The "Duh!" Moment on Prayer

You know those "duh! Smack-in-the-face" moments? I just had one. See, I often pray about the same things. Seriously, I'll be honest and admit that I do. I can't tell you how many times I've heard about prayers not just being about us doing all the talking, and that God knows our needs and desires. I've also learned countless times that God is God and He doesn't need any sort of direction from me. I mean seriously, what do I know that God doesn't? Absolutely nothing, that's what. So, as I sat down to have quiet time before bed I thought about the prayers I always pray. This prayer wasn't exactly the same as it usually is but it didn't differ much. So, I open my bible to the dictionary/concordance to look up verses on prayer. And you know I've never really looked up the definition of prayer. My Bible defines prayer as: to address God with adoration, confession, supplication, or thanksgiving; to intercede; conversation with God. And that, friends, is when the "duh!" Moment happened. I've heard this who knows how many times but it took till that moment for it to finally click. Literally, a week ago I had journaled about Isaiah 65:25, I will answer them before they even call to me. While they are sill talking about their needs, I will go ahead and answer their prayers. And Ephesians 2:10, For we are God's masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago. Did you catch that? He answers our prayers before we even utter the words. He planned out things way before we were even born. What the Holy Spirit spoke to me in that "duh!" Moment is that my needs have already been met. Prayer isn't just about telling God our needs. He knows them, He's known about them long before we have. Is it okay to bring our requests to God? Absolutely. Philippians 4:6 (NKJV) says, Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. But did you catch that "thanksgiving" part? I've personally been missing that adoration part of prayer. Thankfully, I have a wonderful God who, I envision just smiling and nodding His head, thinking "yeah I've already got that covered." He's patiently waiting for me to stop looking for everything I need and open my eyes to see all that He has done. Thank you, Daddy, for being so patient with me and for taking care of my needs long before I ever see them. Thank you, for the plans you made for me long ago. Thank you, for opening my heart to these movements when you so lovingly correct me and teach me. Thank you, for this journey of pursuit.

Here it Goes...

I can't believe I'm actually doing this...starting a blog. It's something that has been on my heart for a while now, but the day is here that I actually start writing. Right now, I'm starting this blog so that I can write down everything I'm learning on this journey with God. For the past year or so I've been journaling everything. Literally, everything, from prayers to quotes, song lyrics and sermon notes. It's been my way of trying to remember all that God is teaching me. Now, it's time to step out of those journal pages and step into the vulnerability of a blog. I'm hoping that by sharing this with others it will further my learning. I love seeing things from various points of view and love hearing about what others have learned on their own journeys with God. I'm the type of person that learns by listening to others, reading, and sitting back, not really putting my opinion or thoughts out there. This is definitely going to be different for me but I know it will be good. I've titled my blog, "The Pursuit" because the word pursuit has literally been a reoccurring theme all year. The background is a door and the scripture is Matthew 7:7. For me, all three go hand-in-hand. This is my pursuit, I'm going to keep knocking on that door, searching for my Savior, seeking Him in every moment of every day because I know He will show up. He already has. I've only just begun to see all that my Father is doing. These glimpses that He gives, that sweet small voice, the way He finds me, loves me, protects me, and provides for me. The list goes on, because I serve a faithful God who has shown me beautiful grace.