As church staff members, it’s often very easy for us to tell others what the Bible says and what they should be doing as Christians, but we ourselves forget to follow our own advice. As a result, we end up worried and stressed with the things over which we have no control. So, this year, let’s dedicate ourselves to all the things we know we should do like reading God’s Word, building meaningful relationships, but also spending time with God in prayer.
Prayer is such a simple act, yet we make it so difficult. Do you often feel like your prayer life is lacking something? That it is boring and maybe not even bringing glory to God? Yeah, same here. It’s easy to play it safe and let our prayer life be lukewarm, but we won’t grow as disciples. We need to become people who engage in intentional and thoughtful prayer, but we can’t do that if we don’t dedicate time and effort to pray and stay focused.
In order to help us stay focused, here are four things we can journal every day and use to shape or order our prayer time:
- My Worries: In 1 Peter 5:7, Scripture states we need to cast all of our anxieties on the Lord. In this section of your notebook or journal, write out all the worries you are carrying. Capture all the anxious thoughts and write them down.
- My Praises: In Psalm 100:4, Scripture tells us to enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise. In this section of your notebook or journal, write down anything and everything you are thankful for and give God praise for all of those things. It’s time to shift our focus from our worries and remember all the good things God has done.
- My Prayers: Isn’t it a beautiful thing that God, our creator and Lord of the universe, takes time to listen to our prayers? Psalm 116:2 reminds us that God bends down to listen to our prayers, so we need to pray. Use this section of your notebook or journal to write our simple prayers to God and just talk to Him. It doesn’t have to be elaborate or fancy, just have a conversation with God.
- God’s Promises: Look at the prayers you have written above and, in this section, remind yourself of the truth of God’s Word. Write out Scriptures to remind yourself of God’s promises for the things with which you are struggling.
Having a daily and consistent prayer life can change everything for us. Let’s take it all to God and learn to hear His voice in 2021.
