A DAILY PURSUIT

EXALT

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RHYTHMS + TOOLS

for your time with the Lord

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Our world would have us relentlessly pursue all of the things it perceives to offer us. That is not the trek we are on.

Romans 12:2 tells us,

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

We do things differently around here, we are set to His pace and His path, we sit at the feet of Jesus, we exist to relentlessly pursue Jesus, seeking His face, to grow in the knowledge of who He is, stirring a hunger for His word and for prayer, which both fuel and sustain us. We endure and persevere in them. We are going to run hard after God, leaping into His fullness, and peace that surpasses all understanding- together. 

What does time with the Lord look like?

What are some tools that equip and edify this pursuit?

Why is this time with Him so important?

What if I don’t know where or how to start?

Many of you have reached out asking these questions, wanting an inside look at some of the rhythms and tools that I have implemented in my daily pursuit. Before I dive in I want to preface this all by saying that our pursuit of Him will look different for each of us. We really only need a bible, and surrendered heart that desires Him. He doesn't need our time to look perfect— let’s be honest— there is no such thing.

While we are talking about this let me also remind you that this time doesn’t have to be quiet either. I think there is this misconception when we hear the tear quiet time with the Lord— but this does not have to be literal at all. For me, I do wake up around 5am and spend some time alone with the Lord, reading the Word, journaling, and praying but then I keep the conversation open with Him all throughout my day.

You know the season you are in and what your time with Him will look like, and so I suggest you pick what works best for you and your family. Maybe it will happen early in the morning before the whole house is up, or maybe your kiddo will wake early and be in your lap, or maybe at breakfast when everyone is sitting at the table too, or maybe it’s in pockets of your day when you have a few minutes. Maybe it is at the end of the day— however and whenever your time to sit down with Him is— remember He just wants you. It is important to also know that He wants to spend every moment with you, He is with you all day everyday, talk to Him all throughout your day, invite Him into all of it. He wants you to depend on Him.

No matter where you find yourself on this trail, the Lord sees you and He wants so deeply to be in relationship with you!

I pray that as I share some of these rhythms and tools that I use each day that above anything it stirs a hunger and a thirst for who God is and for His word, that truly does fuel and sustain us!

BIBLE READING PLAN

This year I am reading through the Bible chronologically following the Bible Recap plan. Each day I read the assigned reading and I am using the In Every Season Journal Set, from Well Watered Women. The journal follows the exact chronological reading plan so that as I am reading I can journal any notes, questions, and things I am learning in them. After I read and journal thought, The Bible Recap has a podcast that recaps the reading for the day— its typically under 10 minutes. They also have a printed recap version of the podcast that I use as well.

BIBLE STUDY

As I am reading through the Bible in a year, there are many times when the Lord really presses something on my heart or the Word jumps off the page— when this happens I will explore the Word further. Typically that happens later in the day or the evening for me. I do also study books of the Bible more in depth— verse by verse, in addition to the reading plan I am following. I will also go through different bible studies from The Daily Grace Co, Hosanna Revival, and Well Watered Women.

If you have been around for sometime, you will know that I use and love my Growth Book everyday for everything. The Growth Book is a journal to document all things— notes from when I explore the Word, sermons, books I am reading— you name it and I put it in my Growth Book. ( USE CODE JENNIFER FOR 10% OFF)

PRAYER

I begin my time in the Word with a prayer that I will write out, and then I will spend a few minutes writing out a handful of gratitudes. As I read and study the Word I will take notes on who He is, promises, truths, and attributes of God. I will write them down in my prayer journals which I have linked below. I spend a lot of time using scripture to pray— I will pray the Word and write these prayers out as well. After I do this I will also pray through the different categories my prayer journals have— family, friends, the world, my church, community, personal items, salvations, heavy things, goals, marriage and so on. However my time in prayer does not end there— I have made it a practice to pray and speak with the Lord all throughout my day. Having a posture of worship and praise really fixes my eyes on Him in the moments of my day.

Find Wondrous Things Prayer Journal

Val Marie Paper Prayer Journal

** Some links are affiliate links— BUT I would only share items that I wholeheartedly use and love.**

TOOLS

Bible of Choice

Journal/Notebook

Pens

Highlighters

Blue Letter Bible

** Below are the items that I use and love**

The Daily Grace Co Bible Study Handbook

Hosanna Revival Bible

The Hebrew-Greek Key Word Study Bible: ESV Edition

The New Inductive Study Bible (ESV)

Growth Book (USE JENNIFER FOR 10% OFF)

Uni-ball Signo Um-151 Gel Ink Pen - 0.38 Mm - 10 Set (Black)

Bible Study Highlighter Set

3 Ways to Transform Your Prayer Life

"And do not be conformed to this world [any longer with its superficial values and customs], but be [a]transformed and progressively changed [as you mature spiritually] by the renewing of your mind [focusing on godly values and ethical attitudes], so that you may prove [for yourselves] what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect [in His plan and purpose for you]."

