Well, it is now the 14th of January and I am finally getting around to writing a New Years Post. Probably not the best start, but I guess that is OK. I talked to Trace about resolutions and he said I don't "do" resolutions, but he has joined a gym in the past week and we as a family have been doing a few things differently since returning from our trip. I just laughed at his resolve to not participate in resolutions. I am sort of the same way and I am not sure why, however I know that this year the Lord has placed a few things on my heart. I saw around blogland that people were choosing a word for the year to focus on and some even have chosen a word for every month. I began thinking and praying about this year and asking the Lord what he wanted to press on my heart and what areas he wanted to be a focus for me.
He has given me two words: prayer and belief. The Lord has been directing my heart to more intentional prayer for the past couple of years. It has become clear to me that I need to be setting aside more time for prayer, for time with my Savior. And going along with that is the idea of belief. These two things are not separate. When I pray I must pray in belief. I must realize that I am approaching the King of All, nothing is beyond His reach. There is nothing that cannot be overcome through His power. We are allowed to enter the throne of Grace in boldness. I must have greater understanding of who I am praying to! I believe greater knowledge of who He is will radically change my prayer life.
I have said for a long time that I tend to either be bible heavy or prayer heavy, but that I don't do both well at the same time. The Lord has been merging these two things together in a beautiful way. He is teaching my that time in His word leads to time in prayer and it teaches me how and what to pray. If I pray God's word for myself, my kids, friends, and family then I can be pretty confident that I am praying God's will. I am not assuming to have this all figured out and it is definitely an area that I need to grow in, hence the focus of the year for me, but the Lord is faithful to draw us near as we ask. I remember last year that Trace prayed that the Lord would make us a praying family. What a gift to see the Lord answering that prayer.
Our church has begun the New Year with a focus on prayer. I am so excited to have this confirmation and to be a part of this 4 week series. At the end of the series the congregation will be encouraged to read a book by Kay Arthur that is called Lord, teach me to pray in 28 days. I have decided to read the book and would love to know if you would be interested in joining me. It is always helpful to know others are coming along beside you. Let me know if you are interested.
No comments:
Post a Comment