Wendy Blight
“Pour out your heart like water before the face of the Lord.” Lamentations 2:19a (NKJV)
It’s a new year. What is on your heart? What would you like to accomplish? What would you like to change? Have you made any New Year’s Resolutions?
A few years ago, I gave up making New Year’s Resolutions. I could never keep them. One year, instead of a resolution, I wrote a prayer. Throughout the year, I watched in amazement as God worked in my life and in the lives of others through my simple prayer.
Today, I would like to pray for you. Below is the prayer that the Lord put on my heart. As you read it, I invite you to use it as a model. Sit with the Lord and ask Him to help you personalize this prayer for you.
Father in heaven, thank You that You are Sovereign. Thank You that You know each precious woman reading this devotion. You planned for her to meet You here today. You created her heart. You know her every need, her deepest desires, and her open wounds. Lord, I ask that in this new year, You would fall afresh on her.
Father, You are Holy and call us to be Holy. Yet, we confess that so often our hearts wander from You, our speech does not glorify You, and our actions do not honor You. Soften our hearts to receive the words Your sweet Spirit has to speak to us. Clothe us with humility. Take away our desire to always be right and have our own way. Help us to seek Your Word in all that we say and do. Help us to submit to Your Word; allow it to penetrate those deep places in our hearts that resist change. If necessary, put us through the refiner’s fire to burn off those things that keep us from walking in step with Your character.
Give us hearts that love and seek after Truth above all else. Give us wisdom and discernment to reject the lies of this world and the evil one. Guide us into all Truth. Guard our hearts and keep our eyes fixed on You. Grow in us those things that will make us more like You. As we study Your Word, fill us and saturate us with You!
Today, Father, we surrender our thoughts, our speech, and our hearts. Thank You that You are Faithful and True. We trust You will do a mighty work in us and through us this year and carry it on to completion until the day we step into eternity with You. Help us to trust in You with all our hearts and lean not on our own understanding. Help us to acknowledge You in all our ways so that we can hear Your voice as You say, “This is the way, walk in it.”
Lord, we love You and thank You that You love us. May our lives be a living testimony of You. We ask this in the powerful and mighty name of Your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord who will do immeasurably more than we could ever ask or imagine. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Related Resources:
Hidden Joy in a Dark Corner: The Transforming Power of God’s Story (available February 2009) by Wendy Blight
Discerning the Voice of God by Priscilla Shirer
31 Days of Praise and 31 Days of Prayer by Ruth Myers
Visit Wendy's blog for more encouragement
Application Steps:
As you write your prayer, is there an area of your life in which you consistently struggle? Would you be willing to give it over to God this year?
If you answered yes to this question, I invite you to surrender that area today. Boldly ask God to speak Truth into this area, no matter the cost. Ask Him to teach You His way, give you a mind to understand, and a heart to obey. Hold fast to what you hear so that your walk in that area will be established and ordered according to His will, not your own.
Reflections:
Spend time praying the prayer above or your own prayer aloud. Believe God that He IS able to answer your prayer. Watch expectantly for His answers. Thank Him every time You see His Hand at work. He will be faithful!
Power Verses:
Philippians 4:19, “And my God will meet all your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus.” (NIV)
Ephesians 6:17-18, “Take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for the saints.” (NKJV)
Mark 11:24, “Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.” (NKJV)
© 2008 by Wendy Blight. All rights reserved.
“Pour out your heart like water before the face of the Lord.” Lamentations 2:19a (NKJV)
It’s a new year. What is on your heart? What would you like to accomplish? What would you like to change? Have you made any New Year’s Resolutions?
A few years ago, I gave up making New Year’s Resolutions. I could never keep them. One year, instead of a resolution, I wrote a prayer. Throughout the year, I watched in amazement as God worked in my life and in the lives of others through my simple prayer.
Today, I would like to pray for you. Below is the prayer that the Lord put on my heart. As you read it, I invite you to use it as a model. Sit with the Lord and ask Him to help you personalize this prayer for you.
Father in heaven, thank You that You are Sovereign. Thank You that You know each precious woman reading this devotion. You planned for her to meet You here today. You created her heart. You know her every need, her deepest desires, and her open wounds. Lord, I ask that in this new year, You would fall afresh on her.
Father, You are Holy and call us to be Holy. Yet, we confess that so often our hearts wander from You, our speech does not glorify You, and our actions do not honor You. Soften our hearts to receive the words Your sweet Spirit has to speak to us. Clothe us with humility. Take away our desire to always be right and have our own way. Help us to seek Your Word in all that we say and do. Help us to submit to Your Word; allow it to penetrate those deep places in our hearts that resist change. If necessary, put us through the refiner’s fire to burn off those things that keep us from walking in step with Your character.
