"The word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth." John 1:14
John sums up the Christmas story in one verse, and it is also a unique gospel in the way it ends.
Though I would love to see your faith and prayer life flourish, that is between you and the Lord. But it is certain that if you make it your life's ambition to seek the Lord, you will find Him and your heart will become a beautiful quiet garden for sweet fellowship with Him that you can carry with you every where you go.
As for me, I want to be like John, who obviously had a lot treasured up to ponder in his heart. (see verse 25) I want my private relationship with the Lord to be so deep that no number of books, blog posts, or public conversations could ever begin to summarize what Christ has done in my life or what the Holy Spirit had revealed to me through the scriptures.
I want to be able to say with John, "I beheld His glory!" So, I echo Moses' request, "Show me Your glory!"
PRAYER CHALLENGE:
I hope you will choose to review the summary list of prayer ideas from these 12 days, listed in yesterday's challenge, and apply them today as you pray one last time over your TOP 12.
Then thank the Lord for any prayers He has already answered. (I'll remind you again, if your prayers are vague, it will be difficult to be specific in thanking Him.)
You are starting a new prayer season after today. Decided which of the suggestions you want to continue to use. Think about what changes you want to make in your life before the new year, and make it your ambition to seek the Lord in 2013.
If you wanted to begin again today with Preparing for Prayer, you can finish another 12 days on Christmas Eve. Tidy up your spot, make a new list of TOP 12, and continue seeking the Lord. You can go through the challenges here again or make up your own origional challenges and pick your own favorite songs for evening meditations.
Here is one last idea:
Try using a prayer calendar in the coming year.
You can simply use a page in your journal writing the dates for a week or month down the left side:
Wed. 12-12-12
Thurs. 12-13-12
Fri. 12-14-12
etc.
Or you can use an ordianry clanedar. (So many groceries and hardware stores give them out for free or you could print one on-line.)
Write one prayer request on the calendar each day. Then pray over the requests of the week as you have time. At the end of each month, read over your notes and thank the Lord for His answers. I am especially looking forward to reviewing my calendar at the end of the year to be reminded again of all that the Lord has done for me in 2012! (see: "Time to Turn the Page")
(This calendar is by the phone in my prayer corner where I talk with people asking for prayer; so this has turned into an extra blessing of a place to quickly write urgent requests. Since this calendar hangs on my wall, I am careful to be very vague in what I write, just enough to remind me, but not anything specific to embarass anyone or betray a confidence.)
May the Lord create in you a greater passion to seek Him and bless you with an overwhelming sense of His presence and more intimate fellowship with Him in prayer than you ever imagined possible!
EVENING MEDITATION:
Christmas Offering - Casting Crowns
Adore Him - Kari Jobe
Soon - Hillsong United
John sums up the Christmas story in one verse, and it is also a unique gospel in the way it ends.
- Read John 21:18-25
- What were Jesus's words to Peter in verse 19, 22
Though I would love to see your faith and prayer life flourish, that is between you and the Lord. But it is certain that if you make it your life's ambition to seek the Lord, you will find Him and your heart will become a beautiful quiet garden for sweet fellowship with Him that you can carry with you every where you go.
As for me, I want to be like John, who obviously had a lot treasured up to ponder in his heart. (see verse 25) I want my private relationship with the Lord to be so deep that no number of books, blog posts, or public conversations could ever begin to summarize what Christ has done in my life or what the Holy Spirit had revealed to me through the scriptures.
I want to be able to say with John, "I beheld His glory!" So, I echo Moses' request, "Show me Your glory!"
I hope you will choose to review the summary list of prayer ideas from these 12 days, listed in yesterday's challenge, and apply them today as you pray one last time over your TOP 12.
Then thank the Lord for any prayers He has already answered. (I'll remind you again, if your prayers are vague, it will be difficult to be specific in thanking Him.)
You are starting a new prayer season after today. Decided which of the suggestions you want to continue to use. Think about what changes you want to make in your life before the new year, and make it your ambition to seek the Lord in 2013.
If you wanted to begin again today with Preparing for Prayer, you can finish another 12 days on Christmas Eve. Tidy up your spot, make a new list of TOP 12, and continue seeking the Lord. You can go through the challenges here again or make up your own origional challenges and pick your own favorite songs for evening meditations.
Here is one last idea:
Try using a prayer calendar in the coming year.
You can simply use a page in your journal writing the dates for a week or month down the left side:
Wed. 12-12-12
Thurs. 12-13-12
Fri. 12-14-12
etc.
Or you can use an ordianry clanedar. (So many groceries and hardware stores give them out for free or you could print one on-line.)
Write one prayer request on the calendar each day. Then pray over the requests of the week as you have time. At the end of each month, read over your notes and thank the Lord for His answers. I am especially looking forward to reviewing my calendar at the end of the year to be reminded again of all that the Lord has done for me in 2012! (see: "Time to Turn the Page")
(This calendar is by the phone in my prayer corner where I talk with people asking for prayer; so this has turned into an extra blessing of a place to quickly write urgent requests. Since this calendar hangs on my wall, I am careful to be very vague in what I write, just enough to remind me, but not anything specific to embarass anyone or betray a confidence.)
May the Lord create in you a greater passion to seek Him and bless you with an overwhelming sense of His presence and more intimate fellowship with Him in prayer than you ever imagined possible!
EVENING MEDITATION:
Christmas Offering - Casting Crowns
Adore Him - Kari Jobe
Soon - Hillsong United
