This morning, in my prayer time with the Lord, I recognized that my prayers are so self-centered. And then I dismissed the thought, thinking that everyone prays prayers for themselves as well as for others. But the next thought that came spoke to my heart:
First focus on God’s story, praying for His kingdom to come and His will to be done… and then pray for your part in the bigger story of God.
That grabbed my heart. It grabbed hold of the operating system of my life, which included my prayers, and turned it upside down. Indulge me and follow me down this potential rabbit hole.
God designed the heavens and the earth. He made mankind to dwell and have dominion (code for take care of the earth and all within), and then He dropped us into His story of how His world and His created people would exist. He gave us a moral code to follow and rules on health and caring for one another in His “code book” the Old Testament. But right from the beginning, mankind was unable to follow in obedience; obedience that was needed to keep us from harm and to keep us close to a holy God. We blew it.
But God….sent His Son, Jesus Christ to save us; offering us freedom from separation from God. He loved mankind so much that He gave up His life in obedience to the Father. He was the Great Freedom Fighter. He bought our freedom on the cross. What I just explained is God’s story, and now let’s look at how we fit into His story.
When we focus on God’s plan and not our own plan, our lives take on deeper meaning. We are meant to be part of God’s plan not the other way around.
We are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. (Ephesians 2:10)
Friends, we need to reverse our operating system from ourselves to God; from looking at our lives through what we need, to looking through the God-lens of what He is doing on the earth, and how we can fit into His plans. I am convinced that joy comes from living a God-centered life as opposed to living a self-centered one.
Come join our book club Sitting at His Feet to see how you can fit into God’s plan. Or join our Drawing Near community and start your own group and experience the power of a life-changing community together.
