Prayers for a Woman’s Soul by Julie Gillies

Today I have asked my friend Julie Gillies, author of the new Prayer’s for a Woman’s Soul  to share a guest post today. One person who comments will win a copy of her book. :)

Julie  is the author of Prayers for a Woman’s Soul (Harvest House Publishers). Healed from a traumatic childhood and awed that God saved her seriously troubled marriage, her message helps women pray with boldness, confidence, and the certainty that God hears.

Julie is the Critique Groups Director for Proverbs 31 Ministries, and serves on the editorial team of P31 Woman magazine. She’s the joyful wife of Keith, mom of two soldiers and one civilian, and Grammy of four.

She loves hanging out with the entire gang at home, especially on days when her house is clean. Sign up for 5 Days of Extravagant prayer, find other FREE resources and connect with Julie at: www.JulieGillies.com

Praying your Priorities

It was one of those days, which arrived on the hind end of one of those weeks, which in reality was two of those weeks. My full schedule left little wiggle room, and when a forgotten obligation appeared, I followed through. But it cost me. By the time evening arrived I was on the brink.

The brink of tears.

The brink of sanity.

The brink of collapse.

What made that particular day worse for me was that I’d barely had time to breathe a single prayer.  And it showed.

It’s so easy to slip into front-burner prayer mode—praying for whatever is boiling over at the moment. And if your life is anything like mine, there is always something boiling over!

But as women of faith, our prayer lives should reflect our priorities, not just our latest crisis. In other words, we should consistently pray about the things that matter most to us. And yes, that includes our husbands, our kids, our finances, politics, world events and much more.

Yet as contrary as it probably feels, one of our priorities should also include praying for ourselves.

Praying for ourselves isn’t selfish—it’s vital. It’s the humble acknowledgement that we can’t do this crazy life apart from God’s help. It’s the recognition that if King David prayed for himself (read the Psalms!) and Jesus took time to pray for Himself, then we should, too.

Praying for ourselves infuses us with inner strength and equips us to be the wives and mothers we yearn to be. It enables us to soar through our days. No, our days won’t be perfect. But as we prioritize praying for ourselves, we will walk in greater wisdom and in the power of the Holy Spirit, and ultimately, in deeper intimacy with Jesus.

And isn’t that what we’re all aiming for?

When we make praying for ourselves a priority, you’d better believe those boiling-over days will still make an appearance. The good news is they won’t drive us to the brink.

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To be entered to win a copy of Julie’s book, tell us, when was the last time you had one of “those days”? Or, leave a comment on any aspect of prayer. Why do you find it hard to carve out time to pray? Any other obstacles? What do you love most about prayer? Any favorite verses on it to share?

Winner announced Monday.

82 Comments

  1. I am trying to pray everyday for a group of 60 Women. I am in charge of a 3 day weekend coming up called Cursillo in the DIocese of Central Florida. As I work on all the things that have to be done I try to always be in prayer. But I do realize that I am probably not praying enough for myself. And it would be fun to read this book and maybe share it with my “team” of 27 women as we prepare to serve 24 women in April.

  2. To prioritize praying for ourselves!! To be able to walk in greater wisdom and intimacy with our Father. What a gift! What a blessing!

  3. I have those exact days when I over schedule myself and something else gets added. Then I get frazzled and frustrated. I need to pray that God helps me plan my time more efficiently.

  4. Pleaese pray for my daughter whose marriage has been wrecked by repeated bouts of infidelity and lies for the past 4 years (the length of their marriage). These are a young couple who went to Bible college , love the Lord and were activelly serving in a local church. Unknown sin and addictions of her husband have affected her health and mental state. We only recently found out about all of this. They went to counselling but still the addictions persist and the unfaithfulness is beyoind belief. They both need healing. Only God can work a miracle through all of this.

  5. During those days of fragility or feeling unable to cope- I repeat Isaiah 41:10. Knowing that God will help me makes all the difference!

  6. Prayer was focused on test results and more testing for my sweet hubby these last few weeks…..where would I be without my Lord to go to!!!

