Spend Some Time in Morning Prayer

I have made it a desire to speak to God before I leave my bed. Before I pop on the news, before I have my coffee/ I praise him! Sing in my head a praise song, or open my app to begin to read his word - all of this I do scattered as it may be to begin my thoughts with him. Never fails he gives me a name, a need, or simply a Godly hug - but I know I am filled and will make it another morning because of him. Sometimes there is simply silence and with that there is amazing peace.

Praying before the day starts sets the tone for the day. I now listen for the opportunities God places before me daily that I may have missed prior to morning prayers. God has given me the privilege of encouraging a friend, leaving a higher tip for a single mom who is struggling to provide for her child. Opportunities I would have missed had God not moved me to be more intentional in listening to those around me.

The hardest part is getting started. I used to pray in the middle of the day, and always at night. This challenge helped me identify the most important moments of the day, prioritize and start the day not in a hurry, but in a peaceful and conscious way. Thanks Church

We have a pretty small home so when I saw the movie “War Room” I was inspired to have a place for prayer but literally had no closet to designate as one. So I bought a canopy, string lights, kneeling pillow and my hubby enthusiastically helped me set it up in a corner of our home (he is the best, he gets so pumped with anything that brings me and us closer to Jesus!) and then… it sat unused for WEEKS! So when Kyle preached about spending 15 minutes in prayer each morning I knew God was telling me to get into my War Room! I cannot overemphasis what a blessing this has been- God always meets me in my little corner and I see the strategic impact in myself, our marriage, our family, even our community! Thank you for this challenge!!

Take a minute to really think about, God, what do you want to do in me?  Because when he does something in you, it's not just for you; it's for the all people around you. And my prayer is that God would do something powerful in you, but it wouldn't just be for, you would be for others as well. And that as a community, we would have a chance to witness God do his incredible work through all of us, as he does this work in us. We want to thank God for how he is patient and gracious with us, and for the way that He redeem things. We pray that this would be a time where God would do some work in us and that it would overflow out of us to accomplish His will and His mission in this world. Let us take on position of surrender where we allow the seed to take roots in the soil of our hearts. Would you ask God to help you do that? 

For many of us, spiritually speaking, there's work that God wants to do in us. And we want it to be instant; we want what it and we want it now. We want instant spiritual maturity and instant spiritual influence. That's what we want, but it doesn't work that way. But it takes time. It takes intentionality. Something happens in the ground that we can’t see and then it breaks through, and that's how a harvest comes. Some of you are waiting for God to do something through you, and you're getting discouraged. But this is part of the process. You might be feeling anxious because you don't know what you're going to do this next year, or you can't quite picture your life five years from now. But you want to be someone who makes a difference, and you can be!

As we often see in the Gospels, Jesus is teaching the crowds through parables when we start reading in Matthew 13. This parable is of the Sower, where Jesus explains the outcomes of the seeds that fall on different types of soil. Jesus, uncharacteristically, interprets the parable, whereas we normally see him leave it up to his audience to draw their own conclusions.  Jesus tells a story where a farmer goes out to a sow seed and some of the seed that lands on good soil, and something happens to that seed in the soil - in the soil the seed grows. In the soil, the seed is cultivated. In the soil, that seed matures. There is a lot happeining IN the soil – but here’s the thing: You can’t see what’s happening to the seed in the soil. But after enough time of something happening IN the soil, something finally breaks through the ground. And through that one seed comes a harvest that is multiplied thirty, sixty, even a hundred times.  So God wants to do work in us, but the question is, “What’s the condition of the soil?”  You feel like you're not living your life with much purpose, or that you're not fulfilling the plan God has for you, or that you not getting the opportunity to make a difference. Instead of focusing on the harvest, focus on the soil. 

Jesus is often surrounded with all kinds of people with all kinds of needs, but he always gives his attention to the one he cares for. And so, we are hoping and praying that one of your prayers is God do something through you. Most of us you have some idea of what you want God to accomplish through you. Do you have that as a prayer? I hope you do. Can you just take a moment and finish that sentence in your heart?