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"Call to Me, and I will answer you and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know." ~~Jeremiah 33:3
I've been led toward having a specific, organized prayer time. I started using Beth Moore's prayer journal, Whispers of Hope. It is a lovely 10-week journey to commit to 70 days of consistent prayer.I started Day One with a beautiful experience of prayer and worship. Then bang! My week got so busy and, what wasn't yet a habit was pushed away, just a sorrowful glance thrown at the journal on the end table as I rushed from one urgent activity to another.
All throughout the week, this verse sang in my mind urging me to slow down and pay attention to the Lord's voice.
"Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!" Psalm 46:10I really crave more than a dashed prayer with breakfast. I do most of my Bible study and writing at night. I am inspired by a fellow blogger, Ann Voskamp @ Holy Experience, to set aside a spot in the house specifically prepared for an organized prayer time.
"I kneel, strike a small halo at bench’s edge, and watch lights, one slight and wavering, one full and rising, seep through blackness.Beautiful picture isn't it? Go, visit her blog (click on her name above), soak up the blessing the Lord gives just from reading her words.
And in a bit, in the glowing, fingers find leather bookmark, and eyes find passage, and heart finds it’s way home.
I linger there. Verses from Philippians push back the dark; light." ~~from A place for everything, 09-12-2008
The Woman's Study Bible says this about giving priority to prayer:
Prayer should occupy a place in the heart; it also needs a place in the home. While every believer does not need a prayer closet (Matthew 6:6), all believers should have a place of solitude free from distraction in order to pray in private.Becoming still and listening to the Lord, through His word first and then as He guides our thoughts to "great and mighty things," is our way to express our love and reverence to the One who created us for fellowship with Him.
To help make prayer a priority, you may want to use a prayer journal or devotional book or write out a prayer list and revise it often. Share your commitment to prayer with others, both to encourage them and to hold yourself accountable for praying regularly.
Just as He invited the prophet Jeremiah to pray and then promised to answer that prayer beyond Jeremiah's understanding, we are invited to do the same. As we call to Him, He calls us to immerse ourselves in His presence and be surrounded by His love.
My goal this next week is to be intentional about meeting the Lord each morning in the sunroom. I will have my Bible, journal, pencils, and notebook on the table at the ready by the wicker rocker. All I need to bring is myself...He will be expecting me.
Hold me accountable this week and ask me if I've spent time alone with the Lord each day. I will do the same for you if you email me a note asking me to.
"[Sisters], pray for us." ~~1 Thessalonians 5:25
