God but it is a means to get into His presence so He can outline His agenda for us.”
Mark declares in Draw the Circle that: “When you pray to God regularly, irregular things happen on a regular basis.” We pray expecting and believing for great and mighty things. We are to stay humble, stay patient and stay focused while we wait upon the Lord in prayer.
For some, the ALAT prayers seem to prevail in our lives. There are those things for which we have been praying for such a long time. The benefits of praying ALAT prayers includes learning to trust God while we wait upon Him. We draw closer to Him. We cast our cares upon Him. He trains us in righteousness and He begins to develop His own character traits inside of us.
God longs to commune with us as one Friend to another. That’s the kind of God we serve. He longs to walk with us and talk with us and tell us we are His own. The joy we share as we tarry with Him, none other has ever known. Dear one, it’s the only way we develop a deeper relationship with our Savior, as we talk with Him, “As Long As it Takes.”
May we draw nearer to our blessed Lord as we pray those ALAT prayers.
Prayer in Motion:
Lord Jesus, I love being with You, talking to You and listening for Your voice. You are my Lord and my God. May I listen with the ear of a disciple on a daily, moment by moment basis. May I stay humble and focused in prayer as long as it takes. In Jesus Name. Amen.
Devotions In Motion 