In my line of work, I talk to a lot of people over the course of a week. I am asked to fulfill various needs and to provide services. Sometimes I can help immediately, but sometimes my assistance must take place in steps or stages. I really try to meet the needs and requests that come my way each day, but it can be exhausting. This week, I received a beautiful email thanking me for timely advice and resources that could immediately be put to use. It was a whole paragraph thank you! It made my week so worthwhile. On Thursday, I saw a social media post that said, “what if you woke up today to only what you thanked God for yesterday.” Convicted! Sometimes we become so busy with our day-to-day happenings that our prayers can become really short. They start off, “Lord, please…” Or maybe it’s just me…! It was not only refreshing but renewing to receive such a nice thank you email. I can only imagine how our loving Heavenly Father, who gives so much to His children, must feel when we pause to thank Him. In my devotional Turn North, I included an acronym for prayer which is actually from Dean Ridings. P is for praise. R is for repent. A is for Access. Y is for Yield. Praise should be the first part of our prayer time. Praise Him for life, family, home, work, His blessings, and the work He is doing in your life that you may not even realize. After praising Him, we should repent. Yes, we must come clean. We know our sin and so does He. Prayer is the time when we must admit our wrongs, ask for forgiveness, and be sincere about changing our ways. Next, we access the Lord, sharing that which is on our heart. I can’t speak for everyone, but for me there is always something on my heart, but prayer should not start there, prayer should begin with praise. Finally we must yield. This too, can be hard, but think about it, we are praying to the Creator of the universe - the One who created the earth and all that is in it; the one whose eye is on the sparrow; the One who knitted us in our mother’s womb. To think we can do it better, to think our plan is better than His is not wise. We must yield to His will. Amen. This week and forward, let’s all aim to start our prayers with “Thank You, Lord,” rather than “Lord, please.” Then let’s praise, repent, access, and yield. Amen. ~Bless the LORD, O my soul; and all that is within me, bless his holy name. Psalm 103:1 ~Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever. Psalm 107:1 ~Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. 1 Thessalonians 5:18 Thank you for reading this week! Please share this post with someone you love. Kim To my mother, Deloris Griffith, whose birthday is today:
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I am a wife, mother, educator, and author who, between other duties, enjoys writing. My name is actually Kimberly Griffith Massey. In this blog, I will share some sighting of God's light each week.
Author Photo by Heather G. Rollings, 2017 Cover photo by Carlton Griffith Photography www.carltongriffith.com Archives
December 2019
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