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Category: Spiritual Disciplines

Waiting for the Lord

Written by MattMacNaughton on . Posted in Spiritual Disciplines. No Comments on Waiting for the Lord

Language is so fascinating, and unfortunately, we can pass over it so quickly.  There are many different verses with the phrase “waiting on the Lord.”  The ones I want to focus on are in the Old Testament, using the Hebrew word “qavah.”  Literally, the word means “to bind together,” as in, to make a rope by bringing many strands together.  Figuratively it is used to mean “to wait eagerly, to hope, to expect.”  I know I am in a state of waiting for the Lord in more ways than one in my life.  Several other close colleagues of mine are also in this place.  But does it mean that we need to sit and wait for the Lord to move?  Let’s explore three passages:

 

Isaiah 40:31- But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.

 

Lamentations 3:25-27-  The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him.  It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.  It is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth.

 

Psalm 25:4-5- Make me to know your ways, O Lord; teach me your paths.  Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all the day long.

 

I see a lot of activity in those verses, even though each of them focuses on waiting. Isaiah says waiting on the Lord gives us renewed strength, lets us soar, lets us walk or run and not run out of steam!  That’s awesome.  So if we use the literal translation, it means that those who bind themselves to God will be empowered.  That’s really cool.  If we go more figuratively, it means those who hope and expect the Lord’s power will receive it.  Again, really cool.  But I think the clear implication is that upon having God’s power, we do something with it.

You know what it doesn’t say?  Wait and God will take care of everything.

Lamentations puts the phrase of seeking after God in the same thought as those waiting for him.  Continuing on in the same vein of thought, he says it’s good to be quiet as we wait for the Lord’s salvation.  I think this is referring to the way that we like to tell God how we want things to be done.  But instead of telling Him what to do, we need to remember it’s worthwhile to keep quiet.  Jeremiah spends the first part of chapter 3 complaining about how hard he’s had it, and then he interrupts himself with the thought of hope in God.  So, it might mean bearing a difficult situation, but God never said life would be easy nor that our definition of good is His (Romans 8:28).

Again, I say, the “waiting” in these verses is active.  Seeking God, holding one’s tongue, bearing the yoke.  Nothing about sitting around while God works, but us working with the understanding of hope in God (remember what hope is all about anyway).

In Psalm 25, we don’t see the waiting until the end, and additionally, all the imagery is about paths.  For me, path implies that you are moving.  What’s the point of asking God where you are supposed to go if you’re just going to stand by and look at it? “Yeah God, that looks cool, but I’m just gonna stand here and stare at it for a while.  Thanks for revealing where I’m supposed to start heading next, I’m gonna wait till you start dragging me along.” That’s not a great way to use a path. I love what Charles Spurgeon has to say about Psalm 25: “Patience is the fair handmaid and daughter of faith; we cheerfully wait when we are certain that we shall not wait in vain. It is our duty and our privilege to wait upon the Lord in service, in worship, in expectancy, in trust all the days of our life. Our faith will be tried faith, and if it is of the true kind, it will bear continued trial without yielding. We shall not grow weary of waiting upon God if we remember how long and how graciously he once waited for us.” (https://www.biblegateway.com/devotionals/morning-and-evening/1739/07/08)There’s one other little point, but if we’re going to analyze words, let’s also analyze phrases.  The translation is typically “wait for” and not “wait on.”  I think there’s a lot of wisdom in that.  We wait for doctors to call us back, we wait for people who are late, and we wait for food and drinks to be brought to our table at a restaurant.  That’s a very passive activity (as long as you don’t ask a waiter!).  On the other side, we wait for Christmas morning, and we prepare for it by getting and wrapping gifts and singing songs and such.  We wait for the end of the work day, diligently accomplishing our daily tasks until it is time to clock out.  We wait for the weather to change so we can go outside, but we typically fill our day with an alternate activity.  “Waiting for” is active.  It’s anticipating a change.

So, what are you doing?  Are you sitting and waiting for it to happen, or are you waiting for it while continuing to move in the direction you are led?


