Prayers Aren’t Magic Tricks… They’re Invitations

**Matthew Gottesman** (0:02)
Welcome to The Niche Is You. My name is Matt Gottesman, at Matt Gottesman on Instagram, and this is my daily podcast where I create short, quick hitting episodes to help you uncomplicate life, creativity, and the pursuit of your highest self. There's only main character energy here. Now let's get into it.
Welcome to episode 806, prayers aren't magic tricks, they're invitations. Prayers aren't magic tricks, they're invitations. I had a lot of people reach out about a post that went viral, and I want to share what the post said. When I say prayers aren't magic tricks, they're invitations, we pray, and it's not meant to guide God, and then all of a sudden have the things show up that we want to show up. Because also if we're not careful, we may not even feel like we're ready for them. Because God knows, like, hey, you're ready, I'm gonna give this to you. And at the same time, you may not feel ready. So you are, this is an invitation for you to receive it and to step into this next season. Versus avoid it or sabotage it or push it away or any other number of things, right? So what I said in the post, I said, when you activate what you pray for, the real work begins. Prayers aren't magic tricks, they're invitations. When you say yes to what God placed in your spirit, you also say yes to the stretching required to carry it. When you say yes, like, God, please bring me this opportunity, please bring me this person, or more so, what I like to say is, God, please bring me the opportunity that you want me to step into next. God, please bring me the person you have designed for me, whether that's in business or that's in, you know, your spouse or your friendship, whatever it is, right? Now, that was placed in your spirit. So, but it's also going to say yes to the stretching required to carry. What does that mean? Well, when that opportunity comes, not to think low of yourself or to think down, but to rise up, to be called up, to be like, you know what? This blessing is coming. Therefore, I want to honor it, respect it, be devoted to it, be committed to it, and work through it. And to keep asking God through it as well, too. Because we don't have to do it alone. So then I said in the post, this is why activation feels like both a blessing and a burden. It's God handing you the assignment and becoming the same time. Right? Being handed the assignment and the becoming at the same time. So if resistance shows up, don't panic. It's not a sign you're wrong. It's a sign you're growing into what you asked for. When you pray bold prayers, you're also praying for the capacity required to hold the blessing attached to them. God won't give you a future your character can't sustain, clarity you're not ready to honor or reveal purpose you're unwilling to mature into. That's why I think sometimes people say, oh, I'm not ready for that. Or it's almost like you're turning down the gifts, especially if they weren't what you were expecting. And you don't even maybe realize that you may be even being gifted something bigger than the thing you were expecting. For example, like you could be maybe like thinking that you want a very specific opportunity. God gives you a different one, and you're like, nah, it's not really what I wanted. Like, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Like, but maybe the one God's giving you is not only bigger, but provides also that other thing that you wanted as well and cleaner, right?
So then I finished with when you activate what you pray for. God activates the work that prepares you to hold it. So if God called you to it, God's already prepared the path through it. So why saying yes to what you pray for means saying yes to the becoming that comes with it. That is what we're going to be talking about today. And here's what we're going to be talking about in the episode. Why prayers or invitations to becoming not shortcuts to receiving. But to be very careful. I think often at times we're so good at guiding God when God's like, are you finished? You know, do you want to tell me how to do my job? I'm just curious, is that what you're doing here? Versus, you know what, let me actually be invited into what you want me to understand. And then let's also talk about how activation is where the real work begins, not where it ends. When you pray for something and it comes into your world, congratulations. Now we work even more to sustain it and to take care of it and to commit to it and to devote our time to it. You need to be very careful what's from God and what was self-will, if you will, right? Also, why bold prayers come with bold preparation attached, how God gives you the blessing and the becoming at the same time. Why resistance after prayer isn't a sign you're wrong, it's a sign you're growing into what you asked for. Resistance is very normal. It's very normal. We've talked about this, I think, countless times on this podcast. You pray for something, something comes into your world, and it can almost feel overwhelming to you. Like, what is this? Like, you know, you can almost be scared. What if I'm not enough? What if I can't hold it? What if, you know, I ruin this? You cannot ruin what's for you, right? What's the famous expression? You can't say the right thing to the wrong person. You can't say the wrong thing to the right person.