I’ve been learning a lot about prayer for the last few years. I used to approach God fearfully, ready for Him to strike me down, afraid of expressing myself too honestly because I didn’t want to make Him angry.
Over the past few years, God has been developing my prayer life in a much deeper way. Not only am I not afraid to approach my Father anymore, but I come to Him regularly with my honest feelings (always in a respectful way). I know that He knows how I’m feeling anyway, and He wants me to be honest with Him. And I’ve learned He’s the only One who can help me work through my feelings in the healthiest way.
Two things I’ve learned lately that I want to keep putting into practice in 2020 are the following: Before coming to Him with my needs, requests, and feelings, I want to start by praising and worshipping Him. Not only does He require that of us, but it reminds me of Who I’m approaching and to do so with respect, honor, and humility.
Then, instead of coming from a position of begging, asking, or demanding, I’ve started thanking Him for answered prayers before I see the outcome. I wasn’t completely sure how to do this, so started out slowly, with my twice monthly grocery shopping trip. Throughout the day I knew I was going, I started to thank God for the sales I would get, and for staying under budget. Every time I thought about shopping, I quickly sent up a prayer of thanksgiving for deals/sales and staying under budget. Nothing profound, nothing drawn out, just a thankful spirit.
When we went shopping, I bought our usual items and even a few extras for our son to take back to school with him. I didn’t skimp on our list and except for what I couldn’t find (which was only 1-2 things), I bought everything I set out to get and a few extras. As I was leaving the store, I was amazed. Not only was I under budget, but I was $32 under budget. I thanked God the whole way home and was amazed because that type of savings doesn’t usually happen.
Three days later I realized God is even more amazing that I already knew. We were able to take that $32 in savings, combine it with other money we had saved for groceries and use it with a huge sale for chicken, cereal, pulled meat, and other items. We now have plenty of meat to feed us through spring (or longer) and our regular budget wasn’t stretched too thin.
Guess where I’m headed again tonight? Yup – grocery shopping. And guess what I’ve been doing already today? Yup! Thanking God ahead of time for deals/sales and staying under budget!
What about you? Are there specific areas in your prayer life God has been speaking to you lately? How has He confirmed your choices? I’d love if you wanted to share them with us!
© Cheri Swalwell 2020