This season I am becoming aware of the spirit urging me to pray in the middle of nowhere. I would be busy doing something and I notice that I have divine pauses to turn my heart to pray suddenly. I have observed sometimes that I am praying in spirit under my breath. I realize I am under a season to pray through in the spirit for whatever God is bringing forth in due season.
This year became a year of a lot of travel for me. On one of my recent trips, I noticed a praying mantis on my luggage. At first, I was amused at the creature, so I started recording it. While recording it, I had a close encounter with a praying mantis. I could see its eyes, mouth and legs. It was making some movements that felt like it was communicating with me.
After the encounter, I was pondering over how I had never previously encountered a praying mantis. I am not sure if it is a regular sight to behold in India.
My heart led me to do a small search on praying mantis. I was reading about its behavior patterns, preying characteristics and in general reading about its life and how they are in the environment.
I found these interesting traits:
⭐ Strike while the Iron is Hot.
⭐ Peace and Understanding.
⭐ Patience, Balance, and Mindfulness.
⭐ Stillness and Focus.
Also, I read - Because of the “praying” hands, some Christians say that the praying mantis represents spiritualism or piety, and if found in your home, it means that angels are watching over you.
The most apparent biblical symbolism of the praying mantis is "prayer", due to their praying hands.
The whole encounter with the praying mantis gave me a divine pause affirming, confirming a call to pray!!
I feel the traits I found of a praying mantis resonate with that of a prayer life!
A person of prayer carries these traits, or I felt God wants us to carry these traits in our lives for our own upliftment and upgradation.
Strike while the Iron is Hot: With regards to discerning seasons of life, grabbing opportunities, discerning open doors, taking action where it matters, and so forth.
Peace and Understanding.
Patience, Balance, and Mindfulness.
Stillness and Focus.
I sensed in my heart these traits are a very powerful force to engage in the heavenly realm and for physical life.
Growing up, the mental picture for prayer was – do nothing, leave everything in God’s hands and wait for the magic wand to appear in the sky, and miraculously turn things over. But prayer itself is too magical that it actively engages you with heaven and becomes a catalyst for a miraculous breakthrough when we hear Jesus’ Voice and are being transformed from glory to glory bringing peace and understanding in our situations, circumstances, relationships, decisions, actions and so much more…