Love in Christ,


Pastor Ben

Responding to God’s Word

Written by MattMacNaughton on . Posted in Spiritual Disciplines, Uncategorized. No Comments on Responding to God’s Word

But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing. – James 1:22–25

I once heard a preacher who, prior to reading the main text of Scripture of the is sermon, would make the following statement:

“Every time we open God’s Word, we are looking at the mind of God. Let’s see what God is thinking”.

God the Father has made Himself to us through His Son Jesus (John 1:1). We learn of the Son of God through the written Word of God (2 Timothy 3:14-15). And because we have these true and profitable words from God, we know exactly who God is and what he desires for us (2 Timothy 3:16-17). When we open the Bible, we are reading about the Author and Finisher of our faith. Here’s what Peter states,

Knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation. For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. – 2 Peter 1:20–21

The Holy Spirit used men to record exactly what God intended to say. Which means we should take seriously what is said within the pages of Scripture. It is not man that is speaking, but God. And when God speaks, we must listen.

But listening is not all that is required of us. Listening to God’s Word, whether it is in our own reading and studying or if it’s sitting in a Bible based sermon, requires a response. James writes the verses above to tell us not to be just a hearer, but to be a doer of the Word as well.

In other words, God’s Word calls for a response.

Parents understand what James is saying far too well. We ask our kids to do something and more often than not, we need to repeat it a few times. We’re training them to obey right away. We often ask them, “Did you hear me?” And they’ll respond with “Yes” and we sit and wonder why they haven’t done what we have asked them to do! This is simply disobedience. To hear something from an authority and not to do it is to disobey the authority.

Because the Scripture is our authority, then when we disobey Scripture, we are disobeying God. We are implying that what He says is not important enough to follow, that we prefer to do our own thing, or that His authority does not matter to us.

When we hear God speak, we respond in obedience.

The Bible shows us how to live holy. It exposes our sin and brings us to the light of God’s grace. Just like a mirror shows us who we are, so does God’s Word. We would be fools to hear and not respond to what God’s Word says to us. We would be fools to disobey the good and gracious words from God.

Here are three helpful questions for the next time you read Scripture or after the sermon on Sunday that will help you respond to what you have heard.

1. From the text, what is something you learned about God? About yourself?

2. What Scriptural truth(s) from the text is the Holy Spirit pressing on your heart?

3. If you were to incorporate this truth in your own life, how would the next week and next month be different?

These questions help us read the text for what it says and then act on what it says. We respond to God’s Word because we know God’s Word to be true and good. And when we obey the words of our Father, it produces within us a peace and joy that frees us to continue living in obedience to the One who saved us.

By His Grace,

Pastor Matt

Sabbath Break

Written by MattMacNaughton on . Posted in Spiritual Disciplines. No Comments on Sabbath Break

It’s hard to believe, but we are fully into the month of March, and with that comes many things, including the well-revered (and often much needed) Spring Break.  Though some might point to an ancient Greek tradition of taking three days off in the springtime from their labors, the American tradition of a break in the middle of the school year originates from a swim team forum in Ft. Lauderdale in 1938. The coach had the brilliant idea of bringing his team from frozen New York down to sunny Florida in order to get some training in.  By the late 1950s, this became the norm for many teams, and by the ‘80s and 90’s, Florida specifically became branded as a Spring Break destination, with programming by media such as MTV showcasing the extreme debaucheries being done by young people from across the nation. Such is the way of the world, to go from smart planning for exercise to a crazy racket of unbridled recklessness. As Christians, we have to be careful to guard our hearts against the twistings of our society. While Spring Break is potentially a good time to step back and reset, what does the Bible tell us about rest?

The first mention of rest comes in the creation account in Genesis 2:2-3:

And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation.

