We so often get so fixated on “knowing our purpose” when our purpose is simply to walk with God daily…
I think that is the hard part for us, to reset DAILY. We want to know our FULL purpose so that we can plan and create and work toward it. God works differently…he wants us to surrender and not know but TRUST him in the process.
God deeply desires a relationship with you, and he desires a foundation built on trust. This is how we ought to plan our life – not “what is the purpose for my life” but “God, thank you for this day and this life. Please help me stay connected to you and understand what my purpose is for this day. Help me lead with love, forgive freely, work diligently and follow your call. I surrender to your divine ways and trust that you always take care of me in the process.”
It can be hard to know how to reset our hearts & minds with God, I have written out some options that have worked for me. I pray one of these sticks out to you and you decide to simply try. Effort goes a long way, I believe when we put effort into connecting with God…he is SO excited to meet us in that place. It may take a while, but I guarantee you that you will see your life transform for the good when you are persistent.
Practical ways to connect with God:
- Prayer:
- Turn on some worship music and just start praising God.
- Thank God for your life, your home, your body, your health, the food on your table, your family, your friends, your mind, your transportation..whatever it is you have in your life…PRAISE GOD.
- Pray over those in your circle – the good and the bad.
- This is crucial – not only those who bless you but pray over those who persecute you. The bible says to bless your enemies (Matthew 4:43-44), and that can be really hard so I believe in baby steps..start with asking God to remove bitterness from your heart, then ask Him to work in the heart of this person and help their heart condition and for God to heal the wounds they have. We all have heard “hurt people hurt people ”…read that again if you haven’t – but the idea is, it is our own hurts, fears and insecurities that lead us to hurt others. So pray that the wounds in the heart of your enemies are healed and that they are connected to Jesus.
- Pray over your heart condition
- If you don’t know where to start, this can be a good place to check in with God. Pray that God reveals the condition of your heart. It is all too easy to point fingers of blame at others about circumstances of our life but the bible clearly states that it is from the condition of our heart that ALL ELSE flows from (Proverbs 4:23) so be diligent in checking in with God about YOUR heart. I cant stress the importance of this enough because this truly is what leads your life to be led in unity with Christ. Taking accountability for your life and what YOU can do to be closer to God rather than calling out the sins of others or the nation…it all begins with us and our hearts. If we can prioritize our connection with God, we are divinely pointing others (sometimes without having to say a word) to Heaven and allowing the Holy Spirit to divinely work instead of burning ourselves out. Matthew 7:3 speaks about our ability to point out “the speck” in our neighbor’s eye and ignore “the log” in our own. This is a simple way of saying, check yourself before God before you have the need to check others. None of us are perfect, all of us are worthy of the LOVE of God through Jesus. So remember that and allow that humility to set in before you have a need to call out sin. That said, if your friend or close one is STRUGGLING I absolutely agree with praying over them during your time with God, and if God stirs your heart to speak to them…ask God for him to provide the right words to stir their hearts..but when it comes to public call-outs & shaming…I simply wonder if that is the holy spirit or a “righteous” impulse? The point here is…check with God.
- Pray over the direction of your life
- Instead of NEEDING to know your purpose so you can plan every detail (and not rely on God) – simply pray for God’s protection and divine direction over your life and ask that he reveal the next step so that you can walk WITH him in this direction. This may include asking for guidance over your education, your relationship/marriage, your career, your kids, etc.
- Pray over your community! Pray over your Nation.
- We live in strange times, and I’ll be one to admit it is HARD to understand how to handle certain news and situations. I won’t dive into the details but everything from COVID, work policies, education changes that CONCERN our hearts….bring those concerns to God before starting a fight that may not be yours to fight. I know God is NOT a passive God so although he may tell you to stand down, it doesn’t mean that HE is standing down. God always fights for his children, but it is important that as his Children, we seek his guidance on which battle he has requested we stand up to. This was something I personally struggled with this last week, and I got so fired up and angry about the condition of our region (PNW) and all that led to was massive anxiety…not peace. I knew when that happened I am not aligned with God’s heart, for God wants us to live in peace and even when we FIGHT, we have peace for God is with us.
- Turn on some worship music and just start praising God.
- Worship:
- This one is easy, SING songs of praises! When we sing and praise God, he is delighted and OUR hearts shift and are aligned with him. Oftentimes, this is a good place to start before prayer because it realigns our heart with gratitude before we start asking God for stuff…God wants to bless us but he wants our hearts first.
- Search Youtube/Spotify/Pandora for any of the following and jot down your favorite songs:
- Jesus Culture
- Hillsong Worship
- Bethel
- Kim Walker Smith
- Lauren Daigle
- Chris Tomlin
- Tauren Wells
- This one is easy, SING songs of praises! When we sing and praise God, he is delighted and OUR hearts shift and are aligned with him. Oftentimes, this is a good place to start before prayer because it realigns our heart with gratitude before we start asking God for stuff…God wants to bless us but he wants our hearts first.
- Journaling
- This is a personal favorite – but it can vary person to person. I love writing, it helps me connect to God in a tangible way because I am physically writing. This is what started a pattern of a prayer life in my own faith journey. Sometimes it felt empty to speak into the room “to God” and journaling made it feel more real and connected. The amazing thing is, God is ready to respond in ANY way that you chose to speak with Him.
- Some wonder…what do you write, how do you pray via journal? For me, its almost a formula :
- Gratitude: Thanking God for the day and all the blessings I have in my life
- Lifting others up: I seek to pray over the people in my life and their situations. I feel like beginning with the request of others helps me step out of a self-centered life with God where I only seek his blessings to help me on my path. Faith is so much bigger than me, it is FIRST about God and then it is about serving others and in the midst of those things God does increase you and favor you and bless you.
- Request: Seek his guidance for my day and allow me the clarity to understand what my priorities should be.
- Tasks: I ask him to highlight those most important tasks and clarity on HOW to accomplish them if it is something new
- Ask: I ask God “Is there anything you want to speak to my heart today?” and most of the time, I feel the guidance of the holy spirit taking over my hand as I write a message that I know is from God who is always so gentle and kind but also ready to set conviction over certain things. Here is ONE TRUTH…God is NEVER intimidated by where you are at, the struggles you face or the sin you have. God ALWAYS wants you to talk to him about it, invite him into that space so that he can work with you to bring you freedom, not condemn you for falling short.
- Listen to teachings/sermons
- If you are an EARLY riser, I recommend starting here. At least from personal experience, this has worked for me and I’ll tell you why…dont judge me. It is because you don’t really need to do anything other than get your cup of coffee and LISTEN…listen to a pastor/teacher and allow that to fill your heart and mind and from there move on to worship/prayer/etc. Simply put, it gives you time to wake up while intentionally setting your sights on God.
- Everyone has their favorite…my go-to these days is Joyce Meyer. She has a NEW post every day that is 10-20min long (enough to allow the coffee to thick in and have a godly word set in EARLY in the day)
- Link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCER2LBsm4hB_Kxte63RoftQ
As mentioned, I hope one (or a few) of these options stand out to you and you choose to reset your heart on God and walk with him daily. Be blessed!
VERSES MENTIONED:
Matthew 5:43-44
You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor’ and ‘Hate your enemy.But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.
Matthew 7:3
“Why do you see the speck in your neighbor’s eye, but do not notice the log in your own eye? Or how can you say to your neighbor, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye’ while the log is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your neighbor’s eye.
Proverbs 4:23
Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.
Young Woman, Rise! 