Alone with God: Understanding the Power of Prayer and Living a Purposeful Life

By Thembi Khumalo

You are here to fulfill a special divine purpose; make every moment count.

No matter what you are going through, God has not forgotten you. Find your purpose and prioritize spending time with God in prayer.

Have you been longing to h

• Language: English
• Publisher: Trilogy Christian Publishing
• Release date: Jun 11, 2024
• ISBN: 9798893332643

Thembi Khumalo

Thembi Khumalo is a life coach, educator, business consultant, speaker, and entrepreneur. She was born and raised in a humble setting where prayers were a mainstay for comfort and became a major pillar of spiritual growth. The central theme of her message is livinga purposeful life and finding answers to life's challenges through prayer. She is a living testimony of the unlimited greatness and abundance that God can bestow upon a person who refuses to give up in prayer.

Book preview

Dedication

To my late mother, you are more than the prodigious matriarch of my lineage, you are the pillar of strength that I go back to each time I need to renew my strength in God. You are the light that guides me ashore when the sea is rough and my world is full of darkness.

Though you went to be with the Lord when I was still a young girl, the life virtues and belief in God that you instilled in me have transformed me to become a servant of God and live a life full of meaning and value.

Preface

There is nothing more common among human beings yet deeply misunderstood than spending time with God in prayers. Some people pray or attend prayer sessions merely as a cosmetic routine without understanding why they do it. On the other hand, some people understand the true meaning of spending time alone with God in prayers as they are spiritually connected with God in prayers. They pray to show gratitude and communicate with God.

In ancient times, before civilization, remote tribes spent time with God under a tree or in the Mountains. They believed in a higher power. Biblically, in the Old Testament, people prayed to God by offering sacrifices. In the Modern world, Christians pray by going to churches, reading the Bible, or through worship songs. Generally, all humans, whether civilized or uncivilized believe in the existence of a higher power in the universe.

We live in an era of a widespread spiritual warfare. It is a time that we need to pray consistently and submit our burdens to God. The battle of human souls is won in the spiritual realms. Therefore, prayer needs to become a lifestyle of all believers. You should not only pray on the days you attend church services but always.

While many people pray, quite often they do not understand why they pray. If they understand, then it is a prayer of bitterness, lamenting, and blaming God for the storms in their lives. Some people only pray during tough times in their lives when they are faced with rejections, heartbreaks, failures, defeat, financial turmoil, death, and struggles. They are seasonal believers who only remember God when their boat is sinking in the stormy ocean.

Before understanding and embracing the power of prayers, you need to deeply understand the meaning of life. Many people breathe oxygen, go to work, pay bills and die without understanding the true meaning of life and the reason for their existence. Do not blindly accept the dogmas of life and accept mediocrity as a way of life. You must be balanced in all dimensions of life: socially, economically, mentally, physically, and spiritually. God’s grace is unlimited to those who embrace the power of forgiveness and are ready to open the gates of their hearts to Jesus Christ.

My pursuit to help many people globally to understand the meaning and power of prayers inspired me to write this book. People need to understand that God answers prayers through faith and not emotions. Begin a journey of a prayerful lifestyle and you will understand that nothing just happens in life. We have the power to activate God’s grace and mercy in our lives.

Chapter 1

The Meaning of Life

Everyone is born, everyone dies but not everyone lives. Many people are physically alive but spiritually dead. They do not understand the meaning of life and the reason for their existence. Before you create a relationship with God, and humbly submit yourself to Him through prayers, you need to know your self-identity. How can you understand God without first understanding yourself? There is no microwave mentality in prayers where you pray quickly and get instant results. This is the reason why many people are frustrated because of unanswered prayers. A relationship with God through prayers should be eternal and not seasonal.

Life is more than just breathing oxygen, surviving, paying bills then dying prematurely without accomplishing your divine assignment on planet earth. You are neither an accident nor a mistake. You are a precious soul with unlimited greatness within you. Your life has meaning and value. You are not who society thinks you are. You are neither your job title nor the salary you are paid. Nobody has a right to determine your life’s worth. Your life only becomes limitless when you realize your self-identity.

Self-identity

The most important question in life is, who am I? Do you know who you are? Many people are born as originals but die as photocopies of others. They struggle to understand who they truly are and spend their lives striving so hard to become like other people whom they admire while not working to realize a better version of themselves. It is a tragedy to reach the end of life only to realize that you lived someone else’s life because you were afraid to discover your self-identity.

Self-identity is the most important aspect of a prayer life. You must know who you are and what you want as you converse with God. If you do not know yourself then it becomes difficult to submit yourself to God in prayers because of self-doubt. Therefore, this shows your lack of trust in God to enable and equip you to perform His divine assignment.

As a believer, you must be confident in everything you do, knowing that you are created in the image of God: Genesis 1:27, NIV, So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. Identify yourself in the body of Christ by renewing your mindset and being selfless. Knowing that you are fearfully and wonderfully made boosts your self-esteem and changes how you view yourself. Do not let other people’s perceptions about you, affect your identity in Christ. Being confident about your self-identity gives you a strong foundation for developing an excellent intimate relationship with God.

Every person is different and with unique abilities. Therefore, do not underestimate yourself. Your attributes, whether good or bad have a direct impact on your character and prayer life. It is your character that ultimately determines your purpose and destiny in life. When you understand your self-identity, you are able to control your actions and take charge of your life; you are the sole decision maker of the fundamental issues in your life.

When your opinion of self is determined by the critics and doubters then you may develop insecurities about yourself and not realize your full potential. Nobody has won a gold medal for being the best critic in the world. People’s opinions are important but it is you who has the final say about your life. Remember, life is a short trip and you can’t waste your time anymore trying to live like other people: Psalms, 90:10, NIV Our days may come to seventy years, or eighty, if our strength endures; yet the best of them are but trouble and sorrow, for they quickly pass, and we fly away. We do not have a thousand years to live. Even if we had, a thousand years is like a day to God. Therefore, live your life with a great sense of urgency by being comfortable and confident in your self-identity.

To be blessed and be a blessing to others, you must be aware of your self-identity in Christ. Identifying yourself with Christ changes everything as it makes you shun things of the flesh and do the will of God in all areas of your life. 1 John 2:15-17, NIV, Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.

Do not conform to society’s expectations of your self-identity to live life outside your divine area of assignment. For example, Moses was raised in the palace by Pharaoh’s daughter but he refused to identify himself with the royalty. Instead, he chose to fight for the freedom of Israelites from slavery: Hebrews 11:24-27, NIV, By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward. By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger; he persevered because he saw him who is invisible.

God, knows your daily struggles with your self-identity. You are not alone in what you are going through. Remember, human beings are spirits in physical bodies, therefore, do not let anything material define your identity. You are not your job title, surname, the car you drive, or the house you live in. Who you are is infinite and cannot be quantified.

God, I am an empty vessel, please fill me with your wisdom and grant me the power to discern between good and evil. Help me not to be distracted by what other people say about my identity but to gain confidence in myself and become the person you created me to be. From today, I’ll be confident in