Of first importance is to recognize that God did not rest because He was so worn out. He is establishing a plan of rest and renewal as a part of the weekly rhythm intended for man.  After all, Jesus says in Mark 2:27 that “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath” (Mark 2:27). Essentially, yes, man can survive without the Sabbath, but it is a grace of God that He has set out for us a day to rest. Society tells us that we earn rest, not that we are meant to have it naturally.  And we know that rest is good, so if God rested from His work, who are we to think that rest is not important enough to prioritize?

We also know that it was a part of the Ten Commandments given to Moses and the people of Israel in Exodus 20:8-10:

Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates.

All of creation points to this need for rest. The cycle of day and night, the fruitful growing and winter dormancy of plants, the hibernation of bears, all of these rest cycles are natural to the created beings. Unfortunately we as humans have found ways to work outside of these rhythms with technology, but that makes it even more important for us to take the time to step back and see what rest does for us.  We may say that we see the value in rest, but we don’t design our lives with that priority in mind. Spring Break is not the ideal way to take this rest, nor does it follow God’s plan.  We aren’t meant to have a week of vacation after several months of non-stop work. God designed the Sabbath to be a weekly place to stop and rest. So how do we combat our tendencies to just go, go, go?

Plan to have time weekly for rest.

I know for me, my schedule can be quite different week to week. We don’t want to create a bigger problem of making the Sabbath into an idol (“I WILL NOT DO ANYTHING on Saturdays EVER!”) but we do want to create weekly space for rest that isn’t just falling asleep exhausted at the end of a 12-15 hour work day. This means that we have to plan a time for this type of resting in God. Whether you use a calendar app, a whiteboard, or a printed paper on the wall, block out time to rest each week. It will take some adjusting, and it may be a few weeks until you can clear out that time, but pursue it. Once you have it locked in, you will find it a sweet and soothing part of the week that you will want to continue to protect against the busyness of life.

Use your rest time to meditate, pray, and reflect on God.

Jesus says in Matthew 11:28-30:

Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

Resting in Jesus isn’t just not doing your daily tasks, job, etc. The Sabbath rest is meant to bring our hearts and minds closer to our Savior as we consider what He has done, what He is doing, and what He has promised us as we continue forward in our lives and ultimately on to eternity with Him. We can only learn from God if we are spending time with Him in prayer and seeking out His voice that we have free access to through His Word.

Be present with your family by turning off the distractions.

Several years ago, I made it a habit to put my phone on Do Not Disturb any time that I went out to dinner or a movie or whatever it may be with someone. Although I recognize that luxury cannot always be afforded, I also know that I can spend an hour with someone and anything that comes up in that hour outside of my perception is in God’s hands, whether or not I am able to see it on my phone. It’s this type of being present that is the hardest to combat, especially when you have school events and multiple jobs and long commutes and the list goes on. But fight for that Sabbath time where you lay aside some of the constant communication with the outside world and focus instead on what is right in front of you.

The Sabbath is a gift of God’s grace where we get to reflect on Jesus as the center of our lives. He is our Provider.  He is our Healer and Restorer. He is our Savior, and He invites us to share in His rest by placing our faith in His finished work on the cross. This Spring Break, take time to rest in Jesus.

Love in Christ,

Pastor Ben

A Prayer for the New Year

Written by MattMacNaughton on . Posted in Spiritual Disciplines. No Comments on A Prayer for the New Year

As we close out the year 2022 and welcome the year 2023, I want to offer this prayer on behalf of our church family. This prayer comes from the Valley of Vision: A Collection of Puritan Prayers. From the excerpt: “The strength of Puritan character and life lay in prayer and meditation. In this practice the spirit of prayer was regarded as of first importance and the best form of prayer, for living prayer is the characteristic of genuine spirituality. Yet prayer is also vocal and may therefore on occasions be written. Consequently in the Puritan tradition there are many written prayers and meditations which constitute an important corpus of inspiring devotional literature. This book has been prepared not to ‘supply’ prayers but to prompt and encourage the Christian as he treads the path on which others have gone before.

The prayer below is a prayer for the end of the year and a prayer for the beginning of a new year. I pray the Lord blesses you and your family in the coming year and may we live it out for His glory and His glory alone.

