EP 97 Crafting a Pattern of Prayer - Kasey Price

You know, everyone's lives are different. Everyone's seasons are different. And so I think, you know, once you've experienced the Lord and you know what it's like when you spend time in His presence, you can create those spaces. Welcome to another episode of I Refresh. I have my dear friend, Kasey Price. Welcome. Hi, thank you. I'm happy to be here with you. We have had fun. We have done an episode before in our very big, early on, we used to call it season one, but actually it's just early on in our season. She's done a couple with us talking about loneliness. It was an incredible time with Hannah Waters. Great conversation. And then the other one was about controlling our mind. Yes. And taking those thoughts captive. We're still working on those things. So it's so great. But one of the things that's been on my heart for a while and talking with some of the members of I Refresh is really what brings us together is prayer. And I just thought it would be great is so often I've been listening to some different ministers, even in Florida when I was there with my son, is just the importance of our dialogue with the Father. And so I wanted us to talk in... Ask you, Casey, of what is it that created that passion for you to pursue prayer and what does it look like in your life? Well, for me, you know, I grew up always knowing about prayer. My mom prayed all the time with us. on the way to school, at night. So prayer was just like very natural growing up. But for myself, this is what my mom modeled, but really it was when I graduated college and started working as a teacher that I really developed the habit of prayer for my own life. and creating a space for prayer time and seeking the Lord each morning. And so looking back over the past, it's been five years now that I've been teaching. And, you know, the prayer time that I developed the habit in that season is really where my relationship with the Lord grew. And I kind of experienced what prayer is in my life and in that routine of it for myself. So you saw it modeled by your mom, which she's a precious woman and so seeks the Lord. What made you shift from just watching her to where you found that how important it was for you to actually develop that in college or after college? Yeah. Well, you know, I had seen the evidence of what prayer does and can do growing up, but it was when I. was working as an adult, had a job, and really I was on my own. And so I needed, you know, I wasn't relying on other people's prayers anymore. Like I needed to develop that for myself. And... So when, yeah. And so I just would wake up in the mornings and that was, was not in, I am now, but I was not a morning person. I am definitely a night owl. I love to stay up late, sleep in. But I just knew that, you know, for me to be successful in my job and in, you know, the season of life I was in, I needed that time with the Lord. And, You know, I always learned that our prayer time in the morning is where we get our direction and our guidance for the day. And so I just got into a routine of waking up early, early, early in the morning and having, you know, hours sometimes. So you had to make a decision. And that's what I'm going to say for those that are listening, too, is you have to be very purposeful. And you have to be sometimes we have to get maybe we have to be desperate or very needy to where. you find the value of needing that where you have it personally, not that you're relying like on your family to pray for you, but you are going to have that conversation with God yourself. So that's a sacrifice. Like when you're having in your body, some people's bodies, like you said, I used to like to stay up late, Um, that's one of my sons when they were younger, like it was the only time I felt like I had that quiet, but then when they got older than like, they're still up. So I learned to switch to morning anyway, but just finding that time to spend with the Lord was so essential for you. So how did that play out then you said in, then your work, how did you, how was that important to you? Well, you know, I was a second grade teacher, and so working with 27, 28, 8-year-olds every day. I would be begging for prayer. Oh, my goodness. And then on top of that, you know, your coworkers that you have, and then everyone has life outside of work. And so I... You know, there was just things that I needed to go before the Lord for, and I needed strength for that day, you know, and to do well in my job, strength, you know, to be and do what he's called me to do in that position. But then outside of school and work, you know, relationships with people and things that I'm praying for and believing for on my own, the prayer needs of those around me, um, I really had to create that space to go to seek the Lord for those things that I faced during the day. Did you find that, too, when you developed that prayer life, that other people were asking you to pray for them? Yes. Yes. Yeah, I did. And that was neat because in the past and growing up, you know, like I said, always knowing about prayer, we would pray for people. And that was, you know, normal. But it was because I had created that space in the mornings that when I saw needs around me or I heard prayer requests, I actually had the time to pray for them. you can be more intentional to, you know, be. when you are praying for somebody, you can seize that time. And so, yes, people did know that I spent time in the morning with the Lord. And so that was a good. I think I have to say thank you to that because, you know, I know growing up in the different seasons of my life that sometimes