back at it

The past week has been a complete blur. I mean that in a good way. But last Monday if you asked my plans for the week, they were packing, laundry, cleaning, and more packing. My plans were not share an idea with my friends that completely explodes my life and blows out of the water and becomes a real tangible actual ministry in 4 days. But. (We know this right?) God has plans for us that are so different than our own. Our job is to be obedient, right? Right.

Obedience. So here I am again at 5 am, awake, reading my lent bible passage, blogging about what I read.

I won't lie. After Thursday morning when the Ministry Incubator Hatchathon started, I have not read my lent passage! So I had a few days to catch up on. No biggie.

Here is the passage they had for yesterday which I think is just great:

James 5:13-18
Meeting Specific Needs
13 Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing psalms. 14 Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. 16 Confess your trespasses[a] to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. 17 Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain; and it did not rain on the land for three years and six months. 18 And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth produced its fruit.

It seems the recurring theme of this one is pray. This happening? Pray. That? Pray. Pray together. Pray for each other. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. Boom. You got it.

Prayer is so important for our daily life. It is how we ask God for direction, forgiveness, peace, healing, and so many other things. It's our chitchat. I tried for a while to live in a perpetual state of prayer... I was consciously trying to make every thought a thought to God, an ongoing conversation with Him all day. Now a days I'm a bit distracted with kids and such, but I still pray more than I do anything else for my spiritual life. I think He honors that. I've almost always felt like I get pretty clear direction from Him. I don't always pick up on what He's saying right away, but if He nudges me enough times I snap out of it and realize what's going on. (He made me. He knows I'm totally ADD.)

What is the most important part of a relationship with someone? Communication? Can you call it a relationship if you don't talk to someone?

It says up there that "Elijah was a man with a nature like ours," and this dude's prayers were HEARD man. God hears us! We just have to talk to Him. And then take the time to listen. Pay attention. You don't want to miss it if He sends you an answer.