We are already a month into this new year! Doesn’t seem quite possible but I like this time of year. I like the new beginnings, new goals and new directions the first couple months of a new year brings. One of the words I heard for 2019 was CELEBRAATE! I did some celebrating in January and thank the Lord for showing me I needed to do more of that. Another area the Lord has been talking to me about is what I see, speak and hear. Since I have been home from Kenya the Lord has spoken so much to me about what I see and hear. I know I have shared about what we put before our eyes and listen to before but for myself it is such a vital part of keeping focused on Him. The Lord reminded me of a word He gave me a few years back. He told me that “You have 2 eyes to see My truths---1 mouth to speak My truths---2 ears to hear My truths - 2 hands to give Me---1 heart full of My love---2 feet to go and tell about Me. What I see and hear is that people are hurting, struggling, seeking and asking. I can’t be so busy self-absorbed with negative thinking that I am not walking by faith but by sight. My declaration is that mouth shall proclaim His glory – His loving-kindness – His Wisdom – His peace – His Hope – His faithfulness – and our worth and identity in Him. Each of us has a part in proclaiming His Good News and should know our call and walk in it. We should know and see our vision and head toward it. We are His mouth to spread His Word. We are His hands that give unconditional love to everyone. We are His feet that take the Gospel to every part of the world. If He is your Lord and Savior then He is in you working through you to reach those in your life with His love. The prayers this week are about the calling that He has given to each of us. We aren’t all going to go and reach the world in the same way. We all have an individual call that will bless people in a way only you can. I will be sharing more about what we put before our eyes in the next couple weeks. These prayers are for this new year and I pray you are able to see your value, your worth, your importance in doing the things the Lord has put on your heart to extend love to others. The greatest goal and vision any of us can have is to know Him so intimately. When I know who I am in Him and Who He is in me then it is easier for me to see all He has given me and what He has called me to do. If you don’t take time to know your gifts and visions then it is hard to see them accomplished. Be blessed and have a wonderful week in Him!!
Sunday: Father, thank You for this new year! How exciting are each and every one of Your days. As I begin this time frame I like to think of it as a time of renewing, refreshing and reminding myself of what You have spoken to me. You have given me visions, dreams, goals and a direction to head. Sometimes I let everyday life get in my way and I forsake what I want to follow. I know that I don’t always stay on the track as I begin new each year but I do know that if I don’t refocus occasionally I will never get even close to Your direction. You say in Habakkuk 2:2 to “Write the vision and engrave it so plainly upon tablets that everyone who passes by may be able to read it easily and quickly as he hastens by.” Today I desire to write again the vision You have given me. Writing it out gives me a direction and helps me better define what I see. Also, Lord, I believe if I write this word or vision from You and let others see it then I have others to help encourage me to head toward and fulfill that I see. I thank You that You have given me a direction, a dream, a vision, a call. I will write out what I see for now, though it may not be complete, and keep Your words before my eyes. “Where there is no vision the people perish.” Proverbs 29:18 Amen
Monday: “But let him who glories glory in this; that he understands and knows Me personally and practically, directly discerning and recognizing My character, that I am the Lord..” Jeremiah 9:24 “Let be and be still, and know, recognize and understand that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations. I will be exalted among the earth.” Psalm 46:10 “Yes, let us know, recognize, be acquainted with and understand Him; let us be zealous to know the Lord, to appreciate, give heed to and cherish Him..” Hosea 6:3 I think I will just mediate on these verses today. These words can be hidden in my heart. Just thinking about recognizing, understanding, being acquainted with, being zealous to know, appreciating, giving heed to and cherish You can consume my every thought today. I desire to still my mind of all the stuff and dwell on You. I love You, Lord and cherish my relationship with You. I believe that knowing You is the beginning of knowing the call and vision You have for me. Amen
Tuesday: Lord, “For my determined purpose is that I may know You, that I may progressively become more deeply and intimately acquainted with You, perceiving and recognizing and understanding the wonders of Your Person more strongly and more clearly..” (Philippians 3:10) That is my prayer today, Lord. I believe there is no greater purpose for my life than to intimately know You. There is no greater or deeper desire for this year than to deeply and intimately become acquainted with You. When I know You I will know the answers I am looking for in every other area and situation in my life. I will begin to understand the vision you have for me, the calling You have called me to. Without knowing You I cannot do this. This is not about me but about You so I want to live this year with this determined purpose. I praise You always and lift Your Name on High! Amen
Wednesday: Lord, as I’m seeking to know You this week I still have the desire to know answers to the many things that are on my heart. It seems that worry can get into my thoughts so quickly. Today I want to meditate on Matthew 6:33-34 which tells me not to worry. “But seek, aim at and strive after first of all Your kingdom and Your righteousness and then all these things taken together will be added given to me. So I do not worry or be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will have worries and anxieties of its own. Sufficient for each day is its own trouble” Starting a new season – a new year can bring fear and worry if I don’t know You and trust You. As I’m seeking Your truths and receiving Your unconditional love I see that all that I want to worry about has already been taken care of through You. I know that living for You does not mean that my days will be trouble free but that as I seek You I know each day will be filled with You and all You give. I bow before You and send away all the junk that is holding me back. I thank You, and praise You. Amen
Thursday: Along with knowing You and becoming intimately acquainted with You, Your word also tells me how important it is that I come together with others that are like minded. “Not forsaking or neglecting to assemble together as believers.. but admonishing, warning, urging, encouraging one another and all the more faithfully as you see the day approaching.” Hebrews 10:25 If I keep myself from other Believers I will get caught up in the lies and deceptions of the world. Together we can do everything but alone I am self absorbed and in danger. “Two are better than one, because they have a good more satisfying reward for their labor. For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up! ..A threefold cord is not quickly broken.” Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 Thank You for giving me others I can stand with and come together with. I am so blessed to have these special friends that stand on the same truths as I do. Together – united. I praise You always. Amen
Friday: “Stand firm and hold fast…” 1 Thessalonians 2:15 “Do not become weary or lose heart in doing right.” 1 Thessalonians 3:13 “Watch, stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong.” 1 Corinthians 16:13 Father, I thank You that I have been taught Your Word and I can stand on what I know is Your Truth and not have to be tossed to and fro in doubt and confusion. I am blessed with teachers that teach me Your Good News and I can walk each day in joy, peace, love, hope, strength and comfort because I KNOW You and don’t just know about You. I praise You always and rejoice in this day that You have made. Amen
Saturday: “And so that I can know and understand what is the immeasurable and unlimited and surpassing greatness of Your power in and for me because I believe..” Ephesians 1:19 Father, may all I have prayed, believed and spoken this week go deep into my heart so that I can experience Your ways and Your love every day and be able to send away all the thoughts that are holding me back. My determined purpose is knowing You and not knowing all the other things that seems so important to me. I cast these cares on You for You care for me. I will keep these words and promises close and in my heart so that when I begin again to want to know my stuff more than I know You I will have Your Word to guide me back to the path of knowing You more than anything else. I thank You and praise You forever. Amen