by Rebecca Yauger (April 29,2025)

My husband and I have been in a season of learning to trust; of having complete trust in God when there’s very little we can do to fix problems around us.

I’d like to think of myself as a strong Christian. I have faith in the Lord. I pray. I do my devotions. I go to church. I listen to Christian music which really uplifts my soul, for sure.

Probably the weakest part of my walk is prayer, although I think I’m improving on that.

So, in this season of learning to trust, I’m learning to pray. But more than that, I am trying to pray boldly. I’m trying to pray with confidence. I think in the past, I may have prayed with a little bit of skepticism, especially when praying for other people. I want to pray boldly for Jesus to come into the lives of those close to me who aren’t walking with Christ. I want it to be undeniable that it is Jesus coming into their lives and changing it.

Yet, in the past, like I mentioned, I’ve prayed with skepticism. Because people are going to do what they’re going to do and make their own choices.

There’s one person in particular I pray for. And he’s pretty stubborn. I’m not sure about this, but I do believe God’s reaching for him and chasing him. However, because of this person’s stubbornness, I’m skeptical about any change for him. So, am I really praying with confidence? And am I really praying boldly?

Do I really believe that God can change this person?

Why am I skeptical?  

I’ve seen God do really good things in people’s lives, and he’s healed me, and he’s now healed my mom in heaven. We read about miracles all through Scripture. Some of us have experienced miraculous events in our own lives. So, why don’t we pray with confidence? God is certainly capable of turning our worlds upside down. Answers to prayer can be undeniably from him.

Going through the tough stuff, and finding strength we didn’t know we had, should draw us closer to God. However, for some people, the tough stuff makes them angry and feeds into disbelief. The enemy can take that little bit of doubt and turn it into rebellion against God. But in my heart, God is with us every day, even through the tough stuff. Sometimes his plans are not our plans, so we can feel like our prayers are unanswered.

This is when I look at all God has done. He has provided so much for us this year. Even through this difficult season, God has been amazing.

So back to prayer life.

I don’t want to pray with skepticism anymore. I want to pray boldly and confidently, and yes, I have to trust that God’s plans are better than mine.  

I guess that’s where skepticism can come in because you feel like there are too many unanswered prayers. But I think any of us who are part of the Christian walk knows the unanswered prayers are really for the best. His plans are always better, but it’s hard when our prayers aren’t answered the way we want. We have to trust. And trust has been the big lesson this year. Trust God when we can’t do anything else but pray. Keep building that faith muscle that I’ve talked about before. Praying confidently and boldly means you trust that God’s going to do a great work one way or the other.

The bolder you are, and the more confident you are in coming before God, the more you build your relationship with God.

That’s why God asks us to pray. And believe. And most of all, trust.

What about you? Share your prayer life tips in the comments.

Let’s encourage one another.