10-Week Prayer Journey: Will You Join Me?

Happy New Year, everyone!

2024 has just rung in and I almost immediately find myself thinking through all the ways I want to work to make this year different and better. 

Then I stopped my reeling mind and started praying over this coming year. 

And the importance and urgency of all the possible goals I was mulling over started melting in comparison to answering one question:

How can I actively work toward deepening my relationship with God this year?

A new monthly workout plan won’t challenge my faith in leaning on Him more.

Eating healthier isn’t going to teach me more of His character.

Even being better about connecting with long distance friendships isn’t likely to grow my dependence on and love for Him.

These are all positive things to strive for, but it got me questioning:

Why am I so willing and motivated to make physical changes and set truly lesser goals, yet not think twice about my prayer life or deepening my relationship with my own Creator Who’s willing to meet me there?

This bothered me. 

And as I thought about it more, I found my answer was because I want to see tangible results.

If I put in effort to make a difference in a specific area of my life, I’m doing it to be able to see the change.

And I felt God whisper in my heart: “What makes you think you wouldn’t see results and change when you put in the effort toward Our relationship?”

As I searched my heart, my answer came down to an issue of control.

I can’t exactly control where deepening my relationship with God will lead me. 

I can have an expectation, but that might not be what it turns into.

So I’m a lot more comfortable and motivated to set out on a thought-through workout plan and reach the results I intend to hit. 

Putting my time and energy into deepening my relationship with God, the results aren’t really up to me.

“So can you trust Me that Our relationship is worth your time?”

Ouch. 

Of course I want to trust that. 

But, when my first thought for a change I want to actively pursue isn’t deepening my relationship with the very Giver of my life, the One who has plans for my life, the One who has wired me perfectly in the way that He wants to use me?

Then my priorities are off. 

So I want to start this year off not ignoring that or being defeated by my own heart’s state.

But, I want to take a step toward God in light of knowing that my priorities need to change, and He’s the only One who can help me do that.

So I’m committing to a Prayer Journey over the next 10 weeks.

And to keep myself accountable, and hopefully be used by God to help deepen Your own relationship with Him, I’m inviting you to join me!

I can’t say that I know exactly what it’s going to look like. But, I think that’s purposeful in God committing my heart and helping me lay down my need for control before committing to stepping into this with Him.

I will post about a Biblical truth on prayer on Mondays of each week.

And the purpose is to take the rest of that week applying that truth in our daily time with Him.

I don’t want this to just be a 10-week challenge that I am committed to praying more and then, once it’s done, move on unchanged.

So I’m taking this week asking God that He would let His Word steep in my heart, and all of our hearts, that His truth would radically deepen our relationships with Him.

Will you join me this week in asking God to prepare our hearts for the truth He wants to use to deepen our relationships with Him?

I hope you’ll join me and step into your own journey!

From one of His children to another,

Christi