Day 7 - Prayer Journal: Wisdom Keys

Scripture

"Wisdom [is] the principal thing; [therefore] get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding." - Proverbs 4:7



For years, I have thought about my desire to achieve my "bucket" dreams, things I want to do before I kick the bucket. I have plenty of everyday dreams and goals, but some of my bucket dreams include my dream of publishing my book, opening a group home, and adopting a child. These may be simple things for some people. Many people in the world have already achieved these things, but they are my God-sized dreams, things I need God to breathe life into so that they happen and are a blessing to not only me but to the people whose lives will be forever changed by the desires God has put in my heart.

Life is full of many opportunities, and there are so many dreams and goals that we hope to fulfill. Some of our desires are simple things that are within our reach. Others are much bigger than us. These are the God-sized dreams that God has planted in our hearts so that we must lean on Him in order to fulfill them and succeed. Too often people leave their dreams on the shelves of their hearts because they believe that life has passed them by or they think that they don't have what it takes to achieve what they really want. But God wants us to dream, and dream big, much bigger than anything you can do. If we only believe in the things that we can do, we leave no room for God to do the miraculous in our lives.

Focus

• What dreams did you have when you were younger or when your situation seemed more feasible?
• What dreams have gone unfulfilled in your life? What things have you desired but believe it is too late to achieve?
• What are your God-given dreams? What things seem almost impossible for you to accomplish and would take God in order to do them?
• Seek God for the God-sized dreams that He has for you.
• Ask God to give you wisdom in every area of your life, especially in the area of life goals and dreams that are yet to be fulfilled.
• Record any ideas that God reveals to you about things that God has placed in your heart to do or to be.
• Pray for God to send the right people into your life who are connected to His plan for your life.

Remember

Today is Father's Day, don't forget to lift up the men in your life, whether they are fathers or not. Ask God to give you the wisdom in dealing with the men in your life, husbands, fathers, brothers, uncles, ex-whatevers. Watch God change things in that area !

Be Blessed!

Day 6 - Prayer Journal: Pardon Me

Scripture

"And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil. " - Luke 11:4

A week ago, I spent the day at the lake with some friends. Three of them climbed into an empty boat and navigated the waters heading south. As they rowed the boat, seeking adventure, three fish jumped into the tiny boat, while water splashed along for the ride. My adventure seeking friends captured the fish and some of the water from the lake and put them in a ziploc bag. After they returned to the dock, one of the guys showed all of those who had stayed on land his catch for the day. When I asked him what he planned to do with the innocent creatures, Wes told me that he was going to release the fish back into the water. I was surprised; I had assumed that he would have kept them as a souvenir or added them to his daughter's fishbowl. Another friend asked him why he was letting them go. Wes shared that the tiny fish were helpless and defenseless against him; he reminded us that the fish had only done what they knew to do, but he had the power to choose to free them in spite of the fact that they had made a wrong choice by landing in the boat.

That made me think about how Jesus treats us. Even when we make the wrong choices, He has the power to free us by forgiving us. We, in turn, have the ability to be Christ-like when we act as Wes did. We must choose to free others who make the wrong choices and land in conflict or hurtful situations toward us. The scripture says that we are forgiven with the same measure we forgive others. It doesn't depend on whether or not people deserve forgiveness or not, whether they are sorry and ask for forgiveness or not, we must choose to forgive because Jesus loves and forgives us.

Focus

• In your journal, ask God to forgive you for any wrong actions or thoughts that you may have or had in the past that you may have forgotten to repent.
• After yesterday's journal, you may have discovered areas that your heart had deceived you. Things you once saw one way may be clearer to you today or you may have realized that you were wrong in thinking certain things. Either way, if God revealed beliefs that you once had that you realize now you were wrong, pray for forgiveness.
• Have you believed things about someone else because your heart led you to wicked thinking? Write a prayer of asking for forgiveness.
• Are there people who actually wronged or hurt you and are in need of your forgiveness? Write a prayer asking God to strengthen you to release them from wounded thinking /feelings and choose to forgive them, even if they don't really know or deserve it.
• Pray and ask God to deliver you from the temptation to treat people the way they may deserve to be treated and instead ask Him for the power to treat them the way He would.

