We Need God: Making Room for a Fresh Encounter

Have you ever reached the point where you’re tired of trying to figure out the right thing to pray? You’ve prayed. You’ve believed. You’ve quoted Scripture. You’ve tried to have faith, tried to be patient, tried not to grow weary—and yet some of the things you’ve been praying for still haven’t changed. Sometimes we reach a place where we realize: More than we need God to answer our prayers, we need God Himself. This week on Made to Pray, we’re making room for a fresh encounter with Him. Not something we can manufacture. Not another formula to follow. Not another thing we need to work harder to make happen. We’re simply praying: God, interrupt us. Interrupt our routines. Interrupt our striving. Interrupt the endless scrolling. Meet us in our homes, our cars, our workplaces, our worship, our conversations, and the ordinary moments of our days. Remind us that You are right here—closer than our breath. Karrilee shares Isaiah 30:18–21, a passage she has been reading and praying throughout the week. It gives us such a beautiful picture of the God we’re crying out to: the God who is gracious, who hears our cry, who meets us even in seasons of adversity, and who promises to guide us with the words: “This is the way, walk in it.” We also talk honestly about trust—especially when the waiting has been long. What do we do with the parts of ourselves that know God is good…and are still struggling to believe it? How do we recognize the lies that quietly creep into our thoughts and replace them quickly with truth? What would happen if we prayed out loud, read Scripture out loud, and filled the atmosphere around us with the truth of God’s Word? And what if we stopped looking only for God to encounter us in some dramatic moment and began watching for Him everywhere? In Scripture. In worship. In conversations. In nature. Through another person. While doing the laundry. Even while we’re mindlessly scrolling. Because God doesn’t only want us to know about Him. He wants us to know Him. To trust Him. To recognize His voice. To experience the love of a good Father. To be reminded that He is real, He is near, He sees us, and He cares about what concerns us. So this week, we’re praying for encounters. We’re asking God to surprise us. To correct us. To encourage us. To heal the places where trust has been wounded. To silence the skeptic in us long enough for us to lean in. To show us which way to go. To reorder our priorities. To awaken our hunger for His Word. And to remind us again that we don’t only want to have encounters with God—we want to become people through whom others encounter Him, too. Maybe the prayer for this week is simply: “God, I need You. More than an answer, more than a breakthrough, more than anything You can do for me—I need You. Make room in me for a fresh encounter with You.” Come pray with us. 💜 📖 Scriptures to Spend Time With This Week: Isaiah 30:18–21 — God is gracious, He hears our cry, and He promises to guide us: “This is the way, walk in it.” Proverbs 3:5–6 — Trust in the Lord with all your heart rather than leaning on your own understanding. Jeremiah 33:3 — Call to God and He will answer and show us things we do not know. Psalm 46:10 — “Be still, and know that I am God.” Psalm 42:1–2 — A soul that thirsts and longs for the living God. Psalm 84:1–2 — A heart that yearns for the dwelling place and presence of God. ✨ Made to Pray is a Christian podcast where we have honest conversations that lead you back to God through biblical encouragement, practical faith, and prayer. 🎧 Subscribe on your favorite podcast app so you never miss a new episode each week. 💜 If this episode encouraged you, share it with someone who may need the reminder this week: God is near. He hears you. And you can make room for Him right where you are.