Sunday morning retuning: Praying, giving, transforming, sharing. Four things that will be a part of being on missions with God according to our international worker who was with us Sunday. What is your next step? Are you ready to follow Jesus, even if it requires you to lose your life? If you are ready to take the next step, check here for resources to help.
During one of the sessions at our recent Worship Workshop I challenged participants to grow in their personal worship. The reason being that the quality of our personal worship has a direct correlation on the quality of our public ministry. Like so many other things in our Christian walk, and many things in our service to God through music, small incremental progress is the best way to grow. To this end, I asked each person to consider what might be the next step for them as they grow in this area.
Last week I had a conversation with someone who admitted that for them prayer is difficult. There are other ways they feel closer to God, but expressed a desire to me to grow in prayer. I told them I would be praying about that and would come back and inquire as to their progress intermittently. That got me thinking about a few of tools I use to aid my prayer.
On my calendar when in the morning I have a block of time labeled “Preparing for My Day”. The note on that appointment includes my version of a simple prayer I came across several years ago. It reads, “God, whether I get anything else done today, I want to make sure that I spend time loving You and loving other people--because that's what life is all about. I don't want to waste this day.” This reminds me that loving is the most important thing I will do. I need to pray this more often.
Even before the appointment is another one titled “Time with God”. It contains at the bottom a short list of people I pray for regularly. Before it are the words of a prayer written primarily by Paul Baloche which I personalized. This prayer has shaped me over the years in a number of areas. It reads like this.
I cry out to You, Lord, to restore a sense of awe toward You and Your Word. Fashion a childlike heart in me that I might be continually preoccupied with You, Father. Cultivate in me a sense of wonder at who You are and what You do. I need a fresh revelation of You, Jesus. I need to see You more with the eyes of my heart. I ask You to reveal more of Yourself to me on a daily, even moment by moment basis. Soften my heart and deliver me from any religious and cultural cynicism that may have crept in. Fill me Holy Spirit. Free me to express my worship to You in a way that You are worthy of. Let my life be a sacrifice of praise to You, through Jesus Christ my Lord. Amen.
The words are not magical, but faithfully praying these has allowed me to increase my awareness of God’s presence in my life. They help me to cultivate my walk with the Lord by intentionally asking for more of Him every day. They are remind me to offer my life in worship, living as a sacrifice of praise. I do pray them as often or as fervently as I need to, but every time I do, they help me to move closer toward the Lord.
One last thing I have done over the years is pronounce a blessing on our boys at night. Though I have not been as faithful to pray with them at other times, the Lord has enabled me to be faithful in this, to the extent that they will ask for it if I should happen to forget while tucking them in at night. I simply pray, “I bless you [First and middle name] in the name of the Father, and the Son and the Holy Spirit. I pray God will help you to grow to love HIm with all of your heart, soul, mind and strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself.” I generally customize it from there, but I almost always start with this blessing.
I know that my boys have grown accustomed to it because it is a good habit, but beyond that, it has had an impact on me. It has reminded me of my responsibility before God to point them to Him. I often fail to do this in other ways, but this simple practice has carried the benefit of allowing me to redeem other mistakes by faithfully asking for God to bless them.
I will share next week a few other habits in prayer that I have tried to develop, but please know that my intent is simply to encourage you to do something to grow in your practice of prayer as a crucial part of your worship life. The point is not the words or the ritual, but the training of the heart to stay in a humble position toward God.
What’s your next step in that direction? Answer that question today, and act on it, maybe even before the sun sets.
Jesus, help me to grow in the discipline of prayer. I want to commune with you constantly and I confess this is an area of my personal life of worship that could use some attention. Draw me close and show me what that next step is for me and I will take it. In Jesus name. Amen.
In Christ,
Pastor Timothy
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