  7. Finding time for Prayer is not a problem for me. Finding time to read Scripture is where I struggle. Love spending time with my Dad!

  8. What a timely message! The past couple of weeks I’ve had more than enough of ‘those’ days. God is so good though! He meets us right where we are every time we turn to Him. I’m grateful for that. I’m working on going to Him first in all things but I’m a huge work in progress!

  9. I am currently going through a divorce (not by my choosing) and with a four-year-old and a lot of details to iron out for our lives together ( new insurance, house refinancing, home care, change in finances, just daily living!) I unfortunately have “those” days quite often. But I am learning and leaning on God so much, and prayer has become essential to my sanity!

  10. I usually need to pray for myself and repentance before I pray for other people and concerns. I feel coming to the Lord with a clean heart often aligns me with Gods will and not my own.

  11. This past week I had one of those days when there isn’t enough coffee around to keep me going! When the list was longer than the day & the day wasn’t going as planned. When I have to make myself stop, breath & say ti is ok. But in the process lose it. Agh…

    Sounds like good book.
    -Colleen G.

  12. Prayer for me is as natural as breathing, but it’s an effort to pray for myself instead of others since we’re taught to pray for others, and not so much for ourselves. However, I’ve learned it’s essential to pray for yourself as well as for others in order to stay spiritually healthy. There’s an intimacy to prayer that no other type of communication can even get close to.

  13. I often find it hard to pray but praying for myself is by far the hardest. Right now I’m my prayers for my self are mostly around waiting for test results. I’m struggling with having faith so praying seems empty.

  14. It has definitely been one of thse days, and actually has been that way forr a few weeks, and it definitely shows in my spirit

  15. Like you Julie…I spend most of my time when I am not at school teaching and caring for my special students, on the run…as I always call it…racing from meeting to meeting, tending to family and friends and often starting to run out of gas before the day is done. Recently I signed up for Julie’s Extravagant Prayers and with each and every new message and prayer, I found a relief from the hectic pace as I made time to rest with the Lord and pray…thank you Julie! Oh, and I shared with friends…I would love to read your book. I am sure it will inspire me to continue my personal journey of praying for myself as well.

  16. Pray without ceasing in 1 Thess 5 :17. I’ve recently come to realize that God desires us to be in constant dialogue with him. Sometimes that means praying, and sometimes it means listening for Him and His will. Whether I have 2 min or 22 minutes for prayer, God cherishes it. Thank you for your inspiring words.

  17. I have had one of those weeks…seems like not enough time to breathe between being a totally single mom with two busy teens not driving so I feel torn in so many places and I’ve neglected my prayers….I feel better when I pray for forgiveness and guidance so I am determined to get back on track.

  18. This book sounds like it’ll hit the mark for many women. I love praying and I join in with a group of women to pray twice a week. My favorite prayer for myself is “Help me, Lord! I need You today!” He’s always doing something to answer that prayer. i try to give Him thanks for it, too. Blessings to you!

  19. This week. There was a family emergency, and then friends of ours had a very serious family emergency. This combined with regular life and our girls health issues have left me exhausted and praying that every simple prayer of , “Please, Lord!”

  20. You know, in the business of life, it does get hard to pray for yourself alot! I try to have some QT in morn’ with my breakfast, after my big girls are off to school and baby is still sleeping! I am pregnant again and get SO tired SO easily! I want to serve my family more than I have been lately and am praying for more energy for myself! I pray I can be the wife, mommy, and servant of Christ that God wants me to be! I feel I have not been serving my hubby like I should be. Cooking and cleaning haven’t been done as well since being preggers. Praying I can have the “umph” I need to get things done and get this house cleaned out! Going through a bunch of baby clothes we will not need anymore, since this one is a boy and we have 3 girls!! TY for this post! Julie

  21. Prayers going up for everyone who has responded, so many facing similar situations and learning that I am not alone in this struggle we call life. I have been trying to be more faithful in prayer lately. I struggle with what to say and when to say it, but then I remember that He knows my thoughts and that eloquence has nothing to do with it. God is so Good and has Blessed me immensely. Amen

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