Love Language: Spiritual Development and Speaking the Language of Prayer

In every location and language, country and culture, Coca-Cola is the same. Coke’s parent company announces its presence in its marketed message. Between the red background, the famous wave, and their trademark typesetting, the company streamlines the brand across platforms and generations. They demonstrate consistency, making it easy to recognize who they are and what they offer.

Consistency counts. It tallies the funds devoted to building relationships with Coke’s investors, sharing their message, and delivering their product. It is returned in the way that the public consumes it loyally.

Their customer base responds with the profit that answers the company’s initial investment. Our lives do something similar with the messages that we believe and brand through our interactions with ourselves, God, and others.

Consistency appears where we see value. In our spiritual development, we don’t invest the premium of God’s Word in our prayers because we doubt that He hears us. We question if He is interested in the nuances of our earthly lives. Though the enemy seeks to persuade us that our worth is diminished, he is the father of lies. The Bible clarifies that the Lord’s Heart is tender toward us, affirming we are greatly beloved and accepted.

As ambassadors for Christ, the words that we speak, whether in prayer with God, our internal dialogue, or conversations with others reflect who we are and what we believe.

When we are not persuaded of our value in the Kingdom of God, we approach God in lowliness though He invites us to come in boldness. We wrestle internally, rehearsing negative thoughts instead of subduing them to what gives life. In conversation with others, we don’t always echo words of faith, sometimes using our words to tear down others and extinguish the fiery prayers that we are believing God to answer.

Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. – 2 Corinthians 5:20 NASB

The content of Scripture, similar to our example of Coca-Cola’s branding, needs to be evidenced across the relational platforms where we communicate and interact. Evolution in our spiritual development is evidenced in the following:

• Communication in prayer with God.
• Self-talk in our heads and hearts.
• Conversations with other people.

Consistency reveals what we do in secret. It unveils our hearts through our behaviors. If we are consistent in unbelief, complaining, or discontent, the private condition of our hearts will show up in our conversations and character.

God wants better for us and our spiritual development. He wants our hearts to be consistently repentant, yielded, and reflective of a deeper connection with Him. The decision to constantly think about the Word changes our minds and the quality of our thoughts thereby shifting the way we navigate emotions and actions.

Beliefs that emerge from a renewed mind will replace the old as we meditate on God’s Word, such that our lives will testify to the goodness of God.

We don’t have to grovel and beg. God hears our prayers, even the ones that emerge as tears. We can be certain that He will answer. It isn’t up to us to determine how or when. He does it, though, and always according to what He knows is best for us and the situations that we bring to Him.

The adversary wants to dominate the messaging that informs our lives. He seeks to convince us that who we are or what we have done disqualifies us from representing Christ well. However, the opposite is true. Christ’s glory and strength are often revealed through our weaknesses and vulnerabilities (2 Corinthians 12:9).

When we re-envision our value, by our identity and not our religious works, we allow the Blood of Jesus to speak better than we ever could. We reimagine our identity and authority through the lens of the Word.

The power of Scripture not only transforms the way that we esteem ourselves in terms of confidence, but it recalibrates the way that we enter prayer and how we see those prayer needs. The intimacy that we enjoy with our Savior and the Spirit of God connotes authority.

When we realize that we pray from a place of already being worthy and having godly authority, we shed the shame that leads to performance and striving. We become more consistent in the language of prayer because it becomes the language of love, not fear.

Christian Counseling for Spiritual Development

Wherever you are in your prayer and spiritual development journey, be encouraged. You don’t have to know every Scripture to experience its power and authority operating through you.

It may be helpful to gather guidance not only from your faith community but also talk with a counselor at Laguna Christian Counseling about the low confidence that may be influencing your consistency. Embrace the grace to pick up confidently where you are now and speak with your Father in the language of love.