God had given me a taste of freedom (see my previous post “Accept Forgiveness). So now what? I am impatient. I want to know the plan. I want to make it happen. So I am looking for something to do for God. There are so many options…serve the homeless, go on a mission trip, volunteer at the pregnancy center, children’s ministry, youth ministry, prayer group…the list goes on. They are all great ideas, how do I figure out which one I should do? But God’s plan for me was “none of the above”. And I know in my head that His plan is always better, right? So this time I actually stopped, asked, and followed what He told me to do.
God reminded me to BE STILL. I was looking for something to do, who should I help? He told me to stop and get to know Him better first. But wait, isn’t it selfish to keep this to myself and just focus on me? Shouldn’t I be focused on helping others? Well, okay God, I’ll give it a try.
My journey started in Ephesians. I prayed Ephesians 1:17-19 for myself asking for spiritual wisdom and insight so that I might grow in the knowledge of God. Give it a try. Just replace the “you” with “me/I”.
I pray for you constantly, asking God, the glorious Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, to give you spiritual wisdom and insight so that you might grow in your knowledge of God. I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the confident hope he has given to those he called — his holy people who are his rich and glorious inheritance. I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for us who believe him. Ephesians 1:17-19
This is what I heard back from God. You are my child. Fill your heart with my light. Hold onto your confident hope in me. Focus on my voice, tune out the distractions. My glorious power is yours. Focus on knowing me. You are mine, you are loved.
If you can be still, pray earnestly, and then be quiet, God will speak truth to you. For me it is like a small, loving voice in my head. I think it could be different for others. (Leave me a comment if you hear Him in a different way.) It can be hard to hear at first, but the more you communicate with Him, the easier it is to recognize his voice. Just like getting to know a friend, if you talk with someone enough you know their voice right away when you hear it.
So take a step back if you need to. Get to know God’s voice so that you can follow His plan for you. It will take you places you never dreamed you would go.
Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. Ephesians 3:20
YES! Right on! I love how you are embracing and using the prayers in the Bible to pray for yourself and not running ahead of God or leaning on your own understanding. Praise God! I pray many will read this and get to the voice of the Holy Spirit inside them, leading them and speaking to them. LOVE THIS.