God called me to spend my summer in Colorado praying for Nate, specifically for an open door for us to pursue a deeper relationship. I learned some valuable lessons on prayer through that

Sometimes Christians believe that the Bible says God will unconditionally give us whatever we pray for. As I learned more about prayer, one thing that stood out to me was how Jesus said,

If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. (John 15:7)

Another verse Christians love is Psalm 37:4,

Delight yourself in the Lord,
and he will give you the desires of your heart.

We like to think that “better” Christians have more prayers answered because of how good they are. In reality, the more we know God, through focused time in his word and prayer, the more we understand his will for us and want what he wants, so the more we ask for those things, and receive them.

That summer I studied the book “With Christ in the School of Prayer” by Andrew Murray. He wrote,

In His words His will is revealed…In the exercise of obedience and faith, my will becomes stronger and is brought into deeper inner harmony with Him. Because He can fully trust it to will nothing but what He wills, He is not afraid to give the promise, “If my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.”

The Bible constantly talks about prayer, because following Christ means a relationship with him and prayer is simply our conversations with him in that relationship.

When we know more of God’s heart, our hearts align with his will for us, so when we make requests, he will do them. I’ve seen this in my own life at the times I have been the closest to God.

By the end of summer 2010, I knew in my heart that Nate and I would eventually be married. I was prepared to wait on God however long Nate took to come around. Little did I know that God had been doing an intense work in his heart all summer, too, and he was waiting in Dubuque for me to come back and be his girlfriend.