It’s a new year! Are you ready to deepen your relationship with God? How about changing how you pray? Here are a few prayers guaranteed to change your faith walk…
“Search Me”
Psalm 139:23-24 “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me and lead me in the way everlasting.”
Vulnerability is the first thing we look for in others and the last thing we are willing to show. It’s also the one thing God requires to change our lives. He will not force His way into our hearts and minds, we have to let Him in. Are we allowing ourselves to be open and vulnerable to God? Do we really want to know our true motives?
“Break Me”
Hosea 10:12 “Sow for yourselves righteousness, reap the fruit of unfailing love, and break up your unplowed ground; for it is time to seek the Lord, until he comes and showers righteousness on you.”
This sounds so harsh! But God faithfully uses our brokenness to glorify Himself through our lives. New crops cannot grow in hard ground. We need to let God break up the hard places in our hearts so that new life and new fruit will be produced for His glory.
“Stretch Me”
Isaiah 54:2 “Enlarge the place of your tent, stretch your tent curtains wide, do not hold back; lengthen your cords, strengthen your stakes.”
We know we need to stretch before we exercise for optimal performance. But how do we perform for the Kingdom of God? God wants to stretch us out of our comfort zone so we can be effective in ways we’ve not yet imagined. He longs to increase our faith, our passion, and our impact for Him.
“Lead Me”
Matthew 26:39 “Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed. “My father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.””
Do you allow God to lead you no matter what? Do you follow Him even through the dark, scary areas in life that seem overwhelming? I’ll admit, sometimes I don’t. Fear will stop me dead in my tracks. Asking God to lead us allows for HIS will in our lives, not OURS. We pray this prayer so we can honestly say “not mine, but thine…”
“Use Me”
Isaiah 6:8 “Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I. Send me!””
Do you ever put God in a box? Do you have preconceived notions about how and when He can use you for His kingdom? I certainly have. But God is bigger than anything we can imagine. He writes a story we can’t predict. Are we allowing Him to use us the way HE has planned?
God wants to take us into a deeper relationship with Him. It begins with allowing Him to search us, break us, stretch us, lead us, and use us. God is waiting for us to pray dangerously by giving Him full access to our hearts and minds. Isn’t it more dangerous not to?
Be blessed,
Jennifer
“if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” 2Chronicles 7:14