A PRAYER FOR THE YEAR’S END

O Love beyond Compare,
Thou art good when thou givest,
when thou takest away,
when the sun shines upon me,
when night gathers over me.
Thou hast loved me before the foundation of the world,
and in love didst redeem my soul;
Thou dost love me still,
in spite of my hard heart, ingratitude, distrust.
Thy goodness has been with me another year,
leading me through a twisting wilderness,
in retreat helping me to advance,
when beaten back making sure headway.
Thy goodness will be with me in the year ahead;
I hoist sail and draw up anchor,
With thee as the blessed pilot of my future as of my past.
I bless thee that thou hast veiled my eyes to the waters ahead.
If thou hast appointed storms of tribulation,
thou wilt be with me in them;
If I have to pass through tempests of persecution and temptation,
I shall not drown;
If I am to die,
I shall see thy face the sooner;
If a painful end is to be my lot,
grant me grace that my faith fail not;
If I am to be cast aside from the service I love,
I can make no stipulation;
Only glorify thyself in me whether in comfort or trial,
as a chosen vessel meet always for thy use.

A PRAYER FOR THE NEW YEAR

Length of days does not profit me

Except the days are passed in Thy presence, in Thy service to Thy glory.

Give me a grace that precedes, follows, guides, sustains

Sanctifies, aids every hour,

That I might not be one moment apart from Thee,

But may rely on thy Spirit

To supply every thought,

Speak every word,

Direct every step,

Prosper every work,

Build up every mote of faith,

And give me a desire

To show forth Thy praise,

Testify Thy love,

Advance Thy kingdom.

I launch my bark on the unknown waters of this year,

With Thee, O Father, as my harbour,

Thee O Son, at my helm,

Thee O Holy Spirit, filling my sails.

Guide me to heaven with my loins girt,

My lamp burning,

My ear open to thy calls,

My heart full of love, my soul free.

Give me Thy grace to sanctify me,

Thy comforts to cheer me,

Thy wisdom to teach,

Thy right hand to guide,

Thy counsel to instruct,

Thy law to judge,

Thy presence to stabilize.

May Thy fear be my awe,

Thy triumphs my joy.

ThanksGivers

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November 1st for many is the start of a new season. Some might call it the holiday season, some the Month of Thankfulness, some the beginning of two and a half months of Christmas. And now that Thanksgiving is upon us, this holiday that may get lost in the hustle and bustle of being busy gives us an opportunity to reflect on things that we are thankful for.  The tradition of gathering with family and friends around a meal, taking a moment and stating aloud what we are grateful for  is an awesome practice, and we know that the Church is called to be the best ThanksGivers around. What do I mean by this?

When we look at the Pauline letters, we see that the New Testament is full of exhortations to be thankful.

Colossians 2:6-7 Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.

Philippians 4:4-7  Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

Certainly this list is not exhaustive, but this last set of verses contains something that I think most people are very concerned with: what is God’s will for me?  I would argue one piece of the puzzle is to be a ThanksGiver.  Paul here gives three points to consider what that looks like.

First, we should be a rejoicing people. The Greek word here for rejoice comes from the same root that is used for grace. Our understanding of God’s will starts with recognizing that it was His will to save us from our sinful state, and this perspective should transform our outlook on all parts of life. And it’s not just rejoice sometimes, but always! Sometimes we forget about the circumstances of the original writer or the receivers of these letters, but their lives were full of struggles and hardships and celebrations and amazement, just like our own lives. This timeless approach from God’s Word applies to us in the same way it applied to them.

Second, we should be a praying people.  Remember that prayer is a continual, intimate conversation with God that is grounded in knowing who he is and that what He has said from HIs Word is true. This word “continual” may be better translated as “incessant” or “uninterrupted”. The idea here is that we recognize God is always available and that His Spirit is with us, and so we have a companion with whom to share our lives with every moment of the day. It’s not saying that we shouldn’t take time to get away and have uninterrupted prayer (Jesus did this constantly), but if that is the only time we involve God in the daily inner talk of our lives, we are missing out on a piece of God’s will for us.