it was a little bit easier. But I also think, and too, when people that will ask you for prayer, you know, sometimes it can become a cliche. And I think to hear that people knew that if they actually ask you for prayer, yeah. that you actually, you made sure you made a point of doing that. And I think that's really a powerful message and a statement of your life, that that pattern of your prayer life was so much so that they knew, like if I ask Casey, she's really going to follow through and pray for my needs. Well, it was encouraging in my walk with the Lord because I saw the evidence of the prayers that I was praying. And there were certain things too, even now that I've grown passionate to pray specifically for because I've seen the Lord answer the prayer in other people's lives. So it was encouraging for me because not only did it deepen my relationship with the Lord, but it encouraged my prayer life because I was seeing God's hand in the prayers that I was praying for other people. Isn't that awesome? It's yeah. Very awesome. So encouraging. Yeah. And I think, you know, it helps you because you and I, we've had this conversation is there are times when we pray for something and there are some prayers that we have prayed for the season has been years and years and finding, okay, Lord, is this something I continue to pray for? How do I pray differently? Like, what does your word say to this, you know, in our life? And I think, you know, there's that struggle of some of our prayers. You know, it's great when we see the answer prayers. And sometimes the answers are not what we had hoped for either. You know, we've had someone on our team just lost a loved one. And those are heartbreaking because our desire is for a good report on the other side. But sometimes it's where we just had to gather and encourage each other together. pray for them to receive comfort when the reports are ultimately not what we always wanted. But, you know, God's in the midst of all those. Tell me, when you had that pattern in the morning, what was it that God was doing in your life that you mentioned to me, even journaling? Yes, it was so neat because that time in the morning is where I really learned to listen and hear the voice of God. And so when I would wake up in the morning, I would sometimes, you know, I always just kind of start up praying and asking the Lord to, you know, do whatever he wants to do in that space. And, um, I would just kind of journal and write out, you know, the things on my heart or, um, things I'm believing for just, you know, I, I mean, I really, and I still do it now. I just dear Lord or dear God, your heavenly father. And then I just, you know, pour out my concerns, whatever it is to the Lord. And I always would, you know, pretty quickly and sometimes now, you know, it doesn't always come right away, but I just this still small voice. And we always hear about the still small voice of the Lord. But it was this voice I heard in my heart of like a response to what I had written. And so. What was so cool is that when I would feel something in my spirit, I just would start writing it down and it came out in cursive. So I would write, you know, Dear Lord or whatever in print. And then when I would, I would feel my spirit and just have that prompting to start writing. It came out in cursive. And so I have, you know, so many journals now that have taken me through the seasons over these past five years and. And it's just to see the difference of, you know, my handwriting, my concerns, and then the Lord's response. And so. That's powerful. Because that like for you now to go back to these journals. That's. And it's the reminder. Yeah. You know, that's so often, that's so important because, you know, I'm not good at journaling. I've had so many journals. I'm like, I actually even brought one. I have one today with me. And this journal I was given, my sister is great to give in some of them. And I'm like, I called it my gratitude journal. Yes. And the thing is, is I started this back in 2016, and it's definitely not full. So that's the problem was. And you know what's interesting? When you talk about even journaling, the power of the journaling to go back and you can see what God spoke to you about. I even find it, even with a gratitude journal, of the things that we were praying and believing for. But sometimes we are also, as we're praying for it, is, but yet I'm thankful. It's kind of like the Psalms. It's a different version of creating our own modern day Psalms. Yet, God, I pray for this, but I'm going to thank you in the midst. And I was reminded that I need to get back to making myself more faithful. talking about her gratitude journal. And I'm like, wow. Like she makes an attention every day to write two things. I love what she's grateful for. So I'm like, okay, that's really good. And, and I was remember Amy Hale, that someone, um, that a ministry, uh, she is all about teaching about how to get in the word and, how to even in her time with the Lord, she has a place where she shows her gratitude. But I love too is your journal is when you can get those downloads from heaven and in cursive. So that's a powerful way to go reflect back. And it's anchors of hope. You know what I mean? Like there's certain things that I have been standing on in prayer for years. And I go back and I look at, you know, what the Lord said. spoke to me in response to the cries of my heart. And it's encouraging. It's never once has the Lord not been there to fill me with hope or to give me the encouragement that I need for that day, whatever the concern is that I'm praying for. And even though I don't see