Romans 12:2

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Are we fully giving ourselves to the Lord because of the grace that we have thru Him that which saves us? When I thought and prayed about how I wanted to start the year off, prayer was the first thing that came to mind. I think it is a topic that we hear and talk about a lot, but I think sometimes we only grasp the surface. When we are new in Him, we have come from the dead (a brokenness) to a new living being from within. The old withers, and the new sprouts. As we are made new in Christ, our minds are also transformed so that we can further discern God’s will. That which is good and acceptable and perfect for our world is far different than that of Christ most often, a purpose that goes far beyond the expectancies of the world. When we meet the Father in prayer we are letting Him overtake it all for us, which is what He desires, it is what He wants so that we have a vast awareness of what He is capable of in our lives. Our prayer life is transformed in walking out our faith, surrendering it all to Him, being expectant of the work He is doing, where we might be swept in a slew of directions, shaken, sifted, taught, even paused-- to actually being present, showing up to do the work-- meeting Him in that place. Honestly, we have to have a faith so rooted in Him where we allow Him the room to do the mighty works-- that is fully transforming, not necessarily doing but being one with Christ. 

Transformed through Surrender

In order for prayer to fully transform us, for us to know that we are fully His I think we have to begin with surrender, the rest will follow from there. The thorns that we read about in Matthew 13:16-23, they will choke us-- it is on the hardened ground where we might cling more to the cares of the world that produces less fruit. If we dig a little deeper into our lives, into our prayer life even more specifically,  when we allow our fears, our anxieties, our brokenness, our need for perfection to take hold of us-- we are in bondage to Him. We are admitting to our Savior that we don’t think what He paid for us on the cross is worthy enough--- when in truth it is His abundance He gives to us. When we break free from the thorns, whatever they are in your life, you are opening yourself up to God. He already knows every single detail about us-- He just needs us to speak it to Him.  For transformation in our prayer life to sprout, to experience the fullness of Christ, we must speak His abundance-- that means laying it all out to Him. Practically it means being present with the Lord--- we live a world where it can be easy to just go through the motions-- however, in prayer, it is not that way. We have to open ourselves up to the Lord trusting and asking for His will, His way, to be done.  

I don’t know about you but when I read about Jesus praying I can picture Him, being so humble and lifting His hands up in surrender. In a posture that allows our Heavenly Father to lean in closer to us. We learn from Jesus that by surrendering it all we seek His will, we are there to encounter His whispers. Our hunger and thirst for the Lord when we surrender becomes our constant appetite. Can we be so desperate that our faith in the Lord is the complete belief in what His ability is and not ours? Are we coming to the Father, fully surrender, fully prepared to abide in what it is that He has for us? 

Before you begin to pray, surrender--- pause, hunger, and thirst for you to hear Him, draw near. It is almost as if you are taking a deep breath and lifting yourself up to Him. 

Transformed through Expectancy

Our prayer life is transformed when we have a posture of expectancy. We need to position ourselves, our prayers, our thoughts to be expectant of what is to come. This can be hard sometimes, our world wants us to think we have to move two steps ahead and have all the answers-- that is flesh, that is not how our God works-- He is the only one who knows what was and is to come, we however just need to expect Him-- trust that He is present. We are made new in Him, and this sometimes means that we will have to wait. We are on His timeline, and each day that He gives us, we need to know that with that we are made new again and again until He says He needs us in eternity with Him. 

I will tell you when I had Mason at 23 weeks, of all the things I remember most on the day he was born and the very scary days into his life, was having to be expectant. We hear the word expectant, and we tend to think of a woman carrying her child, but for me, in that place, it was expectant of what God’s plan was for Mason’s life, for our life. In praying almost every minute of those days, prayer woven into every conversation with the doctors and nurses, especially the first 4 days of his life-- I remember so clearly, hands open to Him, letting Him know I was going to just be expectant, if that meant He needed to take Mason to be with Him, He could, if He wanted Mason to stay with us a while longer, it was His will. We must go to a place in prayer where we understand that it is not about what we want when we want it--- what we may pray for may come but also in a completely different way. No matter the way He presents it to us, being expectant forces us to trust that no matter what, He is there with us-- there is nothing in His purpose for us that is not used to glorify Him.

When you pray, be expectant--- instead of only asking Him what you want or need, give Him the permission for His will to be done in your life. 