Finally, we should be a thankful people. I love the phrase that comes along with this command to give thanks- in ALL circumstances. This can be tough because we know life is messy and broken. But if we choose to find thankfulness, the peace of God starts to truly rule our lives in those seasons. Something like taking each letter of the alphabet and making an “I’m thankful for ____” can reorient our hearts and minds back to just how good God is and remind us that He is near to us. The Psalms also provide a great resource as both a prayer guide and a way to infuse thankfulness. Some of them remain unresolved in their conflict but are resolved to give thanks to the Lord regardless.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

I promise you that this ThanksGiver approach will make everything easier to endure. It helps us to realize that even when it doesn’t make sense, or it doesn’t fit in the plan you had for your life, or if it came out of nowhere, God knew it was coming, and at some point you will see it is for your benefit. I’ve held on to these truths through my own circumstances-

Rejoice- Psalm 119:68 You are good and you do good; teach me your statutes.
Pray- Romans 12:2- And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.
Give Thanks- Romans 8:28- And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.

So, take to heart these practices.  Seek Christ’s joy daily. Talk to God about everything as you read from His Word. Choose the thankful perspective, no matter what you are facing. This is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus, and my hope and prayer for you in the coming weeks.

Love in Christ,
Pastor Ben

Developing an Intentional Prayer Plan

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I’ve thoroughly enjoyed preaching through Romans 8 and the recent focus on prayer has been especially helpful to my own soul. The last few weeks have been a reminder to me of the power and necessity of prayer in the life of the Christian and I want us to dive deeper into the gracious gift of prayer. It’s why I love this quote from the German reformer Martin Luther:

“To be a Christian without prayer is no more possible than to be alive without breathing.” 

Do we not understand theologically what Luther is saying? Then why is it practically such a chore to pray? Why is it that many of us can’t remember the last time we breathed a prayer? We know we are to pray (and pray without ceasing as Paul says in 1 Thessalonians 5), yet we do not pray. To fail to pray, then, is not to merely break some religious rule. It is a failure to treat God as God. 

Is our struggle to pray due to wrestling with God’s sovereignty over all things? Do we say “What is the point of prayer if God is sovereign?” I’d argue that when we fully understand the sovereignty of God, as it is recorded in Scripture, then the natural response is not prayerlessness, but rather genuine life of prayer. Is our struggle to pray due to a lack of desire to pray or not knowing what to pray? 

What if we, with sincere hearts, asked the same question the disciples asked Jesus in Luke 11: “Lord, teach us to pray”. From this simple statement the disciples both acknowledge the sovereignty of Jesus (“Lord”) and they recognize the immense need to commune with God in prayer (“teach us to pray”).

What is prayer then?

The Westminster Shorter Catechism defines prayer as “is an offering up of our desires unto God, for things agreeable to his will, in the name of Christ, with confession of our sins, and thankful acknowledgment of his mercies”. 

A few weeks ago, I defined prayer as a continual, intimate conversation with God that is grounded in knowing who He is and that what He has said from His Word is true. 

We could continue to define prayer but no matter how we define it – Biblically of course – it must always lead us back to actually spending time in prayer.

It’s why I want to encourage you to take the time and develop an intentional prayer plan.

Like any good goal, developing a plan helps us see that goal come into fruition. Want to lose a certain amount of weight? You need to develop a plan that includes working out and eating healthy. Want to save for a future purchase? A budget is the plan to help you accomplish that goal. We use plans all the time to help us accomplish goals and establish new rhythms and developing a plan to help you be intentional in prayer is worth considering.

Take the time to answer these questions and enjoy how the Holy Spirit strengthens you as you spend more time in prayer.

Determine when you will pray.