Give us hearts that love and seek after Truth above all else. Give us wisdom and discernment to reject the lies of this world and the evil one. Guide us into all Truth. Guard our hearts and keep our eyes fixed on You. Grow in us those things that will make us more like You. As we study Your Word, fill us and saturate us with You!
Today, Father, we surrender our thoughts, our speech, and our hearts. Thank You that You are Faithful and True. We trust You will do a mighty work in us and through us this year and carry it on to completion until the day we step into eternity with You. Help us to trust in You with all our hearts and lean not on our own understanding. Help us to acknowledge You in all our ways so that we can hear Your voice as You say, “This is the way, walk in it.”
Lord, we love You and thank You that You love us. May our lives be a living testimony of You. We ask this in the powerful and mighty name of Your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord who will do immeasurably more than we could ever ask or imagine. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Related Resources:
Hidden Joy in a Dark Corner: The Transforming Power of God’s Story (available February 2009) by Wendy Blight
Discerning the Voice of God by Priscilla Shirer
31 Days of Praise and 31 Days of Prayer by Ruth Myers
Visit Wendy's blog for more encouragement
Application Steps:
As you write your prayer, is there an area of your life in which you consistently struggle? Would you be willing to give it over to God this year?
If you answered yes to this question, I invite you to surrender that area today. Boldly ask God to speak Truth into this area, no matter the cost. Ask Him to teach You His way, give you a mind to understand, and a heart to obey. Hold fast to what you hear so that your walk in that area will be established and ordered according to His will, not your own.
Reflections:
Spend time praying the prayer above or your own prayer aloud. Believe God that He IS able to answer your prayer. Watch expectantly for His answers. Thank Him every time You see His Hand at work. He will be faithful!
Power Verses:
Philippians 4:19, “And my God will meet all your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus.” (NIV)
Ephesians 6:17-18, “Take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for the saints.” (NKJV)
Mark 11:24, “Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.” (NKJV)
© 2008 by Wendy Blight. All rights reserved.
Labels: God's Perspective, Prayer, Time with God, Trusting God, Walking in Faith
13 Comments:
Thank you for that prayer. It is easy to personalize it. Hopefully, it will not become to me, 'lip-service'. Hopefully, I will be able to loosen (with the Lord's help of course) the strands of sin that so easy entangles me.
I did exactly as you did. I don't do resolutions but I mark the new year with a prayer. I posted it on my blog: http://rumorsofglory.net/blog/?p=515
What a wonderful way to start the New Year! Thank you for your devotion and obedience to God in this ministry. I also gave up on the whole new year resolution thing and this prayer is what I was looking for - God Bless!
Thank you so much for sharing this prayer. It fits in my life snugg like a glove. I so needed the words but felt a loss of how to explain myself to God through prayer or whatever, this truly hit it right on the head. Thank you, Thank you. May God bless you and keep you in 2009!
This is my 1st time on this page. It must be a call from GOD because just 3 hours ago, I wrote him a letter and poured my heart to him.
Thank you for your prayer. I have been struggling with all kind of bad feelings toward my separated husband and I actually did submitted this issue to him in my letter.
My GOD gives us the strength, courage and peace to do his will
Nicole
Thank you this is just what i needed for today to start out the New Year right and with God.
Somwtimes I need to be reminded that God knows and loves me. Everyday I look forward to your prayers and blogs. Thank you so much for being here. My life is better because of Proverbs 31 ministries. Have a blessed New Year.
Thank you for sharing this awesome prayer. It is just what I needed in my desire to follow wholeheartedly after God.
We may be knocking on the heels of 2010 but that prayer is timeless and just as apt for my life right now. Thank you so much. God bless you.
Thank you, that prayer was perfect and exactly what I needed. May you and your family have an amazingly blessed New Year and all of those that read this. I will pray for the P31 Ministry throughout this New year. Thank you! Happy Holidays!
I enjoyed the prayer for the new year. This is a prayer I need and want to pray everyday in my life. I want my life to be holy and my heart pure. Sometimes we get so caught up in our daily routine of work or whatever and we do not focus on what we need from our Father in heaven in order for our lives to be what it should be so we can be His hands extended to help others who are hurting or who or lost. Thank you for reminding me the way I should pray if I want those things in my life. God bless you for sharing.
Thank you for the prayer. I have always felt that I should not pray for my self. This prayer I will read everyday. God Bless.
Ruth
I read the devotion for 12/23/09 and then followed the link to the prayer devotion from Jan.1 09.
As I read the devotion for today I knew that it was something I needed to 'hear.' Then I followed the link to the prayer and I cried because I knew that I needed to pray many things that were in that prayer & some things in there were so relevant to my life today. I am so thankful that the LORD led me to find the P31 daily devotions.
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