Five Minute Friday: Opportunity

Around here we quick-write for five minutes on Fridays--unedited, uninhibited, unpolished:

Opportunity?

Gulp.

It's been such a busy week that I had not really had time to think about the opportunity that has dropped in my lap.

I wanted it.  I asked for it.  Now I am terrified because of it.

I am terrified that I will not live up to my expectations for the task.  I am terrified that I will not live up to anyone else's expectations for the task.

I am worried sick about it--worried enough to pray about it.

Oh, yes.  That is where I should have started.

Pray.

Lead me, Lord, in Your Name.

Direct me, Lord, that whatever I do be to Your Glory.

Humble me, Lord--well, I am quaking in my proverbial boots; job accomplished.

Teach me, Lord, what You would have me learn from this opportunity and to do this opportunity.

Thank you, Lord, for this opportunity.  May I glorify You so that those affected by my actions may be drawn closer to you.

Grant me peace, Lord.

Grant me joy, Lord.

Grant me wisdom, Lord, that everything I do be

In Your Name and for Your Glory.

Thank you, Lord.

Praying for Your Heart's Desire

My sticky-noted copy . . .

Your 100 Day Prayer
John I. Snyder
Thomas Nelson Publishers

“Whether we pray for one day, one hundred days, or one thousand days, let's do it the way God wants us to.”

John I. Snyder

Let's get it out of the way: I really like this book. At this point, I should reveal that I received a review copy of this book from the publisher. I am, however, under no obligation to give a favorable review, even though I shall. I like this book enough to have stuck multicolored sticky notes throughout the book, and I keep picking it up to re-read passages and affix more sticky notes. I will be buying copies (yes, plural) of this book for gifts. Yes, I really like it.


I truly did not think I would since the author, in the chapter called “How To Use This Book,” encourages the reader to ask for anything: health, happiness, even a Lamborghini! That statement elicited a groan and I expected one hundred days of self-centered money-grubbing justified by out-of-context Bible verses. I could not have been more wrong. The author, a Presbyterian minister and founder of online faith community Community321.com, goes directly to the crux of the matter of prayer:

“Do you keep laying your plans at Jesus' feet then picking them up again and trying to do things your way?”

Your 100 Day Prayer is not your usual pop-culture pabulum. It's a combination of a devotional book and prayer journal whose purpose is to lead the believer into praying the way God wants. Beginning with the first day's lesson, called “In the Beginning,” each of the days contains a Scripture passage, a devotional reading, and a prayer goal, just as many other devotional guides do. The real treasure of this little book comes at the end of each day's prayer in a section called “Today's Progress.” This encourages the believer to reflect on the reading and on the prayer experience. This reflective approach leads the believer to examine not only the content of prayer, but the process. The believer is led into more and more substantive practices through sections entitled “The Power of Persistence,” “The Silent Heaven,” and “When God Says No.” The key to this journey is in the transformation of our “heart's desire” from the temporal (a shiny new car?) to the eternal. It leads the believer to the bedrock understanding: believers' hearts should desire that the will of the Father be manifested through them. And that's the prayer God always answers.

While the prayer warrior has already figured out that truth, this book would be helpful to younger believers, especially those who find their prayers seemingly ignored or denied. It would be helpful to the mature believers who may find themselves somewhat “adrift” in their prayer life. Those battling trying times would find it a comfort. I found it a blessing.