When it comes to prayer, are you quick to hear and slow to speak? Do you just fire off a bunch of words in God’s direction and move onto whatever’s next? I know I have a bend toward such prayers. That’s why I want to remind us today that prayer is less about performance—i.e., getting the words right—and more about a surrendered awareness that only comes with a listening posture.

As we lay down our self-sufficiency, taking our focus off ourselves, we become more grounded in God’s Omni-Nature, finding eyes to see that the whole earth is full of His glory (and that even includes us, His “very good” work). The holiness of God invites us to see Him in the wholeness of creation, for the Eternal One is indeed the Source of all goodness, truth, and beauty.

Are there areas in your life where you feel held back and need a breakthrough, a sudden advance beyond or through an obstacle?

God doesn’t need perfect words but he does need you to participate. Our imperfect prayers and cries will, in the most surprising of ways, open us up to the miraculous work that He’s doing in us.

I wanted to share Robert’s quote on turning your Bible into prayer. If you don’t already, try considering your time in Scripture as a moment of private prayer. God speaks through Scripture, and he loves it when we use Scripture to speak to him. If you’re looking for a good place to start, visit the Psalms. They’ve been spoken and sung to God for thousands of years. Psalm 142 is currently a personal favorite of mine.

Only God knows what 2024 holds for us, but he’s not trying to keep us in the dark. Whatever God hides from us, he ultimately hides for us, preparing us to know the Truth and receive it as our own. And the greatest truth of all is the promise of Immanuel—God for us, God with us, and God within us. A promise that becomes more and more real as we learn to embrace prayer as a way of life.

We don’t have to carry the weight of what’s to come, and we don’t need all the answers. What we need is to be led by the One who is the Answer to whatever may come.

In this Christmas season, let’s be those who live with active patience, lifting our eyes and steadying our hearts so we can be faithful with our hands. Through grace we can see every mundane responsibility, such as the upkeep of a stable, as meaningful to the purposes of God.

Have you viewed thankfulness as just a good idea instead of an act of warring worship? There is an oppressive spirit that seeks to blind us in our brokenness, blocking the pathway of wholeness and redemption. But Scripture tells us that expressing “unreasonable” thanksgiving is, in fact, the most reasonable thing we can do. This week, let’s be those who open our mouths and lift our hands. As we do, any garment of heaviness will become lighter in the light of Ultimate Truth (Isaiah 61:3).

You may be broken because of them, but they are blinded by their bondage. There’s a reason, after all, why Jesus taught us to pray, “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.” The one who gave his life for them (and us) promises that “love” and “prayer” can help set them free, delivering them (and us) from their terror.

Israel and the Middle East need our prayers. For the sake of the nations, let’s be people who embrace personal forgiveness so we can be conduits for the kingdom, stakeholders in God’s sovereign rule. We don’t need more empty words. We need heaven’s miraculous power. And Jesus tells us that we participate in God’s power, a power that joins heaven and earth, when we yield to the holy and transforming work of forgiveness.