***Originally posted on cregarstyle on January 11, 2015***
I am back after a short hiatus from the blog due to holiday travels and then being sidelined with the flu for the better part of two weeks. I am excited to be starting yet another new posting series: Verse of the Week. As I have mentioned in the past, I teach a wonderful group of high school girls (seniors only on Sundays and a mix of juniors and seniors on Wednesdays) from my church. Right now I am prepping my lesson for this week and it is on quality time with God. I am very excited about this lesson for a couple reasons:
-First, it is an amazing topic and what better way to start off the new year than with a fresh outlook and plan to spend better quality time with our Lord and Savior!
-Second, my fantastic husband bought me the most wonderful journalling Bible for Christmas...he definitely saw my Christmas List. I have been itching to really break it in since I opened it. The other day I even flipped through every page of one of my other Bibles and transferred all my notes and underlines to the new one! I'm a little crazy...I know!
Anyway, the lesson for this week is over Psalm 63:1-5 which reads:
O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water. So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary, beholding your power and glory. Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you. So I will bless you as long as I live; in your name I will lift up my hands. My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food, and my mouth will praise you with joyful lips. (ESV)
This passage truly blew me away. It makes me very aware of my prayer life and the time I have spent studying the Word. I have been analyzing and scrutinizing the way I have been living my life and I have found some areas where I could do better. Verse 1 says "earnestly I seek you" and another translation uses the word "eagerly". If I am being honest, I am not typically eager in my prayer life, sometimes I am, but my eagerness could use some work. If I were to make a list of the things I am eager for in a day I am not sure where God would line up. Some days I am far more likely to seek Him earnestly and eagerly, but that isn't what this verse says. It doesn't say "occasionally make God a priority" or "when it is convenient for you..." or "when you have a bad day and really need God's help..." I think this is what strikes me the most. It commands me to earnestly seek the Lord, every single day, no matter if I am happy or sad, anxious or calm, in control or overwhelmed.
The next major point I am taking away from this is to know the power of God. He is all powerful and all knowing. He has the ability to do anything in the world, no matter how unlikely. The laws of the universe do not apply to Him. How amazing is that? I can't even begin to comprehend that much power. I tend to sell God short of the power He is due. I get in my own head and tell myself that God can't handle things or that I can handle things better than He can....I am waiting for Him to strike me down as I write this. I know I am no match for Him. However, for some reason, I keep trying to insist that I can handle things solo. Oh how wrong I am. But then it occurred to me....what if I am not truly preparing myself to meet with God in my prayer life? I have had some prayers where I felt totally, completely, 100% connected with the Lord where we can talk and I feel a major sense of calm over the situation, but those are the days when I am expecting to meet God. Lightbulb: What if I expect to meet God every day?!?!?!?! How would my relationship with Christ be different if I prepared myself to meet God and not only hear, but actually LISTEN to what He has to say? I think it would be like night and day! I am not perfect, so I am sure that there will still be days that I cannot relinquish control, but if I go in ready to meet with God and expecting Him, I would be much better off.
The final part to this passage is about praising God. I am the first to admit I often turn to God when everything is in the toilet and I have exhausted all my other options. (I'm not saying I don't pray at other times, but I have been known to only ask for help.) God knows every single part of your life. He knows what is going on every millisecond of your life, and every thought that you have. However, that doesn't mean that your prayer life should always be "help, help, help" simply because he knows when things are going well. It is important to praise God and to thank Him for His guidance and help. My mother in law always says to her kids (including me) "Have you thanked God yet?" when we call her with good news. I love that reminder that in those moments when we can get carried away with excitement, she is focused and helps us to remember to thank the Lord who gave us everything.
I know that my quiet time with God and His Word could use some work. I think these tips are a great place to start for anyone who is evaluating their prayer life. Earnestly seeking God, expecting to meet Him, and praising our Lord are three things I am going to be focusing on this year in an effort to better connect to the God that made me. Until then...
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