Coming from a heart so prone to wander ..
Our ministry host took us to this retreat center called Origins; Origins is a place of prayer; a place meant to leave all the distractions of this world behind and spend time with our Father. It was one of the most serene, peaceful places that I have ever been too. As I knelt in this chapel at the foot of a cross, the Lord met me so beautifully. Recently I have felt the heaviness of just the obvious divide of those with money and those without money in South Africa. I know this is very much the case everywhere in our world, but the sheer visibility of it here broke my heart. I even came to the point a couple days into our ministry that I found myself frustrated and angry. This was something I held inwardly but finally had to have a come to Jesus moment. As I spent time in the word, I was reminded of the passage of Colossians 3:2; this is a verse I have daily been praying ever since the start of our time in Albania. It is truth that I desire to have in the forefront of my mind: setting my affection not on the things of this earth but on things above. This truth gave me the strength to stop to pray for a man begging for food on the street and to instead point and redirect him to the Bread of Life.
There are so many voices we hear daily and on top of that even more distractions. We also all very much have feelings. It is good to feel; Jesus felt. He walked and carried every weight of this world; He knows, friends. As I shared above, there have been many times when I have fallen into the trap of allowing my feelings to be a false Holy Spirit. This is where the flesh can absolutely get the best of us, when we allow our feelings to dictate how we act. This is why it is so vitally important we spend time at the Father’s feet and in the Word of God. It is a hard truth: if you are not daily spending time in the word allowing it to renew your mind, You are losing to the flesh. I have been reading John Mark Comer’s most recent book, Live no Lies. Comer says that most of the time we view Christianity as a lifestyle, but rather, scripture tells us that it is a war. Not one in which we should possess fear, because we know we have Victory in Jesus.
2 Timothy 1:7 “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.”
Instead this mindset should position us daily to take the armor of our God (Ephesians 6) and to prepare our hearts.
This takes divine discipline. Something I have been begging the Lord for because God knows I do not have any of it without Him. The Lord has been so kind in affirming that He hears my pleas for this discipline; Just yesterday, my host told a person we were ministering too that I possessed much discipline with daily reading the Word. I do not share this in order to toot my own horn; I share this to affirm the Lord hears the pleas of our hearts and always answers the righteous prayer.
For those who are practical people like myself, I want to share with you the disciplines I seek to attain to set my day up for battle. Now, do I do these every single day? No, because we all know life is unexpected and things happen especially when you know little to nothing of what your day may hold. But, I strive to keep these in place not to just check boxes off my to do list but instead, to show the Lord that I will live my days longing after being His trustworthy servant and warrior for the Kingdom. Just like anything in life, the Christian life takes work. Growing up I played basketball, and in order to maintain the little skill I possessed, I practiced for at least two hours every day and even during the off seasons. We will have off seasons with the Lord, friends, but those are the times that it is crucial for us to continue showing up. We must discipline ourselves at the feet of Jesus, or else ourselves will get in the way of the sweet moments the Lord has prepared for us. With that, below are the disciplines my heart longs after..
Prayer.
Praying is everything. As soon as I wake up, I desire for my mind to be saying, JESUS. Depending upon the night and day that may be song of praise or a Jesus, help me. Whatever the circumstances, I desire for my heart, mind and soul to be fixed on Him first thing. Jeremiah 29:13 “And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with ALL OF YOUR HEART.”
Heart Check. Psalm 139:23-24
This is a verse that I have marked off in my Bible and the first scripture I turn to every morning. It gets redundant, yes, but I think redundant is good because that is how we train our minds. This verse I pray as a heart check. I ask the Father to search my heart and to try my thoughts, to see if there is anything I need to repent of or anything I need to lay at the Father’s feet. I daily want to welcome the Lord’s correction and His rebuke that way He can lead me in His way everlasting.
Read the Word.
Find your space with the Word; a space where it is quiet and still. Just as Daniel prayed with his open window towards Jerusalem. Currently I am studying through the book of Nehemiah. In doing so I encourage you to dig deep. Look at the Hebrew word and truly ask the Lord to renew your mind through whatever you read. Psalm 51:10 “Create in me a pure heart and renew a right spirit within me.” When we read God’s Word it tunes our heart and primes us to Holy Spirit’s promptings. It is truly the most treasured position we possess.
Pray Scripture and write Scripture on the table of Your heart.
God’s Words are much better than ours. I know the Lord can give us new words, but honestly why would He if you do not take time to read the ones He took time to write down? Colossians 3:16 ”Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly..”
Posture of Gratitude.
Before I journal anything else, I thank Jesus. I thank Him for the big and small things. Every morning I write a letter to Him just thanking Him. Because of the blood of Jesus alone, we always have reason to be singing His praise. Thessalonians 5:16-18 “Rejoice always, Pray without ceasing, give thanks in everything: for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus.”
Circle Prayers.
I do keep a prayer journal; a journal specifically for prayer. Writing for me is praying. And by no means do you have to, the Lord hears every prayer of our hearts. I do this because I love to keep track of my prayers and it helps my mind to be fervent and to keep circling certain things and people in prayer.
Listen.
Take time to be still completely still. Ask the Father questions or just quiet your mind and sit with Him. This is honestly my favorite part of the morning, just being still with Him. Psalm 46:10 “Be still and know that I am God.”
Sabbath.
Friends! If you take one thing from this blog, let it be the importance of sabbath. The Lord rested on the 7th day. Make it your special day with the Lord doing whatever fills your cup up.
That is my main rhythm; find yours with Him.
“One of the reasons people do not have intimacy with the Father because they do not have a daily rhythm with the Lord.” Mark Batterson
When we have intimacy with the Father that is when everything else follows. The peace of our souls should be tethered to all that God is and nothing else. Don’t lose the battle today; get armed.
Father, I pray and ask for divine discipline. Please continue to renew my mind and to create in me a pure heart. I want to fight the good fight. Thank you for the Victory we have in You, Jesus.
Your Beloved, Kel
