Let me pose a question… have you accepted who God says you are?
This past week I have been reflecting on that question as a result of my prayer one morning last week. There is so much going on in my life at the present time that I was having a hard time focusing on how to get all my prayers in. That’s when the Holy Spirit stepped in and made it clear that I had lost my focus. It was a simple statement but it really took me back. After some time thinking about it I began to realize what He meant.
God created each one of us as unique vessels. But we were all created with the same goal. Yes, here it is again… Rom 8:29. Our goal is to be conformed into the image (character) of Jesus. That is what will prepare us to meet Him when our time to go home arrives. But what we forget is that the way He conforms us is by using what He has placed within us.
Each of us has been given a “ministry” to advance for His kingdom here and now. And to accomplish that He has given us a gift(s). But we so often in our “effort” to draw close to Him forget that part of our walk. Look at it this way. God has entrusted me with a ministry to wake up His bride from her apathy; her slumber. And it is through developing and learning that ministry that He is able to change me and draw me closer to Him. How? Because if I keep my focus on waking up the bride, all the desires of my heart (which He has given me) will be front and center to accomplish what He sets before me each and every day… for the bride and for me. The problem, however, is that in focusing all my prayers on the sick, the lost, the church, my needs, my family, my friends (you get the idea), I lost focus on the most important thing… what He created, called and chose me to do.
It’s not that all those prayers are not important. It’s just that they are to come after focusing on the “ministry” He has entrusted to me. If that focus is maintained then all the rest will flow out as a natural part of the process… One day at a time (Matt 6:33-34).
Do you know what ministry God has entrusted to you? Do you know the gift(s) He has given you that are needed for that ministry? Is it helps, teaching, healing, administration… you fill in the blank. There is no “one” ministry that is above all the others. In God’s eyes the greeter at the door or the one who cleans the bathrooms is just as critical to His kingdom as the one standing on the platform. Remember, the “gifts” He has given to the members of His bride are for “the members” of His bride. We need each other and the ministry and gifts we hold in order to advance His kingdom here and now… preparing the way for it arrival. Our problem is that we tend to let that fact slip through the crack when we think about “who” we are, because we forget “whose” we are.
The bottom line… step up and take responsibility for the calling the Lord has placed on your life. Pick up the ministry He is entrusting to you that is the centerpiece of that calling and then make it the focus of your daily prayer. I guarantee you that if you will realign the beginning of your morning with that goal in mind, then you will discover that who and what you pray for will be far more directed, focused and empowered. If that sounds like a major challenge, let me pass on the secret He gave me to make it easier. In fact it is the secret to everything in having a successful walk with Jesus.
After I asked Him for help to keep “waking up the bride” as my focus in the midst of all the needs around me and in my life He told me how to pray, how to keep my focus… Lord, help me to let You love Me.