the immediate results, I have little pieces of hope that carry me through until I see The fruition of what I'm standing on. Well, you know, and that's where it helps to reactivate our faith, you know, because it says faith is the things that we haven't quite seen yet. Right. And yet sometimes we need to have something so when we can have a fresh word, I always used to call it manna. It's that fresh. something from the Lord he wants to give to us to encourage us for that day to have faith in him and trust him even when we don't see it in the physical realm, but we know that God is doing things in the heavenly realm. And so that power of his guiding us with encouragement, with his actual word, being in it every day, which is another thing you told me about, and you're in creating your pattern for prayer with your journal, but you're also making a pattern to being in the Yes. And that was, you know, that that year. So when I first started teaching was when I really kind of got into this habit of that morning prayer time. And I did the Bible on the year plan and I could not get enough of the word. That was like the first time really that I and I mean, we grew up in church. We always read the Bible, but I had never actually read it, you know, the entire Bible. And so, you know, certain scriptures started to come and speak out to me or, you know, scriptures that I had heard and grew up knowing meant something different to me. And then there was, you know, chapters that I hadn't read or the Old Testament. You know, I actually, I've really enjoyed reading the Old Testament. I've read it in several different versions. But to see the parallel to of that time that I would spend, you know, reading the word, the scripture, the Lord would bring it back to me later in the day or, you know, later in the week. Or I would be talking to somebody and a scripture that I had read earlier, sometimes that day or earlier in the week, I was able to share with them because it was in my spirit. Yeah. And then even, you know, in the journaling and in that prayer time, the Lord would remind me of scriptures that I had read. And then giving, you know, that gave me scriptures to stand on for, you know, something that I was needing in that day or a season, you know, that I was going through. I would have a scripture that I could stand on to speak out and read over myself or to encourage me. Right. Which is what he's wanting to do. His word, you know, it talks about how the word is. powerful, it's active, and it's God's desire for it to change and transform us and the things that are around us. So I love how God uses that to bring it back to our remembrance. And that's what the working of the Holy Spirit is in our lives, is that he wants to bring things to our remembrance, but we have to be in his word. so that we can have something to pull from. And so I love that you spend that time. And I have found, like this is my gift from my friend Karen Covell, part of the Hollywood Prayer Network. She gave me this. It's called a master plan, but it's this contemporary English version. So each year I've been doing a different version of the Bible, and I felt like it helps me because, you know, when there's those familiar scriptures, I don't want to just pass through them. I want to... See what the Lord, like you just said, sometimes it means something different at a different season in my life where I'm like, oh, wow, that really means something to me right now with what I'm walking through. And I love how God uses it with the different versions to just spark my memory. Because this one, it's kind of like a living Bible. It just helps to bring a new perspective so that I can meditate on it. Like you were talking about is thinking of something. Yeah. And that's where I think is great about the word, his word, no matter how many times we read through it, there's always something to pull from. And I love that. Like you said, the different versions, because part of my time in the morning that, you know, the reading, yes, I did the Bible pan in a year, but somebody said, And a family friend of ours suggested that I read a Proverbs a day. So for the Proverbs, it matches the calendar date. And so I did that for several months from the same version of the Bible. But it was the same thing of what we're talking about. The scripture would mean something different or something new would jump out. And it would be different, but then the different versions to read through. So I've really enjoyed two different versions of the Bible today. So I'll do my prayer time and then I'll just read my quick proverb for the day that matches, you know, whatever the date is. Right, right. Because they pretty much align. There's so much wisdom in Proverbs. So much wisdom. I really enjoy Proverbs. I use, yeah, because I use the YouVersion app. And so I'm like, I feel like I'm just, I will highlight things in my Bible, but then I also put it out there because if I, on the fly, want to refer to something I'm wanting to meditate on or call back to my quick remembrance, I use that so I have access to it. and I'm like, man, I am a highlight queen, and I don't mean to, because I'm like, those who are, if they're following me, like, man, she is like everything, but, you know, like, you know, you were saying something about, like, how the Word is helping us, like, right now, I'm having to learn how to do the editing now for, I've done it before, but I'm using a new software, so I'm doing this new software, and so I bought this module to learn how to do it, And it's so overwhelming. And it's so funny how God's timing of when I'm in the Word, it will speak to me. So I