 

Transformed through Revival

Let us first define revive:

revive is the translation of chayah, "to live," "cause to live," used of restoration to life (Genesis 45:27; Judges 15:19, etc.); of rebuilding (Nehemiah 4:2); of restoration to well-being (Psalms 85:6 (the Revised Version (British and American) "quicken"); Psalms 138:7; Isaiah 57:15; Hosea 6:2; 14:7); of Yahweh's gracious work for His people (Habakkuk 3:2, "revive thy work in the midst of the years," etc.); "reviving" is the translation of michydh "preservation" or "means of life" (Ezra 9:8,9). "Revive" occurs in the New Testament as the translation of anazao, "to live again" (Romans 7:9; 14:9, the King James Version "Christ both died, and rose, and revived," the Revised Version (British and American) (omitting "and rose") "Christ died and lived again" zao). Orr, James, M.A., D.D. General Editor. "Entry for 'REVIVE; REVIVING'". "International Standard Bible Encyclopedia". 1915.  

For us to understand transformation through a revival perspective, we break down what the word revival means. Here we can see that to revive is to live, a means of life, to live again. We become alive when we have this living relationship, which we can do through prayer with the Lord. Revival is showing up, day in and day out, knowing that we need Him in every moment of our days. It means when we want to give into what our flesh might want, impatience, exhaustion, anger, sadness-- we have to rise to Him. We have to rebuke the enemy. Living in Christ is a relationship with Him, one where He shows up no questions asked, even when we doubt His presence. We have to show up and meet Him in all areas of our life. In order for us to bear the fruit, we have to tend to the harvest. The work needs to be put in-- whether you set 5 minutes aside a day, or you talk to Him throughout your day-- you have to filter your days through Christ. 

Maybe for you, that means writing out your prayers, physically seeing the words you speak to Him, and then seeing His promises back to you-- whatever works in your life, to be transformed in prayer let yourself be revived-- brought back to life in Him. When we pray and read the word, we are not trying to get something out of it for ourselves--- our main focus has to be about getting to know our Lord and Savior. Not what He will do and fix in us, but what He has done. When we sin, when we feel less than, to trust that He makes us new--- are you going to Him, confessing, and asking for forgiveness? We have to ask ourselves if we understand the depth of what His victory in our life means-- that there is no battle we actually need to fight because it is won by Him already. In the midst of our days, when we pray we are rebuilt, right then and there. Our thoughts are shifted to a position of focus towards Him. 

When you pray, show up--- get into His word, get to know Him more than anyone-- serve Him, build His Kingdom, live in Him. 

“For God alone my soul waits in silence; From Him comes my salvation.He alone is my rock and my salvation,my defense and my strong tower; I will not be shaken or disheartened.” Psalm 62:1-2

What if we break down the walls of prayer-- remove the fear of not doing it right or saying the right words--- what is we grew in our relationship instead-- ultimately our transformation comes through the Lord this way. What if we threw out the misconceptions of prayer just going through motions and actually had an honest conversation with him? Can we move from here and now and to our beings waiting, surrendered, present, expectant of what the Lord has planned for your life. Waiting in silence, so that we can draw near and get so close to Him so that we can hear Him speak. Maybe you can’t quite make out the words, but a place of awareness brings so much freedom in our lives.  Being aware of our joy, and contentment, all stem from Him alone. I have found that when I feel overwhelmed, doubtful, anxiety-filled— I can wait with Him, I never have to feel alone, even in a world so big, I can get still in Him. We see SALVATION here twice- deliverance— we are delivered from Him, and this friend is the only thing that should shake our day— nothing else, can shake us because thru Him we are delivered. I cling to this, I can release fear in my life because He is my defense, He wants me to live a BOLD life for Him, His strong tower protects and this is also the truth for you! In times when my soul might feel dry or run down, exhausted— these words of truth bring an eternal light and life to me, may they bring the same to your life. 

Will you wait in silence for Him today? Will you FULLY trust that your salvation, your deliverance comes from Him alone? Can you picture Him as your defense today, your strong tower? You cannot be shaken friend, He is your eternity. 

 

3 Things We Can Learn About Prayer From The Way Jesus Prayed

“Faith in Christs ability to do and to do greatly, is the faith which prays greatly”

E.M. Bounds

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Prayer is one of our greatest tools that God has given us. It is our weapon in this fallen world.Prayer heals the brokenness. Prayer is the open life line that we have with our Savior that allows us to experience the all mighty powerful God. Are we using it, applying it, for everything in our life-- for our protection, deliverance, and victory? What holds us back from experiencing the abundance that is already laid out before us? Do you feel like you're unworthy, afraid at that God might want instead of what you want, fearful that His answer won’t be the one you think you need? Jesus was hungry and thirsty for God. He had a posture that opened Him up to the Lord. Jesus made sure that He was in a position to hear God speak in His life and abide by no hesitation. 

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 How did Jesus pray in the Bible?