You may not realize how empowering forgiveness really is. Most people that hurt you either don't remember or were not walking with Jesus so they only did what sinners know how to do - the wrong thing! People who have not accepted Jesus as their Lord and Saviour are blinded to the love of God. That means they don't know how to really love you the way God does. So you may have been placed in their path to show them how God loves people in spite of whether they deserve it or not. We know they need to be forgiven and loved because that is what each of us discovered we need from Jesus. Plus, the Bible says it is more of a blessing to give rather than to receive. So go ahead and get your blessing!

Remember

You can pray or write any way the Lord leads you. If you don't think there is anything that you need to forgive or be forgiven for, just ask God to reveal how He sees things and see what He answers.

I am so blessed to find out how many of you have shared the prayer journal challenge with others, that is love in action.

If any of you are confused about the prayer journal days, let me explain. One night when I attempted to post the website was down by the company so I was unable to post a journal. I simply choose to make it up the following day, and to not confuse you I did not post two. If you journaled on your own on that day, then today is your day 7. If you stayed with my format, today is your day 6. Either way is okay, God knows what we have need of and whatever He led you to do is fine with me.

Some one asked why I called it a challenge; I felt the Lord was leading us to challenge ourselves in prayer. I believe that these journal entries are stretching our prayer lives, our thinking, our fellowship or witness to others, and many blessings that God has yet to reveal. It is not a competition but a personal intimate prayer experience with you and God. I only ask that if you have praise reports please share them so others' faith may be stirred because some of our participants are new to waiting on God.

Be Blessed!

Day 5- Prayer Journal: Matters of the Heart

Scripture
"Create in me a clean heart, Oh God; and renew a right spirit within me." - Psalm 51:10

I absolutely love chocolate, Coke, mochas, and latte. Can we say I am obsessed with caffeine? I know that females should not have excess levels of caffeine because it is simply unhealthy. But that doesn't stop us from craving things we shouldn't. Why do we think that we must have things that we really shouldn't? It is a heart thing!

Many people believe that the heart is the most important organ in the human body. But it is the most dangerous, too. If your heart is not functioning properly, your life is in danger. It is central to your existence. Just like your physical heart is the central hub for life, and it must pump blood efficiently throughout the body in order for you to survive, our spiritual hearts are the control centers of our lives. In Jeremiah 17:9 says, "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?

Our hearts are deceivers. Our hearts hold on to things that it shouldn't and we don't even realize it. It seems strange that the scripture says we don't know our own hearts. But it is such a deceiver that often it fools even us. Isn't that amazing? But God is a discerner of the heart, only He knows what is in our hearts. I used to think that my mind was the playground for deception. But the Bible says that it is our hearts that deceive above all things; our hearts filter our experiences, feelings, and knowledge to devise a wicked scheme for us to carry out instead of God's plan. For example, when someone you trust or care about betrays you for the first time in that relationship, our hearts process the fact that we are in a loving or trusting relationship with that person, that something they did or said made us feel angry or sad, so the heart decides that we can no longer trust that person or it convinces our mind to not let ourselves love or get as close to that person or other people in order to protect us from experiencing that situation again. Makes sense doesn't it? Except God says that we should not let the sun go down on our angry reaction and Jesus tells us to forgive others so that our heavenly Father can forgive us in the same way. See what I mean, the heart wants you to respond with a behavior that disobeys God. Isn't that wicked?

Focus

• In your journal, ask God to show you areas where your heart deceived you and convinced you to act contrary to God's will. What lies have you believed because your heart (instincts) told you something was true? What assumptions have your heart formed about people you love and trust? (Your heart is a liar and cannot read someone else's heart.)
• Pray for God to create a clean heart in you and to show you every time your heart seeks to trick you into accepting anything contrary to the word of God.
• Ask God to give you His heart, so that what God loves you will begin to love (His priorities become your priorities). Record the revelation He gives you about what is on His heart!

Remember

Thank you God for my prayer journal challenge sisters. I love and adore you, Jesus. Thank you for the praise reports that keep coming our way. We honor and worship you for who you are. May you continue to be gloriried in our lives and throughout the earth. Amen.

Be Blessed!