start marking it up in Proverbs, because that's where I'm at right now for a few days. And it's like, there's too many in one day to read. It's like three chapters with all that wisdom. But it was talking about how God says wisdom is that we want to continue to learn. And I'm like, well, Lord, I am so needing to be able to have the capacity to learn all I need to. Yeah. I love how God encourages us in the midst of anything we're walking through, the timing of it. It's only God, because I'm like, I'm going through a scheduled thing every day. And yet it's amazing how God will encourage me. Like it's something that's, it's actively a part of like, wow, I can stand on this and thank you, Father, that you're present, you're helping me or somebody I'm praying for that God, you're healing and restoring them. Yeah. Yeah. So I love that what God's done. So tell me when, so the other part with journaling, and then also I was talking about the gratitude, but you've mentioned too about praise in your prayer. Yes. And I think, you know, sometimes it's so easy to get caught up in the, the requests that we have for the Lord or, you know, the seasons that we're walking through, we do need the Lord because that's, you know, we live in a fallen world and, and we need God every day in our lives. And so it's so easy just to, you know, kind of get, Like, okay, God, I need this. I need that. Help me with this. Help me with that. But like, you know, first and foremost, we need to praise the Lord. I mean, we have breath in our lungs for that day. There's so much to praise the Lord for. And I think, you know, having that praise... It's the same as the attitude of gratitude or always having gratitude, but having praise in our hearts. It doesn't have to be this prayer time in the morning where you pray, you read the Bible. We can be praying throughout the day, praising throughout the day. And so that's something even I was challenged with at work. I had these great prayer times in the morning, but then during the day it was like, oh yeah, I forgot God. We had this amazing prayer. you know, prayer time this morning. And so I just was challenged, like in any pauses during my day, you know, whether it was walking to the bathroom or taking the kids to specials, you know, that quiet time just to be in my head quietly saying, you know, thank you, Lord, for this. I praise you, Lord, that, you know, just even praising who he is, you know, thank you, Lord, that you're faithful in my life. Thank you that you speak to me or, you know, that my plans are, Your plans and purposes for my life will prevail. And just, you know, having that praise throughout the day is a sweet way to honor the Lord. Oh, yeah. And have, and it changes, you know, our demeanor, you know, our personalities when we have that praise in our hearts. You know, and we have that place where we begin to, even as we're reading the word, you know, and I, I, I, often when I open up my Bible, I ask the Holy Spirit to lead me so I have understanding. But also, it's like, and there's even this morning, like, God, I just thank you that I get to have this time with you. And I think it's not that it's not something on our checklist because, you know, I'm a list maker. I have my list. But I think, too, is it's not just about checking it off that I've spent time with God. I've prayed. I'm doing all the right things. It's that personal, ongoing, like you said, it grew your life. And that's one thing I know, too. My life has grown much more so closer to the Lord being a part of our community, of our prayer team, and praying for each other. And when we pray for each other, for other people as well, it is... it really opens up a newer understanding of the goodness of God. So anyway, and that's one of the things too, I want us to just have some time where we can encourage other people. If you're not in a time where it's a pattern in your life to consistently every day, multiple times a day, for me, you don't have to... You should have a set time maybe, but because of your personality, like that's not me. I'm not routine. But I find that when I'm like, well, when do I have it? Well, I do have that morning time with the Lord. And it depends on your season. I remember as a mother, like my season was, well, I would pray with my boys in the car ride to school. But there was also, I was getting ready in the morning. It was crazy. You can always have a conversation with God. You're not limited to where you do it. You don't have to be in your quiet space or a certain place to pray. So I think we want to encourage people, like how would you get people, how would you want to talk to people and just really share with our listeners of how to get yourself motivated to create a pattern in that space for your prayer life. Well, I think, you know, all it takes is one special encounter with the Lord. You know, when I have those prayer times in the morning and the Lord speaks just so to my heart exactly what I need. It's like, oh, my gosh, God, like I need you at all times. And so, you know, I stopped even sometimes like there's parts of my day that I stopped listening to music in the car because I was like, OK, here's a space. You know, there's so much going on today. But here I'm sitting. I'm still. And I just would turn off my music and just, you know, pray to the Lord. But, you know, saying praises out loud or just, you know, praying. And having that space, it's sometimes just about creating space too, you know, because it doesn't have to be like, you know, it works for you and I to do it in the morning. And that's, you know, our time that we enjoy spending with the Lord. But, you