The heart of a believer who prays without ceasing understands the need for an intentional time of prayer daily. It is good to pray at meal times, in the car when you see an accident, when you head into a meeting, or when you are prompted to pray when talking with someone. It is also good to pray when there are no other distractions or responsibilities. It is good to have time just between you and God.

While the Bible is not dogmatic on when you should pray, the Bible speaks on the importance of speaking to God first thing in the morning, even before you speak with anyone else.

“O LORD, in the morning you hear my voice; in the morning I prepare a sacrifice for you and watch.” – Psalm 5:3

Your plan might require you to adjust your morning routine by getting up earlier or spending time in prayer instead of scrolling social media. Your plan might mean you take your lunch break in the car and spend a portion of that time praying. Maybe you take the first 15 minutes of your kid’s nap time to pray, and then go take a nap yourself!

 

Determine where you will pray.

I recently mentioned my Prayer Chair ™ in a sermon, not realizing how much time I spend in that chair. It’s a chair in my office that faces two windows and is at a table. There is no work at the table and I can’t see my normal desk. It’s really only me, my Bible, and a few pens. It’s here where I spend my intentional time in prayer.

You don’t necessarily need to have a Prayer Chair ™ in an office, but you need to have a certain location where you pray and the people in your house know that is where you go to pray. Jesus speaks to the importance of a prayer closet in Matthew’s gospel account.

“But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.” – Matthew 6:6

Determine where your prayer closet will be. Maybe it’s in the garage or out on the porch or maybe it’s a walk around the neighborhood. Wherever you decide to pray, know that wherever you are, you are meeting with the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords and He hears your prayers!

 

Determine what you will pray.

This may seem like a strange determination but knowing what you will pray is key to intentional praying! Many of us determine the time and the location, but then we sit down to pray and find out we don’t know where to start. There’s a host of helpful tools to help you know what to pray, but the most practical comes from Jesus himself.

Now Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.” And he said to them, “When you pray, say: “Father, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread, and forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation.” – Luke 11:1–4

We can see Jesus’ model prayer and establish four key points that you can implement in your intentional prayer time. The four points make up the acronym A.C.T.S.

 

Adoration: Acknowledging who God is and understanding His Holy character.

Take the time in your prayer by praising God for who He is! Need a start? Pray through Colossians 1 or Ephesians 1.

 

Confession: Acknowledging you have sinned against God’s Holy character.

Take the time to confess your sins specifically, not generally. Need a start? Pray through Psalm 51.

 

Thanksgiving: Acknowledging God’s goodness towards you flows from His Holy Character.

Take the time to say thank you to God for all that He has done for you. Need a start? Pray through Psalm 34.

 

Supplication: Requesting from God, in accordance with His will, what you need to reflect His holy character.

Take the time to take your requests to God. He loves to hear His children come to Him with their needs. Prayer is taking everything that is on our heart to God. 

In Romans 8:15, God’s children cry out to God the Father. “Crying out” to our Father in Heaven represents both the crying out of “Dad, help I’m hurting” and the “Dad, come look at how awesome this lego house I built is!” It’s the crying out of both pain and praise. 

When we turn to the Lord, we trust that even when we are not praying the Lord’s will for us, the Holy Spirit Himself is interceding for us, because He knows perfectly God’s will for us. 

 

Determine to pray.

Finally, an intentional prayer plan requires us to actually pray and commit to praying! The plan becomes meaningless if we don’t actually implement it. And one of the surest ways an intentional prayer plan is derailed is through the excuses we create.

Being too tired, not having enough time, being too busy, too much noise, or even not knowing what to say are all excuses that we need, no, we must eliminate them. We make time for what we deem important, even when we are too busy and have little time. We carry on conversations with other people while our kids are around all the time. I could keep going but you see what I’m trying to say. Any excuse is a poor excuse for a lack of praying. 

So determine to pray. Determine to spend a designated time in a designated place with just you and the Lord. Take your heart to Him. Hear him speak to you from His Word. And go to Him in confidence, knowing that you are no longer condemned, but you are now His child whom He longs to talk with.

 

By His Grace,

Pastor Matt