How Do I Talk to God?
by Janis Cox
The past two weeks have been a little hectic – not stressful but certainly busier than normal. I even missed posting on Wednesday this week. Truthfully, did you notice?
I have been praying for many things lately. Here are three of them.
1. What are God’s priorities?
One of the most important requests that I have made concerned priorities.
The answer might surprise you. I believe God has told me that I still need to be encouraging others in their faith; that He wants me to work at learning more about Him through reading His Word and memorizing Scripture and I can aim to build a community but to take it slowly.
“Be still and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10, NLT).
But – and there was a big BUT this week in His answer and here it is. I don’t need to be obsessed with social media. We are told as writers that building a platform is the most important thing we can do. But I am told by God that feeding His lambs is more important. So even if I write something for one person I am following Him.
2. How can I get organized?
Another prayer was a prayer for organizing my writing and my painting. God answered that prayer with my daughter’s invitation to come and help me do that. And now I feel confident, relaxed and able to think straight. My room is now set up for writing and painting. I have stored excess stuff in another spot and I recycled a ton of paper.
“A wise woman builds her home” (Proverbs 14:1, NLT).
3. How can I best organize my prayer life?
This answer is coming slowly. I have a prayer book which I update each week. That works well. But I am on 3 prayer teams as well. There lies the confusion. So I will be listening to Him this week to see how I can serve these teams to the best of my ability without getting bogged down.
“Well then, what shall I do? I will pray in the spirit, and I will also pray in words I understand. I will sing in the spirit, and I will also sing in words I understand” (1 Corinthians 14:15, NLT).
Talking to God about my concerns this week has opened doors to understanding myself and to seeing God at work in my life.
How are you doing in talking to God?
Janis Cox
Janis, a former school teacher and small business owner, found a new passion in writing in her retirement. She has published two devotionals and a number of articles for magazines and a Bible study. She is owner of Under the Cover of Prayer and moderates the site. She is also a contributor to a group blog called Family and Faith Matters. Janis has completed a children’s book called Tadeo Turtle. She is the author and watercolour illustrator. Word Alive has published Tadeo Turtle. See more information at Janis’s Website.
Dear Jan,
Thank you for your encouraging post. You have helped would be writers like me start to reach out to the friends we have and I want to thank you for teaching me. I have much to learn and wish I could spent a few hours with you learning to write better. You are used for His kingdom in a strong way. Thank you.