know, everyone's lives are different. Everyone's seasons are different. And so I think, you know, once you've experienced the Lord and you know what it's like when you spend time in his presence, you know, you can create those spaces in the quiet times of your day, whether that's driving in the car, like I would stop and turn off the music, or at home if you're loading the dishwasher, whatever it is, trying to find those times where you can quiet your spirit, even though you might be actively doing something else, but your spirit and your heart is ready to receive something from the Lord. That's good, which reminds me, there's sometimes when I really need to hone in and I just need... to de-stress myself, I'll go do manual labor. And sometimes it's something where like either I'm outdoors working out and just doing something in the yard or something where I can zone everybody out so I can really listen to the Lord. Like I can, he can hear my cries, but then also I'm wanting him to speak back at me. So we also have to have that place when we're praying, we get quiet to hear. And I love how you say you turn the music off so we can hear him because he really is wanting to talk with us. Yeah. So it's not just a one-way conversation he has. You know, one of the things, too, is when you get in the Word all the time, it helps then to where you can begin to pray God's Word in your life. And one of the things that we're going to be doing in the days ahead, and I was working on it even last night, we have a very creative man that works with us, Bob Adams, and he has... used scraps from leftover in my home, actually, and then he, they have a little stand in that we have a scripture. I love that. And the one thing that I've learned, I learned this from our dear friend who was with us with I Refreshed Early on with Betsy Williams, said she had had scriptures and knowing how to praise the word of God. And it was, it really, I've always known that. My mother has been, it was a prayer warrior, but she's. creating that pattern and that shift of like, well, how do I find something in the word to pray over my needs? And our heart is how can we walk alongside you and pray with you? And so we have on one side of the card, we're going to be showing it to you in the days ahead as we have it available that I just had a mock-up. where on one side, the theme is about encouragement, where we give a scripture, and then on the back of it is how do you personalize and pray that, whether it's for yourself or for a loved one. And it's creating that way of when we're praying for ourself or for the needs of someone else, is getting God's word in us, because God says that his word... He will not return void. He will accomplish it. So we want to know what God's will is for our prayers so that they are effective and they are powerful because that's what God promised. So we have to be able to pray those through our lives. Yeah. So it's great. Those are so great. You know, one of the other things, too, is our website is a great place. Yes. And I've gone to the website myself. So for, I mean, there's so many great things. Yeah. There's a lot of topics. Yes. It helps when if, especially when there's things that you know, you're going through or there's a prayer request of somebody that you need, you know, it's all itemized. Perfect. It's easier. And yes, I love it. So there's no excuses because you can literally at under iRefresh.net, there is a place called praying scriptures. It may change. We may change the verbiage over time, but. It's a place where literally we have a lot of categories. There's over 30, close to 40 right now, but there's so many different topics, like you said. So whether it's something that you're walking through quite a few of them, whether it's overcoming fear, it's working on healing or praying for your children. even dealing with different viruses that are going around, there are scriptures that we have, like with this card, same thing. It's a scripture, and then we show you how to pray his word in your life. You don't have to use that, but it's a way to, if you're not familiar with doing that, it's just a way to help you to get into that mode of learning how the word of God is prayed over in our personal life. Well, and it's just a great resource too. I remember there was a time where I was really dealing with like insomnia and sleep issues. And there was a great category for sleep. And so before bed each night, I would take the scripture that was under the category for sleep, read the scripture, and then personalize it. Because there's a, you know, you show us exactly how to pray over ourselves. And so, yeah. That's so good. I should read that more often. Yeah, I'm asleep. We all probably could, right? Casey, it's been wonderful to just hear you testify. It's so cool to see what God has been doing over the years because I've known you for quite some time to see you own it yourself. It's not just watching in your family's life, but you've owned it. It's become a powerful part of your life. It's really made a transforming difference in your life. Yeah, thank you. Thank you. And we want to encourage you. If you even need prayer, we love praying. So we also do personalized prayer. We even do it through Zoom. So reach out to us. Subscribe if you haven't so you can get our newsletters. We're on social media. You can follow us and make sure you share those things that you hear from our podcasts and our different videos. There's teachings out there as well. Our heart is to walk alongside you and encourage you to get into the word. Until then. We hope that you will pray and be encouraged with what God has for you.