Happy 2009! I hope you had a terrific holiday season!
As we look forward to the new year with expectation, there are a lot of "what ifs" that come to my mind. You may feel the same way in your family. Our family has set some lofty goals (with the Lord's leading) for 2009 and it will only be by His grace and mercy that these things are accomplished. I do believe, however, that God will fulfill His promises - not only to us personally, but according to prophecy and Scripture. We don't always get to see all the dots connected for the year ahead, but I am glad that He is the one leading us and we can be confident in Him. Our feet will not slip when we're in step with Him.
Looking beyond our own family, I see a great many question marks in my head when it comes to challenges I see family and friends facing as well as what the year might hold for this country and the world. We look to all of these situations not with doubt, but with anticipation that God will still be Lord of all and have His will and way accomplished if we will simply allow Him to do so. Praise God, we may not have all the answers, but we know the one who does!
Of course, you know on this first day of the year, I am going to be plugging prayer. Prayer should not be an "event" it should be an ingrained part of our lifestyle - as natural as eating, breathing, or sleeping! I was thinking this morning about the things we all have in common that we do everyday- 365 days of the year. We all eat, breathe, sleep, think, converse, etc. Many of the things we do every day of the year are there to sustain our physical bodies or adds to the betterment of our emotional health - but what do we do every day to sustain our spiritual health? We should be praying and in the Word. If we feed ourselves (physically) three meals a day three hundred and sixty five days of the year, then we will have eaten one thousand ninety five times - and believe me... most of us eat more than three times a day. Think about that in light of how often we feed our spirits through prayer and the reading of God's Word. Are we starving ourselves? I would venture to state that many of us are anemic, underfed, and malnourished when it comes to the spiritual ... and it's totally preventable.
I also encourage you to make a goal this year to try to read your Bible every day as well as pray. That doesn't mean if you miss a day that you have failed, but rather that you are making an attempt to feed your spirit every day with the Word. The more you feed your spirit, the more hunger you'll experience for the things of God. Miss a meal... and you will know it!
Write out your prayer requests for 2009 and make them a matter of prayer. As the Lord answers, begin to mark them off your list and remember to thank Him when He answers!
I will leave you today with a little poem I found on prayer:
Ere you left your room this morning,
Did you think to pray?
In the name of Christ our Saviour
Did you sue for loving favour
As a shield today?
When you met with great temptation,
Did you think to pray?
By His dying love and merit,
Did you plead for grace, my brother,
That you might forgive another
Who has crossed your way?
When sore trials came upon you,
Did you think to pray?
When your soul was bowed in sorrow,
Balm of Gilead did you borrow
At the gates of day?
Oh, how praying rests the weary!
Prayer will change the night to day;
So in sorrow and in gladness,
Don't forget to pray!
-Mrs. M.A. Kidder
