When prayers begin to change, life often begins to move in a new direction as well. This is a story about a wilderness season, the maturing of prayer, and how the words “Your will be done” slowly began to guide my life toward a new chapter.
Yay! Next week I finally turn 40. A week ago I set a countdown on my phone that measures the time until the Beginning of a New Era. Only 8 days left. During this past week my prayer has been, “Give me strength to endure the end of this season.” When I look at my life from the perspective of faith, it inevitably carries the feeling of a wilderness season. I have been circling the valley, thirsty, yet never finding the right well. Countless times I wanted to reach for the Bible, but He led me elsewhere as if saying, “Not yet.”
A year ago, at Easter, I finally received the invitation to open the Bible. And as many know, I have hardly put it down since. My first time reading it is still a little unfinished, but I let Him set the pace, so my progress follows God’s timing.
During the past week I have read the Book of Wisdom several times. All my Lutheran friends will now ask what that is. It is one of the apocryphal books of the Bible. I recommend taking a look! (It can be found in Finnish, for example, in the free Piplia app.) The text has sparked many thoughts and moments of realization, but right now it especially led me to reflect on how my own prayers have changed within the past year.
How My Prayers Began to Change
Growth and learning are a process. They require certain phases and even small changes that may seem insignificant at the time. And honestly, I must say that I had not previously realized or understood that this was happening.
A year ago I asked, like many of us do, for very specific things. Better shoes because the ones I had were hurting my feet, my grandmother’s health to improve, my financial situation to get better, freedom from some problem, the removal of wrong people from my life, and so on. In the summer the atmosphere shifted, so to speak, and I began to ask for clarity about my calling, for the right path to open, for wrong doors to close, and for wisdom.
He has answered all of this. He took hold of my requests and began to lead. In the fall I prayed for wisdom, for my hearing and sight to be opened so that I would not miss anything from Him. I also asked for strength to continue and for greater strength in my faith. And sure enough, He answered everything.
Every single time He has answered. He has strengthened, tested, refined, shared His experiences, and taught me what Love is. He has shown me what it feels like when someone close to you gives up right at the threshold of growth and returns to their old life. It is crushing. So during the fall and winter my prayers became: how can I help as many people as possible cross that threshold? How can I protect others, how can I encourage others, how can I give more, how can I be more like You?
When Prayer Becomes Gratitude
This year my prayers have been gratitude, praise, and “Your will be done — only Your will, not mine.” As it happened, I came down with a stomach bug on Monday, and even in the middle of it I felt nothing but gratitude, because His will was being done. Once the worst passed, I also realized that the illness itself carried a blessing.
Now my apartment is, by my own initiative, in a 14-day quarantine, because that particular virus can survive on surfaces for up to two weeks. So I was given a perfect reason to cancel the birthday party I had planned at my place! Since I have also finally understood that I do not want to begin a new season in the place where I have suffered, been pressed, purified, and redefined. In a place that represents the old season. No. I want to go somewhere I’ve never been or do something I’ve never done before.
Why Christians Pray Differently
Christians do not pray the way others do. Christians pray, “Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done.” And that is the difference between Christian prayer and other prayers.
We do not ask for things for ourselves. Our true desires have come from Him. He wants the same things for us that we want. When we stop asking for things for ourselves, when we allow Him to be visible in our lives, He truly begins to appear in our lives.
What Does “Your Will Be Done” Really Mean?
Someone recently asked why a Finnish woman prays to Yeshua. Perhaps others have wondered about that too, and unfortunately I cannot answer it in any other way than this: it is a matter between Him and me.
But I will say this: however your faith shows itself in your life — whether you are Catholic, Jewish, Protestant, or anything else — if you pray to the one living God and He has led you into that environment, then you are where you are meant to be. His will, not yours.
Morning Prayer
I notice that I am rambling… I cannot decide whether I should share my morning prayer with you or not. If I do, will you promise to try it?
One word of warning, though: when you pray, He may begin to appear in your life.
Ps. I hope this post also brought peace to those who, for some reason, were concerned about my previous article. As I said, my life is perfect. Because only His will takes place in it 💛
A wilderness season in faith is not about being lost — it is about preparation. When prayers shift from our own requests to seeking God’s will, life begins to move in a new direction. In that place, prayer is no longer a list of wishes, but a living relationship with God. Bloom ❤️
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