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Have you ever prayed a prayer and then regretted that it was answered?  Communication with God is just as simple as communicating with someone sitting next to you.  But there are times that we’ve said things to the person sitting next to us that we wish we could take back!  Prayer is a powerful tool and weapon.  “And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive” (Matthew 21:22 NKJV).   New Living Translation, “You can pray for anything, and if you have faith, you will receive it.”  Whatever you ask for in prayer, if you have the ultimate level of faith, you will receive it.

When you believe God for something supernatural, out of the box, or even something really simple, to receive an answer to that prayer is like nothing else!  However in times of confusion, emotion or disconnection from Him we can start to pray prayers that we don’t really mean or understand.   A friend of mine is a worship artist.  He managed to stay with the same band members they started with for over a decade, which is almost an impossible feat.  He is an “other-worldly” vocalist, and an even more exquisite songwriter.  If that’s not enough, he and his wife are some of the sweetest, most genuine people I’ve ever met.

At one of the many events I’ve worked with them at, they were in the middle of sound check when I heard him singing/playing a song that I know very well.  I walked up to him and let him know how much I loved that song, especially one of the three versions I’ve heard from some big name artists, which I was literally playing in my car when I arrived.  He went on to tell me that he actually wrote the song.  Once I came down from utter shock and awe, I had to ask him how he was not a much bigger deal (in the eyes of the music community) as I thought he should be?   I will never forget his reply.  He went on to tell me that very early in his career he wanted everything he did to bring glory to God.  Not fully understanding how he could do that and still receive even a small amount of credit, he naively prayed that God would make him “nameless and faceless.”   After a 15 year long career he said that’s exactly what God did.  God answered his prayer.  Meanwhile some of the most popular, award winning songs we hear on the radio all the time, that he is more than capable of delivering vocally by the way, he wrote.  This demonstrates the power of prayer.  He said that while he still desires to fully give God all the glory, he no longer prays that he be “nameless and faceless” in the process.  Sidebar: I’m reminded of the verse that says, “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:16 NKJV).  While his prayer was truly a noble one we cannot negate the fact that we are the light of the world and if they’re going to see Christ, it will be through us. Our gifts, talents, abilities and endeavors will be a demonstration of Christ in the earth. If we don’t have a name or a face, how can we accomplish that?

Being the skeptic that I naturally am, after the conversation was over I ran to my car and immediately looked in the CD case, and sure enough, there was this guy’s name next to “Written by”.  His compelling story of the prayer God answered that left him with regret has impacted me to this day.  If we ask for anything and have full confidence, we will receive it.  Which lets me know that we need to guard what is coming out of our mouths so that we don’t pray for the wrong things, and it is a gentle reminder to petition God with our deepest or simplest desires.  What have you been praying for lately?

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As believers we have the awesome opportunity to experience life to the fullest! We are able to enjoy a freedom like no other, freedom in Christ! Yet so many Christians find themselves bound to personal prisons. Proclaiming freedom to the world all the while held captive by something that has refused to allow them to enjoy their personal freedom, and for many this captivity is something so unassuming as the opinions of others.

Growing up in the church I was constantly given the list of rules to follow in being a “good Christian”. Rules became the measuring stick by which you could tell if someone was TRULY devoted to Christ. I remember one time questioning “Why?” Why can’t I do such and such? I wasn’t being rebellious in my heart, I was just curious. The answer offered no real definition other than “It’s what you’re supposed to do”. So as a “good Christian” it became important to me what others thought because OBVIOUSLY that’s what demonstrated my devotion. But can I tell you good works and outward appearance can be deceiving? They show an image of what is good but if the motive of the heart is wrong, the actions display a distorted view.

While I’m appreciative of the upbringing I’ve had inside the church walls, many times those walls closed in on me and I became enslaved by “church protocol” and shackled by how things should look. Maintaining the law of the written Word sometimes became more of a focus than loving on the LIVING Word Himself, Jesus.

I’m known for being a grace-giver to all of those around me but when it came to myself, I had run out. That’s the problem, I relied on my source instead of realizing that His grace is unending and never failing.

I had to do things a certain way with no exceptions, after all “What would people think?” There comes a point in your life when you should ask yourself “Why do I care so much about what people think?” This is not to say that we abandon our personal values and neglect the fact that we are to be examples, but there does come a time in one’s life when you have to evaluate the “whys” of what you do. We cannot become so consumed with the image of looking good, all the while letting life and true freedom pass us by, because we’re handcuffed to the opinions of others.

Decide today to end the addiction to men’s approval. Mankind did not create you and mankind cannot save you! There is a God in heaven that loves you more than life, literally. He spared nothing to prove His love for you yet we neglect this love many times for the temporal affection or applause from those who can do nothing for our eternal value.

Look around you… are you experiencing true freedom in Christ or do steel bars better known as approval addiction and man’s opinion coldly shelter your world? Do you make choices based on what you feel is best for your life and what God is leading you to do, or do your decisions weigh heavily based on the feedback of others?

Choose today to live life as God intended- FREE. Call a jailbreak and bust out of what’s holding you back, OTHERS!