Pray Pray Pray
Prayer does not have to be fancy; a simple conversation with God is PRAYER. Seek His face and His will like never before during this time. He interrupted the flow of your day and has given you these past few days to slow down and invest time in Him, so use it. This is the time to repent for perhaps being too busy for Him that He had to literally force you to stay home and seek Him. Repent for the world, for your family and your loved ones. We’ve fallen away from the vision and the mission of God, and we need to return to that. Seek Him in prayer, in worship, in praise, in submission, in fasting, etc.
2 Chronicles 7:14 (NKJV)
If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.
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Take a self-inventory
This goes hand in hand with prayer because as you begin to seek God, the Holy Spirit will help you to see yourself in the truest light. There, He will show you your strengths, weaknesses, areas of improvements, things that you lack, people that you need to get rid of, etc. He will give you direction for your purpose and your calling, and every single one of your questions about yourself and your life can and will be answered there. He will help you to see yourself as He sees you, especially if you lack self-love or struggle with self-esteem.
Psalm 90:8 (NKJV)
You have set our iniquities before You, Our secret sins in the light of Your countenance (presence).
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Take inventory of your ships
This is the time to evaluate your relationSHIPS, friendSHIPS, discipleSHIPS, fellowSHIPS, and even family and acquaintances. Who are you allowing to influence you and pour into you? Who has access to you? Are they edifying and uplifting you or are their energies weighing you down? When you get around them, do you complain about things or are you sharing about how grateful you are? Are they pushing you and challenging you to be and do better? Are they encouraging you to think bigger or think small? Are they investing in your future and in your purpose (whether in resources, time, energy or support)? Are they aligned with the will of God for your life? Are they causing you to give in to temptations or empowering you to flee from sin? Do they get excited for you in your accomplishments as if they were their own or do they make everything all about them? Do they keep it real with you out of love? Do they tell you what you want to hear or what you need to hear? Are you in agreement with where you both want to go? This does not necessarily mean that you need to have the same goals, same plans, or the same passions. It just means that no matter how different your process looks from theirs or vice versa, you are both striving for the same things and the process will still lead you both to the same things. That can be upbuilding God’s kingdom, being successful, empowering each other and others, prospering, living a purposeful life, etc… the end goal is the same. The Bible says “how can two people walk together unless they agree?”. You cannot have someone around you if you both are not on the same page. What is going to happen is that sooner or later, someone will have to compromise too much to hold on to the SHIP. How do you know when someone is for you? You both contribute to each other’s purpose seamlessly; you collaborate and there’s a peace tied to what you both contribute to one another. And while you ask yourself those questions about them, be sure to also ask yourself if you do any of these for them as well; it’s a two-way street.
Now, here’s a twist: someone could be meant for you but only for a season. Just because someone is tied to your purpose does not mean they are supposed to be there forever. People are placed in your life for a season, for a reason, or for a lifetime. Your job is to get with God to figure out the proper places of everyone in your life so that you do not hold anyone past their expiration date.
Amos 3:3 (NKJV)
Can two walk together, unless they are agreed?
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Take inventory of your position
Are you where God wants you to be? With this question, everything counts your spiritual level, your gifts, your talents, your emotional and mental health, your physical health, your job, your education, your goals, your dreams, what you do with your time, your finances, your mindset, your heart. . . everything you can think of that pertains to YOU affects your position. Are you in the right place, with the right people, with the right mindset, etc.? Your every move should be directed and ordered by God. There is nothing too small or too big for Him to not be involved in. He literally wants you to come to Him for everything and with everything; He loves that and awaits that. I remember there was a point in my life where I was even asking God what I should wear when I went places and He would tell me! He is pleased when you ask Him for direction in anything. I think sometimes we imagine God as “too big to bother with small things or too high to reach”. That’s not the case. When Jesus died for us, the Bible says that the veil that separated us from God and the interceding priests was torn, giving us direct access to Him. He cares so much that He no longer wants us to count on people to come to Him for us. When you love someone, don’t you want to know every little detail about them? Besides the deeper things, you want to know how they take their coffee, their favorite color, favorite food, favorite Starbucks order, favorite restaurant, favorite movie, etc. And you want to know these things, not to judge them, but to know them intimately because these little details also contribute to who they are. If you are that attentive when you love, how much more attentive is God who IS love? We have direct access to prayer and to have a relationship with Him. He has a sense of humor; He wants to speak to you daily; He wants to know how your day is going; He wants to make you smile. Trust Him to get you in position in all things.
Luke 12:6 (NKJV)
Are not five sparrows sold for two copper coins? And not one of them is forgotten before God. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.
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Wash your hands
Confess your sins. “If you confess your sins before me, I will be faithful and just to forgive you”, says the Lord. It does not stop there, though. After confessing, you truly must make sure that you’ve had a change of heart, that you’ve turned away from the sin that you confessed. What have you been touching, spiritually? Have you been entertaining sinful thoughts in your mind? Have you been speaking ungodly things with your mouth, planting ungodly seeds with your words, complaining and talking down at the blessings of God? Have you been operating with a negative attitude? What are you allowing into your eye-gates? Are you watching things that would tempt you and cause you to engage in sin? What are you allowing into your ear gates? What types of music have you been listening to? Who are you allowing to pour into you with words? What types of voices are you entertaining in your mind? All these things matter and they are all germs. So wash your hands (do not just sanitize them) and ask God to purify you.
Psalm 32:5 (NKJV)
I acknowledged my sin to You, And my iniquity I have not hidden. I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the Lord," And You forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah
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Lastly, I leave you with a word of hope. If you dwell in the Secret Place (in communion with God), you will find that all your fears and worries will flea. If you find yourself living in fear, it is an indication that you need to run to the Secret Place. What is the Secret Place? The Secret Place is in God. The Bible says that those that DWELLETH in the secret place of the most high shall ABIDE under the SHADOW of the Almighty. Anytime you find a word that ends with “TH” in the Bible, it indicates that the action or verb is continual. Meaning that we must continually dwell in God and make Him our home. Not visit, not for an hour or two…. but to DWELL is to make Him your habitat. It must become the norm for you. If you dwell, you will ABIDE under His shadow. Abide: to remain stable or fixed in a state. So if you learn to dwell, you will become stable. Something that is stable does not waver; it stands still. What does that mean for you? If you abide, you won’t be confident today and fear the next day; have faith today and panic the next day; have a good attitude today and be ready to snatch necks tomorrow; believe God will provide today and worry the next day. You will be in a constant and stable place with Him and it will show by your daily fruits (how you think, how you speak, how you act). We must not just abide anywhere; rather, we must abide under His shadow. A shadow only appears where there is light and it appears behind the person’s presence. This tells you that if you are abiding in God’s shadow, it means that He is the light, He is bringing you to a place of light, and He goes before you, meaning that you have no reason to fear. If you ever find yourself wavering, it is an indication that you are not abiding and therefore not dwelling in Him. Everything that is happening, the Lord already knew that it would happen; He is still on the throne; He is still in control. Do not fear. Stay in the Secret Place, and there you’ll find everything you need, including hope.
Psalm 91:1 (KJV)
He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most high shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
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