Matthew 5:2 states this “ And he opened his mouth and taught them….”. Can we dig a little deeper here for a minute? He is on the mount and the disciples came to Him, and I find myself asking myself this questions- Am I going to Him, running to Him to soak up all He has to teach me, to guide me? We read here he opened his mouth, he is a talking Savior, he teaches, therefore we must go to Him with open hands. There is no better person than Jesus to teach us about prayer. Let's dive a little deeper friend and hear Him speak to us. 

He prayed with rhythm

• In Mark 1:35, “Early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left [the house], and went out to a secluded place, and was praying there”.  We see Jesus waking early in the morning while it was still dark, and departed to a desolate place and prayed. This posture to rise and seek the Lord first was a rhythm that brought Him to the hidden place to be with God. We also read that He prayed for an extensive time, His prayers were not instantly answered and certainly even for Jesus it was what God’s will was. Withdrawing, going to the hidden places, repeatedly, is a rhythm we see Jesus position Himself in to pray to hear God’s whispers. He goes back again and again to the Father, fervently. This is sacred, protected time with the Lord. 

He prayed surrendered

• In Matthew 26:39, And after going a little farther, He fell face down and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it is possible [that is, consistent with Your will], let this cup [a]pass from Me; yet not as I will, but as You will.”  We once again see this posture, this humility that Jesus has when He prays. He comes to the Father bold but surrendered. In a prayer, where He knows His death will happen, and lays it all down to the Father, emphasizing that it is whatever is God’s will for Him. He is not asking to not die on the cross, instead, Jesus falls face down, prays and says “consistent with Your will”. Because Jesus surrendered He was not afraid to pray for deliverance, for what was to come, He had undoubting faith in His Father that He can do all things. In surrendering to the Father, he was able to pray for the big things, the hard stuff, on top of all the other prayers we read in the bible-- He knew the father would deliver Him when He gave it all on the cross. 

He prayed powerfully and victoriously

• In Matthew 6:9-13 we read, “Pray, then, [a]in this way:
  ‘Our Father, who is in heaven,
  [b]Hallowed be Your name.
  ‘[c]Your kingdom come,
  Your [d]will be done
  On earth, as it is in heaven.    
  ‘Give us this day our [e]daily bread.
  ‘And forgive us our [f]debts, as we have forgiven our debtors [letting go of both the wrong and the resentment].
  ‘And do not [g]lead us into temptation, but deliver us from [h]evil. [i][For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.]’ 
  Jesus prayed declaring that He was His father, He is our Father. He knew exactly who He was talking to, because of the power and victory God has over the Kingdom. Heaven emphasizes the sovereign rule that God has over all- His power, one that brings victory for every single one of us.  When he spoke these words as He prayed he set the Father apart from everything, powerfully He prayed and spoke His name. He is victorious when He prays declaring this truth that His kingdom has come,  His will shall be done. We see the power in the words Jesus prays here because He prays for all that is to come. Jesus prays from a place where fear is absent because He trusts that the Father power is victorious. 

What can we learn about the way He prayed? 

Through rhythm, He found connection and heard the Lord

• We see a very living human aspect of Jesus when He goes out to a secret private place to pray. He was quieting His surroundings so that He could lean in closer to God and hear the gentle whispers. The same applies to us when we meet Him in the secret places, the hidden places of our lives we can quiet the noises, the busy. 

Through surrender He left fear behind and sought God's’ will

• I don’t know about you but when I read Jesus praying I can picture Him, being so humble and lifting His hands up in surrender. In a posture that allows our Heavenly Father to lean in closer to us. We learn from Jesus that by surrendering it all we seek His will, we are there to encounter His whispers. Our hunger and thirst for the Lord when we surrender becomes our constant appetite. Can we be so desperate that our faith in the Lord is the complete belief in what His ability is and not ours? Are we coming to the Father, fully surrender, fully prepared to abide in what it is that He has for us? 

Through power and victory, He experienced God's’ might and praised Him. 

• God sent His son Jesus to die upon the cross for us, so that we may be saved and live in eternity with Christ. We walk in the flesh through and with the power of God. His Kingdom comes, He will be done- that is the VICTORY that we get to walk in every day. A posture of praising our mighty God for this, and the power to know that when we pray He already knows what we need before we even ask. Are you walking in the abundance of His power and victory that He has already given you?

“ As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?” Psalm 42:1-2

Our God is here in all the rhythms of our days, when we surrender to Him, draw closer, when we stand firm in truth that declares He has won, He is victorious, therefore the weight is taken off of us because He carries it for us. As we proclaim His power, forgive, and confess we tell Him we are open to hearing and we are eager to respond. His words over our lives will never be wasted, He is waiting for you to get into the position to hear Him. Where will you go, what will you do, how will you live in Christ so that you will hear His whisper?