Read: Jeremiah 29:11-13, Mark 11:17, James 4:2, Matthew 7:7, Hebrews 4:16, Romans 5:1-5, 1 Corinthians 3:16, and Numbers 6:24-26
Happy
New Year 2019!
Can
you believe it’s a new year already!? As we look forward to any new year, we often
look forward with the hope of better things to come and if you’re in Christ,
you have much to remain hopeful about!
If
we’re honest, sometimes we can lose sight of the hope we have because of the circumstances
we face, but, we need to be sure that our hope is grounded completely in The
Lord or it’s not true hope at all! Why? Because if our hope is in Christ, this
is not a temporal hope as hope in Him is an unshakable hope! This is the true
hope that is built on the unshakable foundation of Jesus!
Let
me encourage you to remember during every season of life, including all that’s
ahead in this New Year, that nothing you face can shake the hope you have in
Him!
Hold
on to hope in Christ! Don’t allow anything to steal your hope and may you
realize that your faith and hope should grow even stronger through the help of
The Holy Spirit.
It’s
been an especially challenging year for many of us for sure and for some it’s
been a year of blessings upon blessing.
Regardless
of what you’ve experienced, it’s still a perfect time to reflect on all the
Lord has done in your life and to take a perspective, or “pulse” check to see
where you are in your walk and life with the Lord.
He calls each of us to seek Him with all of our heart and promises that we will
find Him and He will listen. Enter the New Year focusing on building and
enhancing your prayer life. Based on His Holy Word we know that He wants our
churches, the Body of Christ as whole, and ourselves to be “Houses of Prayer”
or in sum, focus ourselves on prayer as He emphasizes that prayer should be a
priority.
If
the Lord wants us to pray, and it’s a true priority to Him, then why don’t we
in turn really pray!? In fact, the Lord is the best role model of this for us
as He constantly went to pray to the Father and He called His Disciples to pray
many times. Each of us should be a house of prayer as we are His temples. (See 1 Corinthians 3:16) Not only this, but, He just plainly
deserves our prayers and everything we are. Not to sound somewhat cliche but we
should really become true “Prayer Warriors”, as this life is a real
battlefield, spiritually and physically.
In Jim Cymbala’s book "Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire", he has this to say
about the apostles’ priority of prayer,
“The
apostles had this instinct: When in trouble, pray. When intimidated, pray. When
challenged, pray. When persecuted, pray.”
What a great observation! What a truly awesome challenge for us- Can we like
the apostles, make prayer our priority in every circumstance, even when we’re
not facing troubling times? Just making prayer so much a part of us that we
pray throughout the day or set a special portion of the day a side to,
intercede, cry out, praise, thank, communicate, etc., with Him through prayer!
He wants to hear from us. It pleases Him so much when we focus our attention on
Him through prayer.
Why not forget the New Year resolutions this year and consider instead, seeking
God’s will for your life and telling Him the desires of your heart? Why not pour
yourself out to Him through your fervent prayers and serving Him and others?
May
you renew your commitment or begin making prayer a vital part of your life-
every day! This can begin with you and I then maybe, just maybe, our example of
a prayerful and a “prayer full” life will spread to the Body of Christ as a
whole, then on into every Christian Church locally where ever we live around
the world?! We can then be the houses of prayer, as the Lord would desire us to
be.
Why
not make this year an even more special New Year, by entering it in prayer!
Seek Him today with all of your heart and be encouraged that He desires this
and is ready and waiting to hear from you.
Ring in the New Year filled with hope and prayer!
Questions To Get Started With:
-What
or Who is the foundation of your hope?
-What
are the barriers in your life to holding on to true hope in Christ?
-Do
you remain hopeful no matter the circumstances you face?
-Will
you help build others up with the hope you have in Christ?
-Will you make prayer a priority in your life this New Year?
-Will you “pray in” the New Year this New Year’s Eve?
-What kind of changes do you need to make in order for prayer to be a priority?
-If prayer is already a priority for you, what can you do to encourage others
to pray?
-Do you know someone that can help you be accountable to your commitment to the
Lord in your walk with Him?
-Consider keeping a prayer journal chronicling / highlighting your prayer times
with Him, answers to prayer, the revealing of His will for you over time, etc.
This is a great exercise for us to make a habit to see Him at work in our
lives.
Again, Happy New Year! Keep Seeking, Serving, and Loving Him with all that is within you!
Your
Brother and Servant in Christ,
Randolph
Koch
-Founder
and Servant-Shepherd of A Shepherd’s Heart
